(Bloomberg) -- Ameriprise Financial Inc. Chief Executive OfficerJim Cracchiolo is looking for chances to add financial advisers asnew government regulation on retirementproducts pressures smaller rivals.

“During this period of disruption, we see potentialopportunities,” Cracchiolo said Thursday during a conference calldiscussing first-quarter results. “The regulatory environment willlikely lead to consolidation within the industry, which we alreadysee. Independent advisers or independent broker-dealers may lackthe resources or the scale to navigate the changes required, andseek a strong partner like Ameriprise.”

The Department of Labor announced newrules on April 6 that are designed to protect savers fromconflicted investment advice.

Companies including American International Group Inc. andMetLife Inc. have been exitingadvisory operations ahead of implementation of the rules, whichwill require additional compliance costs and could increase therisk of lawsuits. The changes could be even more burdensome toindependent firms.

“Ameriprise is well positioned to take advantage of likelyindustry consolidation, given the lack of ability for smallerplayers to handle incremental costs associated with DOLcompliance,” John Nadel, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos., saidThursday in a note to clients.

Ameriprise has about 400 people devoted to handling the rule andwill increase training for staff, the CEO said. The asset managerhad 9,766 advisers at the end of the first quarter, after hiring 70in the period, the company said Wednesday in a statement.

“The financial foundation we’ve built allows us to remainopportunistic while also making the necessary investments to complywith the rule,” Cracchiolo said during the call. “We’re devotingand re-channeling our resources, so that we redeploy to get thisdone appropriately. And I would just say, it will squeeze others inthe industry unless they have those capabilities and themeans.”

Read: More coverage of DoL fiduciary rule

First-quarter net income slipped 7.4 percent from a year earlierto $364 million as market volatility pressured results, accordingto the Minneapolis-based company’s statement Wednesday. Ameripriseslipped 1.2 percent to $99.85 at 1:01 p.m. in New York, extendingits decline for the year to 6.2 percent.

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