Description
Ameriprise Financial is a diversified financial services company and bank holding company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It provides financial planning products and services, including wealth management, asset management, insurance, annuities, and estate planning.
In 2019, over 85% of the company's revenues came from wealth management.
The company's primary subsidiaries include Ameriprise Financial Services, RiverSource Life Insurance Company, and Columbia Threadneedle Investments, its global asset management brand, and a provider of investments to institutional and retail clients.
Ameriprise was formerly a division of American Express, which completed the corporate spin-off of the company in September 2005.
The company is ranked 245th on the Fortune 500. It is on the list of largest banks in the United States. It is also the 9th largest independent broker-dealer based on assets under management. It is one of the largest financial planning companies in the United States and is among the 25 largest asset managers in the world. It is ranked 8th in long-term mutual fund assets in the U.S., fourth in retail funds in the U.K., and 27th in global assets under management.
History
In 1894, John Tappan founded Investors Syndicate in Minneapolis.
In 1925, West Coast businessman J. R. Ridgway merged his investment firm with Investors Syndicate, and took over as president.
In 1937, upon the death of then 50-year-old J. R. Ridgway from leukemia, 23-year-old J. R. Ridgway, Sr. was appointed president.
In 1940, Investors Syndicate introduced one of the first mutual funds, the Investors Mutual Fund, giving clients new investing options and two advantages: diversification and professional management. By the 1960s, Investors Mutual Fund was the largest balanced mutual fund in the world.
In 1949, Investors Syndicate changed its name to Investors Diversified Services, Inc. (IDS).
In 1958, IDS founded the Investors Syndicate Life Insurance and Annuity Company (now known as RiverSource Life Insurance Company).
In 1974, the IDS Centre (now IDS Center) is opened in downtown Minneapolis as the company's headquarters.
In 1979, the Ridgway family sold the last of its ownership interest. IDS became a wholly owned subsidiary of Alleghany Corporation pursuant to a merger.
In 1984, American Express acquired IDS Financial Services from Alleghany Corporation.
In 1986, IDS acquired Wisconsin Employers Casualty Company of Green Bay, Wisconsin and renamed it IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company.
In 1994, IDS reached $100 billion in assets.
Effective January 1, 1995, IDS changed its name to American Express Financial Corporation, doing business as American Express Financial Advisors (AEFA).
In October 2003, AEFA acquired London-based Threadneedle Asset Management Holdings.
In September 2005, American Express completed the corporate spin-off of AEFA as Ameriprise Financial, Inc., a public company.
In September 2006, the company launched Ameriprise Bank, FSB.
In February 2008, Threadneedle acquired Invesco Perpetual's full service defined contribution pension business with total assets of £470 million.
In 2009, Ameriprise acquired Standard Chartered Bank's World Express Funds investment funds business, providing Threadneedle with an established Luxembourg-based SICAV platform with over US$2.38 billion worth assets under management.
In August 2011, Threadneedle announced the acquisition of the £8 billion in investment assets of LV=.
In November 2008, the company acquired H&R Block Financial Advisors for $315 million, and the asset management firm J. & W. Seligman & Co. for $400 million.
During the Great Recession, the company declined an investment by the United States Department of the Treasury under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
In May 2010, Ameriprise Financial acquired Columbia Management, the long-term asset management business of Bank of America, for $1 billion.
On April 25, 2011, Ameriprise announced that it was trying to find an "appropriate buyer" for Securities America Financial Corporation to allow its registered representatives to focus on growth opportunities.[16] In November 2011, Ameriprise completed the sale of Securities America to Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services for $150 million in cash and potential future payments. Securities America traced its roots to Financial Dynamics, an insurance marketing organization founded in 1984 by Steve Wild that had between 10,000 and 12,000 affiliated independent insurance agents. In 1993, Financial Dynamics created Securities America, an independent securities broker/dealer, to use its insurance sales force to offer investment management, financial advice and financial planning through a national network of independent financial advisors. In 1998, Securities America was acquired by American Express and was transferred to Ameriprise as part of the corporate spin-off in September 2005. In 2009, Securities America acquired Brecek & Young Advisors, a California-based broker/dealer. Securities America received the inaugural Practitioner Thought Leadership Award from the Retirement Income Industry Association in 2011.
In January 2012, the company opened services to individuals in India with US$40,000 equivalent minimum income. Ameriprise also established an insurance brokerage entity in India that was licensed to deal in insurance products by India's Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). Ameriprise India established offices in Delhi, Gurgaon, Greater Noida, Mumbai & Pune. In May 2014, Ameriprise shut down the nascent financial planning division in India, citing poor prospects for fee-based advisory services.
In January 2013, the company completed the conversion of its federal savings bank subsidiary, Ameriprise Bank, FSB, to a limited powers national trust bank, which conversion included changing the name of this subsidiary to Ameriprise National Trust Bank.
In 2015, Threadneedle rebranded as Columbia Threadneedle.
In 2017, the company acquired Investment Professionals, Inc.
In 2019, the company sold Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance to American Family Insurance for $1.05 billion.
