Ameriprise Financial: Difference between revisions
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== Fee structure == |
== Fee structure == |
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Ameriprise Financial charges clients a flat fee for a personal financial plan, which typically ranges from $500 - $5,000.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ameriprise.com/ | title = Ameriprise Homepage}}</ref> A client of Ameriprise can receive a refund for the financial plan within 90 Days of receiving the plan by completing a Financial plan refund form. |
Ameriprise Financial charges clients a flat fee for a personal financial plan, which typically ranges from $500 - $5,000.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ameriprise.com/ | title = Ameriprise Homepage}}</ref> A client of Ameriprise can receive a refund for the financial plan within 90 Days of receiving the plan by completing a Financial plan [http://www.amexsux.com/pdfs/Refund.pdf refund form]. |
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Ameriprise Financial and its advisors also receive commissions when they sell their clients [[mutual funds]], [[Annuity (financial contracts)|annuities]], [[insurance]], and various other [[Investment|investment products]]. |
Ameriprise Financial and its advisors also receive commissions when they sell their clients [[mutual funds]], [[Annuity (financial contracts)|annuities]], [[insurance]], and various other [[Investment|investment products]]. |
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* [http://ir.ameriprise.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=191716&p=irol-irhome Ameriprise Investor Relations] |
* [http://ir.ameriprise.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=191716&p=irol-irhome Ameriprise Investor Relations] |
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* [http://locator.ameripriseadvisors.com Ameriprise Advisor Locator] |
* [http://locator.ameripriseadvisors.com Ameriprise Advisor Locator] |
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* [http://www.ameriprisesuck.com The Unofficial Ameriprise Consumer Opinion Web Site] |
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* [http://wiki.ameriprisesuck.com The Unofficial Ameriprise Consumer Wiki Site] |
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{{American Express}} |
{{American Express}} |
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Revision as of 19:16, 21 June 2007
| File:Ameriprise.gif | |
| Company type | Public (NYSE: AMP) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1894 |
| Founder | John Tappan |
| Headquarters | Minneapolis, Minnesota , USA |
Key people | James Cracchiolo, Chairman & CEO |
| Products | Investments |
| Revenue | 10,259,000,000 United States dollar (2012)  |
| 3,182,000,000 United States dollar (2022) | |
| 2,559,000,000 United States dollar (2022) | |
| Website | www.ameriprise.com |
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP) is a company offering financial advice and products. It is the successor to American Express Financial Advisors (AEFA), which was a subsidiary of the American Express Company. In 2005, American Express launched the spin-off of AEFA as an independent company. The new name came into effect August 1 2005, and the transaction closed on September 30 2005. James Cracchiolo is the chairman and chief executive officer of Ameriprise. The company's headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
History
Ameriprise Financial began life as Investor's Syndicate - in 1894.Here are a few of the company's key milestones:
- 1894 - John Tappan founds Investors' Syndicate
- 1937 - Company assets reach $100 million
- 1940 - Investors' Syndicate enters the Mutual Fund market in partnership with Investors Mutual
- 1949 - Investors' Syndicate changes its name to Investors Diversified Services, Inc. (IDS)
- 1958 - IDS Life Insurance is created
- 1974 - the IDS Center is opened in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota as the company's headquarters
- 1984 - American Express completes acquisition of IDS Financial Services
- 1986 - IDS acquires Wisconsin Employers Casualty Company of Green Bay and renames it IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company
- 1994 - IDS reaches $100 billion in assets and conducts business under the American Express brand
- 2003 - American Express Financial Corporation acquires London-based Threadneedle Asset Management
- 2005 - American Express announces plans to spin off American Express Financial Corporation into an independent company
- 2005 - American Express Financial Advisors is renamed to Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
- 2006 - Ameriprise launches Ameriprise Bank, FSB
Ameriprise Financial is the 4th largest financial advisory firm in the US. The company has over 12,000 financial advisors and 2.8 million clients.[citation needed] The company specializes in meeting the retirement-related financial needs of the mass affluent. Ameriprise Financial ranked only 10th out of 13 in overall client satisfaction in a 2006 J.D. Power & Associates survey of full service financial advisory firms.[1] In a 2006 survey of over 37,000 US companies, BusinessWeek ranked Ameriprise Financial as the 19th best place to launch a career.[2] As of 1/26/2007, Morningstar has given a Stewardship Grade of 'C' to Ameriprise and has given a star rating of 2 stars out of a possible 5.[citation needed]
Ameriprise Advisors
Many Ameriprise advisors are Certified Financial Planners. Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. has the largest number of these professionals among any retail advisory force.
An Ameriprise financial advisor earns a living by charging clients for financial advice and selling products. There are three ways Ameriprise financial advisors can affiliate with Ameriprise Financial. Approximately 60% of Ameriprise financial advisors are independent contractor franchisees — they are not employed by Ameriprise Financial. They are licensed registered representatives of Ameriprise Financial and do not receive a salary from the company. About one-quarter of financial advisors are employed by Ameriprise Financial ("employee financial advisors"). The company also has associate financial advisors. These financial advisors are employed by the independent contractor franchisees.
Ameriprise financial advisors are broker/dealers.
Fee structure
Ameriprise Financial charges clients a flat fee for a personal financial plan, which typically ranges from $500 - $5,000.[3] A client of Ameriprise can receive a refund for the financial plan within 90 Days of receiving the plan by completing a Financial plan refund form.
Ameriprise Financial and its advisors also receive commissions when they sell their clients mutual funds, annuities, insurance, and various other investment products.
Criticism & controversy
In 2005 Ameriprise received the single largest fine that the NASD levied that year.[4] The State of New Hampshire also levied the largest fine in its history against the company, $7.4 million, in early 2005, based on the charge that the company utilized its financial plan fraudulently— as a vehicle to sell its propriety products in breach of its fiduciary duties to clients.[5]
Also in 2005, Ameriprise Financial entered into a $15 million settlement with the SEC for charges of market timing. The settlement addressed practices between January 2002 and August 2003. The SEC accused the company of failing to prevent market-timing— even after amending its prospectus to include explicit prohibitions against the practice. The SEC alleged that after January 2002, when American Express Financial Corporation banned market-timing, the funds still allowed shareholders to rapidly trade the funds, and that some employees rapidly traded through their 401(k) plans. As part of the settlement, Ameriprise is required to make annual presentations to its board of directors about its policies and procedures to prevent market timing.[citation needed] The National Association of Securities Dealers fined Ameriprise an additional $12.3 million and the Minnesota Department of Commerce levied an additional $2 million in fines for similar violations.[6]
Ameriprise did not disclose this incident to the shareholders of its funds, marketed under the name RiverSource since being spun off from American Express. American Express made a disclosure in its regulatory filings, but these were seen only by American Express stockholders. Ameriprise, having become a separate company, had also not revealed which funds were timed, or the names of the people involved and the exact nature of the disciplinary action taken. Morningstar temporarily reduced the stewardship grade for Ameriprise's funds, although it did not impact the fund's overall star ratings from that firm.[7]
In 2006, in addition to being threatened with NASD suspension for failing to pay an arbitration award to a former broker[8], Ameriprise lost two arbitration cases. The NASD awarded $22 million to a group of Exxon Mobil Corp. retirees who accused brokerage firm Securities America Inc. of improperly steering them into high-risk investments between 1996 and mid-2003.[9] Another NASD arbitration panel imposed a $9.3 million penalty against Securities America, the brokerage unit of Ameriprise, on behalf of three retired American Airlines pilots who alleged their broker steered their money into more aggressive funds and trading them on an almost daily basis. Other airline pilots have arbitration claims pending.[10] Securities America was also fined $5.4 million in 2003 for letting a broker who worked under a false name in its Orlando, office and allegedly made bogus investments. [11]
The total number of regulatory actions that have been imposed on Ameriprise by the NASD can be found by using NASD's brokercheck system, available on their homepage.
See also
References
- ^ "2006 Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study" (Press release). JD Powers and Associates.
- ^ Gerdes, Lindsey (2006-09-18). "The Best Places To Launch A Career". BusinessWeek. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Ameriprise Homepage".
- ^ Reuters (2005-12-28). "NASD collects record $125.4 m in '05 fines". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Amex Settles With N.H. for $7.4 Million". WCIV. Associated Press. 2005-07-12. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Nicole Garrison-Sprenger (staff writer) (December 5 2005). "NASD, state fine Ameriprise $14.3 million". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Dutta, Arijit (2005-12-08). "Ameriprise Settles with SEC— Our opinion of this scandal-hit fund family just slid a few rungs". Morningstar, Inc. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Kelly, Bruce (2006-03-13). "NASD to Ameriprise: Pay up or shut down". Investment News. Crain Communications Inc. Retrieved 2007-02-09]].
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Motion to Modify $22 Million Arbitration Award Against Ameriprise Financial Brokerage Arm, Securities America, Denied by Federal Judge in Louisiana" (Press release). PR Newswire Association LLC. 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Scheer, David (2006-12-27). "Ameriprise Unit Must Pay Retired Pilots $9.3 Million". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2003-08-13-broker-stolen-id_x.htm
- "Financial fact sheet and history". Ameriprise.
- "2006 Ameriprise Financial Completes First Year as an Independent, Public Company" (Press release). Ameriprise Financial. October 3 2006.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - "NASD Fines Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. $500,000 for Supervisory Violations in 529 College Savings Plan Sales" (Press release). NASD. October 26 2005.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Ameriprise Financial Chosen as New Name for American Express Financial Advisors" (Press release). Ameriprise Financial. May 25 2005.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "American Express to Spin Off Financial Advisors Business to Shareholders" (Press release). Ameriprise Financial. February 1 2005.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
