Ameriprise 2008 Annual Report Download - page 26

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History and Development
Our company has more than 110 years’ history of providing financial solutions designed to help clients achieve their financial
objectives. Our earliest predecessor company, Investors Syndicate, was founded in 1894 to provide face-amount certificates
to consumers with a need for conservative investments. By 1937, Investors Syndicate had expanded its product offerings
through Federal Housing Authority mortgages, and later, mutual funds, by establishing Investors Mutual, one of the pioneers
in the mutual fund industry. In 1949, Investors Syndicate was renamed Investors Diversified Services, Inc., or IDS. In 1957,
IDS added life insurance products, and later, annuity products, through IDS Life Insurance Company (now known as
‘‘RiverSource Life Insurance Company’’). In 1972, IDS began to expand its distribution network by delivering investment
products directly to clients of unaffiliated financial institutions. IDS also introduced its comprehensive financial planning
processes to clients, integrating the identification of client needs with the products and services to address those needs in the
1970s, and it introduced fee-based planning in the 1980s.
In 1979, IDS became a wholly owned subsidiary of Alleghany Corporation pursuant to a merger. In 1983, our company was
formed as a Delaware corporation in connection with American Express’ 1984 acquisition of IDS Financial Services from
Alleghany Corporation. We changed our name to ‘‘American Express Financial Corporation’’ (‘‘AEFC’’) and began selling our
products and services under the American Express brand in 1994. To provide retail clients with a more comprehensive set of
products and services, in the late 1990s we began significantly expanding our offering of the mutual funds of other
companies. In 2003, we acquired Threadneedle. On September 30, 2005, American Express consummated a distribution of
the shares of AEFC to American Express shareholders (the ‘‘Distribution’’), at which time we became an independent, publicly
traded company and changed our name to ‘‘Ameriprise Financial, Inc.’’ In 2006, we divested our defined contribution
recordkeeping business. In the fourth quarter of 2008, we completed the acquisitions of H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc.,
Brecek & Young Advisors, Inc. and J. & W. Seligman & Co., Incorporated, each of which further expanded our retail distribution
or our asset management capabilities.
Our Organization
The following is a simplified depiction of the organizational structure for our company, showing the primary subsidiaries
through which we operate our businesses. The current legal entity names are provided for each subsidiary.
AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL, INC.
RiverSource Life
Insurance Co. of
New York
Ameriprise
Advisor Services,
Inc.
J. & W. Seligman
& Co. Incorporated
Threadneedle
Asset
Management
Holdings Sàrl
AMPF Holding
Corporation
Securities
America Financial
Corporation
Ameriprise
Financial
Services, Inc.
American
Enterprise
Investment
Services Inc.
RiverSource
Investments,
LLC
Ameriprise
Certificate
Company
Ameriprise Trust
Company
Ameriprise Bank,
FSB
IDS Property
Casualty Insurance
Company
RiverSource
Service
Corporation
RiverSource
Life Insurance
Company
RiverSource
Distributors, Inc.
RiverSource Fund
Distributors, Inc.
Following is a brief description of the business conducted by each subsidiary noted above, as well as the segment or segments
in which it primarily operates.
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