Ameriprise 2013 Annual Report Download - page 23

principal types of expenses and liabilities encountered during retirement: covering essentials, ensuring lifestyle, preparing
for the unexpected and leaving a legacy. We believe this comprehensive approach to retirement planning allows our
advisors to create a plan that best matches our products and services to our clients’ needs. We also believe that this
approach results in greater client satisfaction and confidence.
Our financial planning clients pay a fee for the receipt of financial planning services. This fee is based on the complexity of
a client’s financial and life situation and his or her advisor’s experience. The fee for financial planning services is not based
on or related to actual investment performance; however, our clients may elect to pay a consolidated, asset-based wrap
account advisory fee for financial planning and managed account services and administration. If clients elect to implement
their financial plan with our company, we and our advisors generally receive a sales commission and/or sales load and
other revenues for the products that they purchase from us. These commissions, sales loads and other revenues are
separate from, and in addition to, the financial planning and advisory fees we and our advisors may receive.
Brokerage and Other Products and Services
We offer our retail and institutional clients a variety of brokerage and other investment products and services.
Our Ameriprise ONEᓼ Financial Account is a single integrated financial management brokerage account that enables clients
to access a single cash account to fund a variety of financial transactions, including investments in mutual funds,
individual securities, cash products and margin lending. Additional features include unlimited check writing with overdraft
protection, a Visaᓼ debit card through a third-party sponsor, online bill payments and ATM access.
We provide securities execution and clearing services for our retail and institutional clients through our registered broker-
dealer subsidiaries. Clients can use our online brokerage service to purchase and sell securities, obtain independent
research and information about a wide variety of securities, and use self-directed asset allocation and other financial
planning tools. We also offer shares in public non-exchange traded real estate investment trusts, structured notes and
other alternative investments issued by unaffiliated companies.
We offer trading and portfolio strategy services across a number of fixed income categories, including treasuries, agencies,
municipals, corporate, mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Our retail-focused fixed income trading desk is committed to
providing best execution and the efficient facilitation of client orders. In addition, our fixed income portfolio strategy group
assists our advisors in evaluating and customizing client fixed income portfolios based on individual investment objectives
and risk tolerance.
Ameriprise may from time-to-time participate in syndicate offerings of closed-end funds and preferred securities.
Syndicates are groups of investment banks and broker-dealers that jointly underwrite and distribute new security offerings
to the investing public. Our clients may purchase for their own account the closed-end fund shares and preferred stock of
such primary offerings in which we participate.
Through Ameriprise Achiever Circle, we offer benefits and rewards to clients who have $100,000 or more invested with us.
Clients who have $500,000 or more invested with us are eligible for Ameriprise Achiever Circle Elite, which includes
additional benefits. To qualify for and maintain Achiever Circle or Achiever Circle Elite status, clients must meet certain
eligibility and maintenance requirements. Special benefits of the program may include fee reductions or waivers on
Ameriprise IRAs and the Ameriprise ONE Financial Accounts, fee waivers on Ameriprise Financial-branded MasterCardᓼ
credit cards issued by Barclays Bank Delaware (‘‘Barclays’’) and credit monitoring services.
Fee-based Investment Advisory Accounts
In addition to purchases of mutual funds and other securities on a stand-alone basis, clients may purchase mutual funds,
among other securities, in connection with investment advisory fee-based ‘‘wrap account’’ programs or services. We
currently offer both discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory wrap accounts. In a discretionary wrap account,
we (or an unaffiliated investment advisor) choose the underlying investments in the portfolio on behalf of the client,
whereas in a non-discretionary wrap account, clients choose the underlying investments in the portfolio based on their
financial advisor’s recommendation. Investors in discretionary and non-discretionary wrap accounts generally pay a fee (for
investment advice and other services) based on the assets held in that account as well as any related fees or costs
associated with the underlying securities held in that account (e.g., underlying mutual fund operating expenses, investment
advisory or related fees, Rule 12b-1 fees, etc.). A significant portion of our affiliated mutual fund sales are made through
wrap accounts. Client assets held in affiliated mutual funds in a wrap account generally produce higher revenues to us
than client assets held in affiliated mutual funds on a stand-alone basis because, as noted above, we receive an
investment advisory fee based on the asset values of the assets held in a wrap account in addition to revenues we
normally receive for investment management and/or distribution of the funds included in the account.
We offer several types of investment advisory accounts. We sponsor Ameriprise Strategic Portfolio Service (‘‘SPS’’)
Advantage, a non-discretionary wrap account service, as well as SPS — Advisor, a discretionary wrap account service. We
also sponsor Ameriprise Separate Accounts (a separately managed account (‘‘SMA’’) program), which is a discretionary
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