The 2000s
The 1990s had clearly been a period of great change for AMP but there was still more to come even after the historic decision to demutualise and create AMP Limited in 1997. In 1998 AMP launched one of the largest takeovers in Australian corporate history, when it sought a takeover of insurance giant GIO Australia Holdings Ltd. This takeover was completed in January 1999 but was ultimately not the success AMP hoped it would be. Consequently, in 2001 AMP completed the historic sale of its general insurance arm, including GIO, with its manufacturing operations sold to Suncorp and its general insurance operation in New Zealand sold to Royal & Sun Alliance (later Vero NZ). In the early 2000s AMP also made the decision to split its British and Australian operations.
In the year 2000 Australia was gripped by Olympics fever, with Sydney hosting the world’s largest sporting event. As a major sponsor of the event, AMP mounted a four-year sponsorship program that included a variety of events relating to the Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the Olympic Torch Relay. Key among these events was the Ignite the Dream Tour. Starting in 1999, this 276-day tour travelled to 140 locations across every Australian state and territory featuring Olympic displays and entertainment. AMP estimated that over the course of the tour, Olympians signed 108,000 autographs. AMP’s sponsorship helped bring the Olympic Torch Relay to cities and towns across Australia. As part of the relay, AMP donated custom-built Community Cauldrons to 188 communities. One of the most striking Olympic projects AMP undertook was the installation of three enormous sculptures atop the AMP Sydney Tower in the Sydney CBD. Created by Dominique Sutton, the three metal sculptures depicted a sprinter, gymnast and wheelchair basketballer. In 2001 AMP was awarded the Australian Financial Review’s Sponsorship of the Year and Sports Sponsorship of the Year Awards.
In 2010 AMP announced it would merge its business with AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, with AXA retaining its Asian business and AMP acquiring AXA’s Australian and New Zealand business. The latter included the former National Mutual business which had been demutualised in 1996. Having been such a great rival of AMP for so many years, AMP now found itself the owner of National Mutual under its AXA business. The merged business commenced operations on 31 March 2011. The same year AMP formed a partnership with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking. The AXA brand was phased out of Australia and New Zealand by 2013.
In the last several years, AMP has completed two major sales as part of the transformation of its business. In 2020 the AMP Life insurance business was sold to Resolution Life, and in 2022 the global asset management business AMP Capital was sold to allow AMP to focus on its core business in banking and wealth management. The company, which was established solely to offer life assurance to its customers would now instead be entirely focused on banking, superannuation, retirement, and financial advice services for approximately 1 million customers across Australia and New Zealand.
A key part of AMP’s modern business is the AMP Foundation. The AMP Foundation was formed in 1992 as a philanthropic arm of the company. It is now one of Australia’s largest independently funded corporate foundations. In the 22 years since its formation, the AMP Foundation has invested over $110 million to help organisations and individuals enact positive change in society. Part of the Foundation is the Tomorrow Makers Program, which has evolved from providing donations and grants to also supporting individuals who wish to create social enterprises that positively impact their communities. Two recent recipients of $1 million grants were Global Sisters, an organisation that assists women to be financially resilient and establish micro businesses; and First Australians Capital, an Indigenous-led investment platform that supports Indigenous businesses. The Foundation also incorporates the AMPlifiers Program, which is designed to support AMP employees in making positive change in their communities by dollar matching their giving to causes that are important to them. The key areas in which the AMP Foundation delivers investment and support are disability and social housing, education, the environment, and aged care (AMP Foundation, 2023).
