Ameriprise 2015 Annual Report Download - page 31

Threadneedle. Although the group now operates under one brand, established investment teams, strategies and processes
in place at both firms will not change as a result of the new brand, nor will existing funds or client portfolios and
mandates. Columbia Management and Threadneedle have been increasingly working together over the past few years to
increase the breadth and depth of their offerings to clients. Clients benefit from the depth of our combined research ideas
and insights, trading techniques and portfolio strategies. In this regard, Columbia Management and Threadneedle are
increasingly leveraging their combined global investment management and research capabilities through research sharing
and, for certain assets, through the use of sub-advisory and personnel sharing arrangements within the global asset
management business.
Columbia Management primarily provides products and services in the U.S., and Threadneedle primarily provides products
and services internationally. As noted above, we refer to the group of companies in Ameriprise Asset Management
Holdings GmbH and Threadneedle Asset Management Holdings Sarl as ‘‘Threadneedle.’’ We provide U.S. retail clients with
products through unaffiliated third-party financial institutions and through our Advice & Wealth Management segment, and
we provide institutional products and services through our institutional sales force. International retail products are primarily
distributed through third-party financial institutions and unaffiliated financial advisors. Retail products include U.S. mutual
funds and their non-U.S. equivalents, exchange-traded funds (‘‘ETFs’’) and variable product funds underlying insurance and
annuity separate accounts. Institutional asset management services are designed to meet specific client objectives and
may involve a range of products, including those that focus on traditional asset classes, separately managed accounts,
collateralized loan obligations (‘‘CLOs’’), hedge fund or alternative strategies, collective funds and property funds. CLOs,
hedge fund or alternative strategies and certain private funds are often classified as alternative assets. Our Asset
Management segment also provides all intercompany asset management services for Ameriprise Financial subsidiaries. The
fees for such services are reflected within the Asset Management segment results through intersegment transfer pricing.
Intersegment expenses for this segment include distribution expenses for services provided by our Advice & Wealth
Management, Annuities and Protection segments. All intersegment activity is eliminated in our consolidated results.
Revenues in the Asset Management segment are primarily earned as fees based on managed asset balances, which are
impacted by market movements, net asset flows, asset allocation and product mix. We may also earn performance fees
from certain accounts where investment performance meets or exceeds certain pre-identified targets. At December 31,
2015, our Asset Management segment had $471.9 billion in managed assets worldwide.
Managed assets include managed external client assets and managed owned assets. Managed external client assets
include client assets for which we provide investment management services, such as the assets of the Columbia
Management and Threadneedle fund families and the assets of institutional clients. Managed external client assets also
include assets managed by sub-advisers we select. Our external client assets are not reported on our Consolidated
Balance Sheets, although certain investment funds marketed to investors may be consolidated at certain times. See
Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for
additional information on consolidation principles. Managed owned assets include certain assets on our Consolidated
Balance Sheets (such as the assets of the general account and the variable product funds held in the separate accounts
of our life insurance subsidiaries) for which the Asset Management segment provides management services and receives
management fees. For additional details regarding our assets under management and administration, see ‘‘Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’’ included in Part II, Item 7 of this Annual Report
on Form 10-K.
Investment Management Capabilities
The investment management activities of Columbia Management and Threadneedle are conducted through investment
management teams located in multiple locations, including Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles,
London, Minneapolis, New York, Menlo Park, Portland and Singapore. Each investment management team may focus on
particular investment strategies, asset types, products and on services offered and distribution channels utilized.
Our investment management capabilities span a broad range of asset classes and investment styles. The portfolios
underlying our product and service offerings may focus on providing solutions to investors through one or more U.S. or
non-U.S. equity, fixed income, bank loan, property, multi-asset allocation, alternative (including liquid alternatives) or other
asset classes, and the strategies utilized in the management of such portfolios varies depending on the needs and desired
outcomes or objectives of individual and institutional investors. We continually assess these capabilities to help ensure our
ability to provide product and services offerings that are responsive to the evolving needs of our clients.
Product and Service Offerings
We offer a broad spectrum of investment management and advice and products to individual, institutional and high-net
worth investors. In an effort to address changing market conditions and the evolving needs of investors, we may from time
to time develop and offer new retail and institutional investment products with new and/or innovative investment strategies,
including U.S. mutual funds and their non-U.S. equivalents, ETFs, separately managed accounts, hedge or alternative
funds and other private funds, CLOs, and collective funds. The following is an overview of our Asset Management offerings.
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