How to leave Ameriprise, need help!

[ellieR]

My husband and I have been with Ameriprise for 4 years and realize it was not a good idea! We have IRAs set up in high front load mutual funds, and were suckered into the Riversource VUL insurance, which we very much regret.

For the VUL, we are in a situation where we can either 1) cash out and lose a total of $14,000 in surrender penalty 2) Keep paying into a bad policy for next 6 years which we can then end policy with no penalty 3) stop payments and let policy keep going until no money is left.

We don't really need the VUL since we both have some life insurance coverage from work and we don't have kids or much debt to worry about right now.

Also, we just want to be done with Ameriprise and want to know what's the best way to go about leaving Ameriprise. I have heard obstacles with leaving them, such as additional fees for transferring or the advisor just being difficult. Any advice will be appreciated!

 

[REWahoo]

ellieR, welcome to E-R.org.

I recommend you do a forum search on "Ameriprise" and read a few threads from others who were in your situation. I've included a few below but there are many more.

You can disentangle from Ameriprise - and when you do you'll be glad you can only see them in your rear view mirror...

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/i-want-to-leave-ameriprise-41895.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/for...ameriprise-advisor-is-full-of-crap-51345.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f26/another-ameriprise-ship-jumper-please-help-53518.html

 

[Gumby]

Welcome Ellie. I have moved your post from the "forum admin" area to "Hi I am" where it should receive more attention. As you might imagine, you are not the first to come here with Ameriprise problems. I'm sure that those who have recently freed themselves will reply soon, but in the meantime, here are some threads to read to get you started.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f26/another-ameriprise-ship-jumper-please-help-53518.html

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...g-roth-from-ameriprise-to-vanguard-53212.html

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f26/intro-and-questions-about-ameriprise-accounts-52823.html

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...of-ameriprise-but-i-have-questions-51649.html

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...site-but-now-disgusted-with-myself-51548.html

 

[Nords]

I've included a few below but there are many more.

I'm sure that those who have recently freed themselves will reply soon, but in the meantime, here are some threads to read to get you started.

Looks like we have the start of a robust Ameriprise FAQ.

I sure hope they're not paying Google to advertise on this forum. I wonder how much they'd be willing to pay for us not to build a FAQ...

 

[NW-Bound]

Man, this forum is about as strongly anti-Ameriprise as one can get.

Have I mentioned in the past that I had an Ameriprise account, and still do, and have absolutely no desire to get out?

OK, OK, turn off your flame torches now.

I opened an on-line brokerage account with Ameriprise some time in 1999. They initially offered 10 free trades a month, which was more than I usually traded. Later they raised it to $4 for the first 10 trades a month. Back then, Schwab was charging $29.95.

Though there are now cheaper on-line brokerages, this $4 is still less expensive than my other two accounts at Schwab and Scottrade, even as these two also drop their trading fees.

Again, it is a self-directed account. They have called a few times over the years, and left short messages on my answering machine to say "Hi". I never called them back, and that is that.

 

[Lisa99]

Welcome Ellie,

We're one of the recent Ameriprise ship jumpers. From the time we decided to leave to the time we were fully moved to Vanguard was less than a month.

It is tactically very easy with your brokerage account and the VUL. You call your advisor and tell him/her to close your account(s) and write you a check. We were charged $100 to close our brokerage accounts and a hefty $5800 to close the VUL (an IRA rollover account is a different animal though and whomever you choose to move to can help you with that.)

BUT before you go down this path make sure you understand the tax ramifications. If you've only been with Ameriprise four years you may still be underwater on your investments like we were. You can look at your statement to see if you would owe any capital gains taxes by closing the accounts. We talked to our CPA before we made the move just to be sure of our tax position.

It's been 6 months since we left Ameriprise and it's the best financial move we've ever made. Our average expense ratio is down to 0.08 (it averaged 1.8 with Ameriprise) and we are in control of our money and our planned retirement.

Good luck!

 

[ellieR]

Thanks for the responses, everyone! I'll be sure to review the links of past discussions as this seems to be quite a frequent topic.

 

[samclem]

Thanks for the responses, everyone! I'll be sure to review the links of past discussions as this seems to be quite a frequent topic.

Be sure to come back with questions after you've looked through the threads. Lots of folks here want to help, we just didn't want to cover old ground again.
As you can see, you and hubby are in good company in wanting OUT.