Is Ameriprise any good?

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo See FinanceDude's explanation above. What it means is for every $1000 in funds you buy, only $942.50 is invested. $57.50 is subtracted as a front load (sales charge). Generally regarded as highway robbery not good.

Up to a point, that is correct...on larger sales they offer breakpoints.........

[RhodyGreg14]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude What money did you invest, in a financial plan or a fee account or life insurance? Funny how Amerprise keeps "reinventing" themselves. IDS and then American Express "advisors" were basically insurance agents masquerading as "financial planners".................sounds like not much has changed..........

We haven't invested anything yet. We're still in the initial phases. We are focusing on paying down debt and buying a house before entering the market. I have a Roth IRA that I contribute to separately from Ameriprise, but I'm looking to move that too...but that's for another thread.

[Achiever51]

Many find it a lot easier from an administrative point of view (e.g., asset allocation rebalancing, tax records, etc.) to consolidate everything at one institution. Both Vanguard and Vanguard are very highly regarded on this forum -- you can't go wrong with either, IMHO.

[ronin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Achiever51 Both Vanguard and Vanguard are very highly regarded on this forum -- you can't go wrong with either, IMHO.

nothing like choices!

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude Up to a point, that is correct...on larger sales they offer breakpoints.........

So once you're broke they offer you some points?

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronin nothing like choices!

Yep -- you can put your money anywhere you want, as long as it's Vanguard.

[REWahoo]

I suspect Achiever51 intended to say Fidelity and Vanguard...but ya never know!

[Achiever51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I suspect Achiever51 intended to say Fidelity and Vanguard...but ya never know!

Ya know how sometimes you look at something and in your mind's eye it looks ok? I was thinking Fidelity, I thought I was typing Fidelity, and I could have sworn that the message said Fidelity....but obviously not!!

Either that, or my subconscious is saying "Vanguard, Vanguard, Vanguard..."

Yes, I did mean to say "Fidelity and Vanguard"......but I do invest with VG!

[HFWR]

Country AND western...

[bssc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Country AND western...

Which country?

[Bram]

I was with Ameriprise thru former employer's 403(b) until almost a year ago. The Ameriprise Advisor talked me into buying an annuity for $100k. Then I found this FIRE forum, & learned what a totally dumb move that was, & thru the wise advice & encouragement received here, I was able to revoke the anuity. I pulled ALL my $ out of Ameriprise & went with Vanguard Target Retirement Fund.

IMO, it's really quite sneaky how Ameriprise hides their fees. One of the things I learned reading here Miss Lala, is that *fees* are a VERY important consideration when it comes to accumulating your nest egg. You REALLY do need to pay attention to them & keep them to a minimum.

One of the things that the "Advisor", in his attempts to dissuade me, kept repeating was ,,,,,, "but these funds have done quite well for you".

They will "charge" you for closing your accounts, too. At least they did some of mine. Maybe you can be present when your parents discuss this with their "advisor"? S/He'll pull out all stops to keep them from changing.

Actually I just went ahead and talked to Vanguard & the switch was taken care of without discussing it or working with my Ameriprise FA.

[Miss_Lala]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bram I was with Ameriprise thru former employer's 403(b) until almost a year ago. The Ameriprise Advisor talked me into buying an annuity for $100k. Then I found this FIRE forum, & learned what a totally dumb move that was, & thru the wise advice & encouragement received here, I was able to revoke the anuity. I pulled ALL my $ out of Ameriprise & went with Vanguard Target Retirement Fund. IMO, it's really quite sneaky how Ameriprise hides their fees. One of the things I learned reading here Miss Lala, is that *fees* are a VERY important consideration when it comes to accumulating your nest egg. You REALLY do need to pay attention to them & keep them to a minimum. One of the things that the "Advisor", in his attempts to dissuade me, kept repeating was ,,,,,, "but these funds have done quite well for you". They will "charge" you for closing your accounts, too. At least they did some of mine. Maybe you can be present when your parents discuss this with their "advisor"? S/He'll pull out all stops to keep them from changing. Actually I just went ahead and talked to Vanguard & the switch was taken care of without discussing it or working with my Ameriprise FA.

Did it take a long time for the money to transfer?

I would love to go with my parents, but they're 450 miles away. All I can do I give them enough information to know when he's talking crap to them.

When I told my FA that I was thinking about leaving she kept stressing about how well it had done so far. I just kept wanting to say "can you tell me how much it would be valued at if the fees hadn't been taken out?". Good riddance. I kind of feel bad for her though, I'm very hard to deal with when you mess with my money

[amerijunk]

Miss_Lala, it'll take about 3-4 weeks to transfer your assets from Ameriprise to another firm. In the end, it'll be a smart decision to get your money away from Ameriprise as they're more concerned about collecting their loads and fees versus providing you with objective financial advice. As you've probably found out, these loads and fees really take a bite out of your portfolio and these add really add up to huge amounts over the years which means more for Ameriprise and less for your retirement.

Ameriprise hopes that when you receive the statement you just chunk it in your drawer and never look at how much this advice really costs you. Luckily, you've examined your statements to see what it's really costing you. You should stress to your parents that they need to really analyze their statements. [moderator edit]

RhodyGreg14, you should look at ending your relationship with Ameriprise as this company doesn't provide financial advice. From your other it posts, it seems like you're a novice at investing and this is the type of people Ameriprise preys upon for their over-priced products. If you've already paid for the financial plan, you can simply get your money back by filling out the refund form. You won't even need to deal with the advisor as you can just send the form back to their corporate offices. I do recommend you send it certified mail to make sure they received the form.

[moderator edit]

In the end, you'll be out a bit of time and aggravation but no money.

[Miss_Lala]

Ok, I just logged on to both Vanguard and Ameriprise to see what was happening with my accounts. Ameriprise now shows no account information with them, but neither does Vanguard. Is this normal? Does it take a few days for the actual transfer?

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss_Lala Ok, I just logged on to both Vanguard and Ameriprise to see what was happening with my accounts. Ameriprise now shows no account information with them, but neither does Vanguard. Is this normal? Does it take a few days for the actual transfer?

Longer. When I rolled over my Fidelity account to Vanguard it was a couple of weeks. IIRC.

Scary seeing those blank pages, isn't it?

[Miss_Lala]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Longer. When I rolled over my Fidelity account to Vanguard it was a couple of weeks. IIRC. Scary seeing those blank pages, isn't it?

Extremely scary! However, if it's normal, then I feel a lot better. Thanks.

[RhodyGreg14]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amerijunk RhodyGreg14, you should look at ending your relationship with Ameriprise as this company doesn't provide financial advice. From your other it posts, it seems like you're a novice at investing and this is the type of people Ameriprise preys upon for their over-priced products. If you've already paid for the financial plan, you can simply get your money back by filling out the refund form. You won't even need to deal with the advisor as you can just send the form back to their corporate offices. I do recommend you send it certified mail to make sure they received the form. [moderator edit] In the end, you'll be out a bit of time and aggravation but no money.

We are meeting with him again tonight and if we don't get a better gut feeling, we'll do just that.

I see a lot of anti-Ameriprise sentiments here, but are they that much worse then everybody else, or just because they're the biggest? I mean, all advisers are in it to make money off their clients. They don't work for free.

[laurence]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RhodyGreg14 We are meeting with him again tonight and if we don't get a better gut feeling, we'll do just that. I see a lot of anti-Ameriprise sentiments here, but are they that much worse then everybody else, or just because they're the biggest? I mean, all advisers are in it to make money off their clients. They don't work for free.

Fee based FAs can be a real boon to a novice. Commission based can be a scourge. Usually the higher expense/poorer investment vehicles give the FA a better commission (he gets his "cut" from those fees) so he has an incentive to hurt you, the client. Most of them don't think of it that way, but that's the deal. If you are uncomfortable with a strictly do it yourself approach (hey, so am I on some things, like changing the oil!), look for a fee only financial advisor. Often these people can do much more than sell you a product. They can help you chart a budget, plan for buying a house, refer you to professionals to help with trusts etc. I had friends, a couple, who went to their local Credit Union and got this type of service from their on staff financial advisor. They went from being slightly in debt on credit cards to well on their way to a happy retirement because of her.

[RhodyGreg14]

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurencewill Fee based FAs can be a real boon to a novice. Commission based can be a scourge. Usually the higher expense/poorer investment vehicles give the FA a better commission (he gets his "cut" from those fees) so he has an incentive to hurt you, the client. Most of them don't think of it that way, but that's the deal. If you are uncomfortable with a strictly do it yourself approach (hey, so am I on some things, like changing the oil!), look for a fee only financial advisor. Often these people can do much more than sell you a product. They can help you chart a budget, plan for buying a house, refer you to professionals to help with trusts etc. I had friends, a couple, who went to their local Credit Union and got this type of service from their on staff financial advisor. They went from being slightly in debt on credit cards to well on their way to a happy retirement because of her.

Gotcha. We are 98% gone from him. We have to go tonight though. My wife's 403b adviser basically said he can do the same stuff for us for free since he gets paid by NEA.

[megacorp-firee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RhodyGreg14 We are meeting with him again tonight and if we don't get a better gut feeling, we'll do just that. I see a lot of anti-Ameriprise sentiments here, but are they that much worse then everybody else, or just because they're the biggest? I mean, all advisers are in it to make money off their clients. They don't work for free.

Since you asked, I have had a good experience with my Ameriprise FA. However, we (the FA and I) have agreed that I probably have a much lesser need for a FA than most. We have gone from a transaction based fee (I paid a slightly greater commission fee for my transactions then if I went thru a discount broker) to a yearly fee for 2 to 3 reviews a year (for $1000/year). I now 'trade' in the Ameriprise account online at lower online rates (still a bit more than discounters). I value the 2nd opinion, although it usually turns out to be a 3rd opinion (as I have gotten some good tips, pointers, and advice from this forum). I use him mostly for the income side of my portfolio (which I am less knowledgeable about then equities). In any case, I have embraced the ranks of the buy and hold indexers (probably more so then most who profess to do so on this forum ).

He has just done an analysis of Vanguard MF versus equivalent I Share ETFs. It showed that the ETFs would return a slightly greater return with a slightly higher variance. The comparison was as apples to apples as we could get, however the components do differ a bit. I still have my 401k account at my former employer (oooohhh how sweet that sounds), and am looking at rolling that over to an IRA if necessary. Hence the analysis of VG MF versus ETFs.

So the answer is ... that I will continue to use Ameriprise and pay them as I continue to see value in their service.
I think the real answer is that you need to be an educated consumer ... otherwise you are wide open to all sorts of scams creative fees and charges ...

... those with a differing opinion, ... please keep the beating to a minimum