Ameriprise?

[cooch96]

How do you all consider Ameriprise? I currently have a rothIRA and a taxable account there, but most of my money is tied up in megacorp's 401k. My broker's mom is an old friend of my mother (he and I went to the same high school, but he was a year younger and we didn't travel in the same circles). He's been doing about 7.5% per annum nominally with my money since 2009 by buying companies right before they get bought out/merge. I was just wondering if Ameriprise's fees are considered high. I can't really pull my money out without causing bad blood, but should I definitely look elsewhere if I decide to open another taxable account?


Why be normal when you could just be yourself.

 

[MichaelB]

Here are a couple of threads you should read

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f26/hi-ameriprise-client-needing-advice-70411.html

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/ameriprise-just-stuck-it-to-us-again-67901.html

This one is especially informative

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

 

[cooch96]

Thank you, Michael B. My search function doesn't seem to work on my iPad, so I have a devil of a time finding related, older posts. What is a VUL? I didn't see it listed in the usual acronyms post.


Why be normal when you could just be yourself.

 

[Free To Canoe]

.... He's been doing about 7.5% per annum nominally with my money since 2009 by buying companies right before they get bought out/merge. ...

An S&P 500 index fund would have returned about 18% from 2009-2013 without exposing your money to all of those risks.

 

[CaliforniaMan]

How do you all consider Ameriprise? I currently have a rothIRA and a taxable account there, but most of my money is tied up in megacorp's 401k. My broker's mom is an old friend of my mother (he and I went to the same high school, but he was a year younger and we didn't travel in the same circles). He's been doing about 7.5% per annum nominally with my money since 2009 by buying companies right before they get bought out/merge. I was just wondering if Ameriprise's fees are considered high. I can't really pull my money out without causing bad blood, but should I definitely look elsewhere if I decide to open another taxable account?


Why be normal when you could just be yourself.

It is YOUR money not the advisers. You can do anything you want with it. If they can make you feel bad about what you do with your own money, then they really do have control over you. In my opinion it is scary to let people control you like that. They make big fees on your money, they are not doing this for friendship. It is their business. It should be a business decision for you too. Learn what you can about investing, there are a lot of resources on this forum. And then just tell them you want to do things on your own, for the experience.

 

[LOL!]

My condolences, but 18% looks a whole lot better than 7.5%.

Ameriprise has a deservedly abyssmal reputation right down there with the likes of Morgan Stanley, Edward Jones, Prudential, Merrill Lynch, UBS, et al. They do one thing that's smart though: In any google search, they pay to have their positve ads fill up the first pages of search results, so that all the bad reviews get hidden from unsuspecting [potential] clients.

 

[Mulligan]

My condolences, but 18% looks a whole lot better than 7.5%.

Ameriprise has a deservedly abyssmal reputation right down there with the likes of Morgan Stanley, Edward Jones, Prudential, Merrill Lynch, UBS, et al. They do one thing that's smart though: In any google search, they pay to have their positve ads fill up the first pages of search results, so that all the bad reviews get hidden from unsuspecting [potential] clients.

Well I take it they will have to keep buying and buying to keep the ER Forum comments on the subject buried on page 10 or later, huh?


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[MRG]

There's are multiple fund companys that utilize low cost index funds, low cost ETFs, even some lower cost active funds. Ameriprise is a Financial Advisor, they dont use many of these low cost fund options.

Instead they use funds that allow fees of many kinds to make your money theirs. Here's some: they will put you into high cost investment options. They will normally switch you around in managed funds that allow for one time front end or back end loads in addition to the normal reocurring fund fees. Then there's probally a reocurring 12b1 fee for up to 1%. You may get so lucky as to have a deffered sale fee. These can be as simple as a 1% fee if you take your money back in the first year, some go for multiple years.

Other folks can tell you better about the Ameriprise fees. I understood there are yearly maintance fees and wrap fees for some lucky accounts.

Run away.

 

[aja8888]

Well I take it they will have to keep buying and buying to keep the ER Forum comments on the subject buried on page 10 or later, huh?


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The ads are cheap compared to what they suck out of people for high fees.

 

[Mulligan]

The ads are cheap compared to what they suck out of people for high fees.

I bet the company pitchman I see on tv, Tommy Lee Jones, is taking a chunk of those high fees in endorsement money!


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[aja8888]

I bet the company pitchman I see on tv, Tommy Lee Jones, is taking a chunk of those high fees in endorsement money!


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And all that advertising cost is a tax deduction for Ameriprise.

 

[mickeyd]

I can't really pull my money out without causing bad blood

Let the blood flow and consider moving all of your investments to Vanguard. As mentioned earlier, it's your stuff not theirs.

 

[travelover]

Vanguard won't send you a birthday card.

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[powerplay]

Vanguard won't send you a birthday card.

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Thank goodness, who needs those expensive birthday cards anyway.

 

[growing_older]

Vanguard won't send you a birthday card.

So if I invest with Vanguard, they will stop me from getting any older? That is even better than the low fees.

 

[LOL!]

I always get a chuckle about the bad blood statement. First of all, it's your blood that the vampires have been sucking on. Second, they don't seem to feel too bad about bleeding you to death all these years as far as I can tell. Third, they have clients drop them all the time, so they are used to it.

 

[REWahoo]

What is a VUL? I didn't see it listed in the usual acronyms post.

Variable Universal Life Insurance (VUL) Definition | Investopedia

 

[tulak]

I always get a chuckle about the bad blood statement. First of all, it's your blood that the vampires have been sucking on. Second, they don't seem to feel too bad about bleeding you to death all these years as far as I can tell. Third, they have clients drop them all the time, so they are used to it.

+1

You should have bad blood towards your friend since he's been taking a significant chunk of your money.

 

[Walt34]

I always get a chuckle about the bad blood statement. First of all, it's your blood that the vampires have been sucking on.

Very well put. I'll remember that one.

 

[samclem]

How do you all consider Ameriprise?

They are terrible. Their fees are high and they will put you in funds that will also have high fees (and they get a cut, including your friend).

He's been doing about 7.5% per annum nominally with my money since 2009 by buying companies right before they get bought out/merge.

That's not very good for thsi time period--so you paid him a lot in fees and also "paid" a lot of money in lost performance.

Your friend cannot outperform the market on a consistent basis by picking winning stocks. If he could do this consistently, he could just leverage his talents by using options and he would be fabulously wealthy very quickly. But he can't, so he has to sell investments to friends at exorbitant fees and trade on their friendship to support himself.

I can't really pull my money out without causing bad blood

After you figure out how much this is costing you (and it is a lot), do yourself a big favor and just cut the tie to him and do your investing yourself. It's not hard, and you've hit on a great resource here. Then, just mail your friend a check every month for 1/2 of the amount Ameriprise was costing you. You'll still save lots of money, your friend will be making bit more money, and, best of all, the nature of your relationship will be entirely transparent and above board.

 

[Debinnov a]

My Ameriprise advisor sold me an annuitized life insurance product years ago in an IRA that was invested in market. I did not really need or ask for an annuity or life insurance. I lost just over 50% in 2009 ($100k) and never once heard from him. When I finally got a hold of him and was frustrated with the loss, he actually said to me - "well the good news is you purchased a rider that will keep the death benefit at the $200k mark although cash value is now under $100k." So, in other words, when I die, there will be an "up side". I'm in the process of transferring what is left (I moved to cash when I lost more than 50%) to Vanguard.

I dont know how these guys sleep at night.

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[cooch96]

Alright, I'm convinced. I see the light and will switch my funds to vanguard ASAP. But don't feel too sorry for me, I made thousands more than leaving it in a bank, and buying companies before merger was a lot more fun than sitting on a fund with way better odds than a state lotto.


Why be normal when you could just be yourself.

 

[ziggy29]

Alright, I'm convinced. I see the light and will switch my funds to vanguard ASAP. But don't feel too sorry for me, I made thousands more than leaving it in a bank, and buying companies before merger was a lot more fun than sitting on a fund with way better odds than a state lotto.

Well, when we see the "A" word around here the red lights start flashing and the klaxons start sounding, so....

 

[youbet]

He's been doing about 7.5% per annum nominally with my money since 2009 by buying companies right before they get bought out/merge.

This would definitely not be the normal, routine Ameriprise scenario. Typically, Ameriprise FA's put people in load funds with high ER's and try to sell them annuities. They don't function as brokers getting clients in and out of individual equity opportunities.

I know it is possible to have a brokerage account and trade equities, etc. with Ameriprise but I've never run into anyone who has had one before. You may be dealing with a situation that our other Ameriprise threads or comments you'll receive here don't relate to.

Personally, I'm not a fan of having a "broker," Ameriprise or other. Years ago I had an account with Payne Webber and received trading advise (likely mostly churning but a few excellent selections for me) but I've gone DIY and plan to remain that way.

OP, or anyone, please comment on the "brokerage" account side of Ameriprise if you have any familiarity. This as opposed to the normal load funds and annuties salespeople we're all familiar with and like to jump on.

 

[ziggy29]

Personally, I'm not a fan of having a "broker," Ameriprise or other. Years ago I had an account with Payne Webber and received trading advise (likely mostly churning but a few excellent selections for me) but I've gone DIY and plan to remain that way.

I'm not a fan of ever having a financial relationship with any planner or fund manager where their compensation wasn't directly related to the performance of my portfolio. In a traditional brokerage arrangement their compensation is only related to the number of trades they can churn, and bears no real relation to the portfolio they are helping to advise.

For non-DIY types I don't see a big problem with a good fee-only planner/advisor whose fees are based only on a reasonable percentage of your assets (they get paid more when you make more and less when you lose money), but I think most of the folks here are a lot more hands-on and comfortable managing their own money, of course.

That said, sometimes people can get lucky. In the late 1980s and very early 1990s I worked with a guy who had a fair bit of money with a broker who encouraged him to invest in a (then) little-known company called Amgen. Needless to say, if he stayed the course he's a millionaire many times over by now.