Ameriprise 2012 Annual Report Download - page 53

our company, the financial industry and the economy cannot be known until the rules and regulations called for under the
Act have been finalized, and, in some cases, implemented over time.
Accordingly, while certain elements of these reforms have yet to be finalized and implemented, the Act has impacted and
is expected to further impact the manner in which we market our products and services, manage our company and its
operations and interact with regulators, all of which could materially impact our results of operations, financial condition
and liquidity. Certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that may impact our business include but are not limited to the
establishment of a fiduciary standard for broker-dealers, the resolution authority granted to the FDIC, changes in regulatory
oversight and greater oversight over derivatives instruments and trading. We will need to respond to changes to the
framework for the supervision of U.S. financial institutions, including the creation of the FSOC. To the extent the
Dodd-Frank Act or other new regulation of the financial services industry impacts the operations, financial condition,
liquidity and capital requirements of unaffiliated financial institutions with whom we transact business, those institutions
may seek to pass on increased costs, reduce their capacity to transact, or otherwise present inefficiencies in their
interactions with us.
It is uncertain whether the Dodd-Frank Act, the rules and regulations developed thereunder, or any future legislation
designed to stabilize the financial markets, the economy generally, or provide better protections to consumers, will have
the desired effect. Any new domestic or international legislation or regulatory changes could require us to change certain
business practices, impose additional costs, or otherwise adversely affect our business operations, regulatory reporting
relationships, results of operations or financial condition. Consequences may include substantially higher compliance costs
as well as material effects on fee rates, interest rates and foreign exchange rates, which could materially impact our
investments, results of operations and liquidity in ways that we cannot predict. In addition, prolonged government support
for, and intervention in the management of, private institutions could distort customary and expected commercial behavior
on the part of those institutions, adversely impacting us.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims.
We rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and
protect our intellectual property. Although we use a broad range of measures to protect our intellectual property rights,
third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property. We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our
copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and know-how or to determine their scope, validity or enforceability, which
represents a diversion of resources that may be significant in amount and may not prove successful. The loss of
intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce the protection of our intellectual property assets could
have a material adverse effect on our business and our ability to compete.
We also may be subject to costly litigation in the event that another party alleges our operations or activities infringe upon
such other party’s intellectual property rights. Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents or other
protections that could be infringed by our products, methods, processes or services or could otherwise limit our ability to
offer certain product features. Any party that holds such a patent could make a claim of infringement against us. We may
also be subject to claims by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark, license usage rights, or misappropriation of
trade secret rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could result in significant liability for damages. If we were
found to have infringed or misappropriated a third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, we could incur
substantial liability, and in some circumstances could be enjoined from providing certain products or services to our
customers or utilizing and benefiting from certain methods, processes, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or licenses, or
alternatively could be required to enter into costly licensing arrangements with third parties, all of which could have a
material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Changes in and the adoption of accounting standards could have a material impact on our financial statements.
We prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. From time to time,
the Financial Accounting Standards Board (‘‘FASB’’), the SEC and other regulators change the financial accounting and
reporting standards governing the preparation of our financial statements. In some cases, we could be required to apply a
new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in our restating prior period financial statements. These changes are difficult
to predict, and it is possible that such changes could have a material effect on our financial condition and results of
operations.
Changes in U.S. federal income or estate tax law could make some of our products less attractive to clients.
Many of the products we issue or on which our businesses are based (including both insurance products and
non-insurance products) enjoy favorable treatment under current U.S. federal income or estate tax law. Changes in U.S.
federal income or estate tax law could reduce or eliminate the tax advantages of certain of our products and thus make
such products less attractive to clients.
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