Ameriprise 2009 Annual Report Download - page 17

Our five operating segments are: We use Ameriprise Financial as our holding company brand, as
well as the name of our branded advisor network and certain of
> Advice & Wealth Management; our retail products and services. The retail products and services
> Asset Management; that utilize the Ameriprise brand include products and services
that we provide through our branded advisors (e.g., investment
> Annuities; advisory accounts, retail brokerage services and banking
> Protection; and products) and products and services that we market directly to
consumers (e.g., personal auto and home insurance).
> Corporate & Other.
We use our RiverSource brand for our U.S. asset management,
During our fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, the global annuity, and the majority of our protection products. Products
financial markets and the economies in which each of our that utilize the RiverSource name include retail and institutional
segments operate began to show signs of recovery from the asset management products, retail mutual funds, annuities and
unprecedented volatility and decline experienced in 2008 and life and disability income insurance products. We believe that
early 2009. Financial markets and macroeconomic conditions using a distinct brand for these products differentiates them from
have had and will continue to have a significant impact on the our branded advisor network. We expect that certain branding
operating results of each of our segments. While the timing, elements of our U.S. asset management and annuities businesses
magnitude and duration of a global economic recovery remain will change following consummation of the Columbia purchase to
uncertain, we expect that a challenging business climate will reflect and leverage the brand equity of that acquisition.
persist for the foreseeable future. To succeed in this environment,
we expect to continue focusing on each of our key strategic We use our Threadneedle brand for our international asset
objectives. The success of these and other strategies may be management products.
affected by the factors discussed below in Item 1A of this Annual
Report on Form 10-K — ‘‘Risk Factors’’, and other factors as History and Development
discussed herein. Our company has a more than 110 year history of providing
financial solutions designed to help clients achieve their financial
In 2009, we generated $7.8 billion in total net revenues. Net
objectives. Our earliest predecessor company, Investors
income attributable to Ameriprise Financial for 2009 was
Syndicate, was founded in 1894 to provide face-amount
$722 million. As a diversified financial services firm, we believe
certificates to consumers with a need for conservative
our ability to gather assets across the enterprise is best measured
investments. By 1937, Investors Syndicate had expanded its
by our owned, managed and administered asset metric. At
product offerings through Federal Housing Authority mortgages,
December 31, 2009, we had $457.8 billion in owned, managed and
and later, mutual funds, by establishing Investors Mutual, one of
administered assets worldwide compared to $372.1 billion as of
the pioneers in the mutual fund industry. In 1949, Investors
December 31, 2008, as follows:
Syndicate was renamed Investors Diversified Services, Inc., or
As of December 31, IDS. In 1957, IDS added life insurance products, and later, annuity
Asset Category 2009 2008 products, through IDS Life Insurance Company (now known as
(in billions) ‘‘RiverSource Life Insurance Company’’). In 1972, IDS began to
Owned $ 36.9 $ 31.7
expand its distribution network by delivering investment products
Managed 325.8 264.9
directly to clients of unaffiliated financial institutions. IDS also
Administered 95.1 75.5
introduced its comprehensive financial planning processes to
Total $ 457.8 $ 372.1 clients, integrating the identification of client needs with the
products and services to address those needs in the 1970s, and it
For a more detailed discussion of owned, managed and introduced fee-based planning in the 1980s.
administered assets see ‘‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’’ included in In 1979, IDS became a wholly owned subsidiary of Alleghany
Part II, Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. 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
Our Principal Brands
Alleghany Corporation. We changed our name to ‘‘American
We use two principal brands for our businesses in the United
Express Financial Corporation’’ (‘‘AEFC’’) and began selling our
States: Ameriprise Financial and RiverSource.
products and services under the American Express brand in 1994.
To provide retail clients with a more comprehensive set of
products and services, we began significantly expanding our
2 ANNUAL REPORT 2009