American Express plans to spin off its personal finance unit in the second half of 2005 in an effort to improve profitability. The unit,...

American Express plans to spin off its personal finance unit in the second half of 2005 in an effort to improve profitability. The unit, called American Express Financial Advisors, has 12,000 financial advisers and $410 billion in assets under management, generated $7 billion in revenue and $700 million in net income in 2004. By comparison, Merrill Lynch has 13,500 financial advisers and $1.3 trillion in assets under management. It sells financial planning and advice services, money management, insurance and annuities in the US. American Express said splitting off the business, called American Express Financial Advisors, will improve its own profitability. Financial terms of the spin off have not yet been determined. The private banking business of the New York-based financial firm will remain within American Express.