Not everyone agrees with Chanticleers assessment of the AMP Capital deal. There are some shareholders who have criticised the loss of control of the highest-growth business.
The dismantling of AMPs conglomerate structure left De Ferrari with three key assets AMP Bank, the Australian superannuation and managed funds business, and financial advice.
AMP Bank is too small to make any difference to AMPs future and should be sold whether De Ferrari leaves the company or not.
Profits from the Australian super and managed funds business are needed to support AMP while it figures out a viable financial advice business model.
De Ferrari brought immense experience in private banking and elite wealth management in Asia to the problem of financial advice.
He came up with creative ideas for building a sustainable business. But he came up against a regulatory system that is full of conflicting obligations and excessive red tape.
De Ferrari discovered that it is virtually impossible to provide affordable financial advice in Australia with the current regulatory framework.
If he leaves, his successor will probably be forced to go back to the drawing board. It may well be that AMPs financial advice business model becomes an ultra-cheap service provided by computers.
De Ferraris tenure has been marred by his failure to take the pulse of AMPs workforce in relation to the appointment of Boe Pahari as head of AMP Capital.
He was forced to backflip on Paharis appointment. During this painful process he watched helplessly as the AMP board imploded.
Then the new chairman, Debra Hazelton, decided to put the company up for sale. This could have been read as a slap in the face for De Ferraris strategy, but Hazelton was under pressure to create value.
De Ferrari is not the first overseas executive to discover that Australian CEOs arguably attract the most scrutiny of any business leaders in the world. This creates relentless pressure and leaves little room for manoeuvre when bad luck strikes, as happened on several occasions at AMP.
