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Ameriprise Financial, Inc. provides financial planning, asset management, and insurance services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. It operates through two segments, Asset Accumulation and Income, and Protection. The Asset Accumulation and Income segment offers own and other companies' mutual funds, as well as own annuities and other asset accumulation and income management products and services to retail clients through financial advisor network. It also offers annuity products through outside channels, such as banks and broker-dealer networks. This segment also serves institutional clients in the separately managed account, subadvisory, and 401(k) markets. The Protection segment offers various life insurance, disability income, and brokered insurance products through financial advisor network. It also offers personal auto and home insurance products on a direct basis to retail clients principally through strategic marketing alliances. The company also operates Ameriprise Bank, FSB in Minneapolis and Phoenix, which offers a suite of products to meet clients' borrowing, cash management, and personal trust needs. The bank offers home lending program, including mortgages, home equity loans, and lines of credit through financial advisor network. The company was founded in 1894 under the name Investors Syndicate and changed its name to Investors Diversified Services, Inc. in 1949. It further changed its name to American Express Financial Corporation in 1994 and to Ameriprise Financial, Inc. in 2005. Ameriprise Financial is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP) is a company that offers 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 Investors' 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 fourth largest financial advisory firm in the United States. The company has over 12,000 financial advisors and 2.8 million clients, although less than a million are using financial advisors.[citation needed] The company specializes in meeting the retirement-related financial needs of the mass affluent. Ameriprise Financial ranked sixth out of ten in overall client satisfaction in a 2007 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 6/26/2007.

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.