Is Ameriprise any good?

[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]

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]

update

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[FinanceDude]

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.

I think you are confusing "fee-based" with "hourly fee" advisors.........

 

[laurence]

Well, I had only differentiated "fee" and "commission" based FA's in my mind. Yes, hourly.

EDIT: Hey, I was giving you props and you gotta correct me Some thanks!

 

[amerijunk]

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.

No they don't work for free and they shouldn't. The problem I have with Ameriprise is that they give you the appearance of them giving you objective advice when in reality it's geared towards over priced prop products. Secondly, I can see making money but the stuff they peddle will send your portfolio to the slaughter house as they're skimming off you all along the way: in the front (planning fee, loads, over priced insurance), in the middle (quarterly AMP management fee, M&E charges, MF management fees), in the end (12b-1 fees). The other downside is the bulk of their advisors work is upfront putting together the plan* and then for doing nothing they skim off you for years.

*Don't really believe the plan is useful as it's a sales pitch to but prop products.

 

[deserat]

Sounds like USPA and IRA.......horror stories from over 20 years ago - still remember the confrontational (salesperson yelling at my husband and I) meeting - still seethe today when I think of it. Then husband realizing how much of the 'insurance and mutual fund money we put in was fees and not insurance or mutual fund.' Hard lesson learned, luckily early on.

 

[Gumby]

Sounds like USPA and IRA.......horror stories from over 20 years ago - still remember the confrontational (salesperson yelling at my husband and I) meeting - still seethe today when I think of it. Then husband realizing how much of the 'insurance and mutual fund money we put in was fees and not insurance or mutual fund.' Hard lesson learned, luckily early on.

I believe they are called First Command now, but they are still peddling the same junk.

 

[Miss_Lala]

Can anybody tell me what a "wrap fee" is? My mother just found out that Ameriprise is charging her that as well, and neither of us has any idea what it is.

Thanks!

 

[Sarah in SC]

Wrap fees, I was wondering when we'd get there...Finance Dude, you tell her! In short, wrap fees are a great way to make it really hard for you to figure out how much they are making off of your account. Blech!

And gawd, do not get me started on First Command, I sat next to a guy at a CFP review course from there last week and could hardly eat my lunch thinking of how they rip off the military guys. Geez, and don't get me started on the "Merrill rule"...
Sarah

 

[Achiever51]

Can anybody tell me what a "wrap fee" is? My mother just found out that Ameriprise is charging her that as well, and neither of us has any idea what it is.

Thanks!

A wrap fee is an amount charged to a client of an investment advisor for several services wrapped together, such as portfolio management, asset allocation, custodial services, execution of transactions, and preparation of quarterly performance reports. The wrap fee is calculated as a percentage of net assets in the clients account rather than on transactions. Traditional wrap programs typically charge wrap fees of 1-3%.

In other words, Ameriprise looks at the account value each year and deducts some amount from it for these "wrapped" services. The problem is, the fee is deducted even if you had no transactions during the year -- the wrap fee continues year after year...a steady negative impact on your bottom line. In most cases, IMHO a wrap fee is a bad idea!

 

[amerijunk]

Can anybody tell me what a "wrap fee" is? My mother just found out that Ameriprise is charging her that as well, and neither of us has any idea what it is.

Thanks!

A wrap fee is what Ameriprise charges you each year to supposedly manage your account. More than likely, you pay them for the plan then you implement the plan and then you never hear much from them yet they still charge you a yearly wrap fee. The wrap fee is a yearly percentage that is charged on a quarterly basis based on the average balance for that quarter so say the wrap fee is 1.5% and the average daily balance is 100k, for that quarter you'll pay approximately 100k x .015/4 or $375. This is in addition to the mutual fund management fees and 12b-1 fees. As you can see, this'll drain your account over time and cost you come retirement. Ameriprise takes their cut whether you make money or lose money. These fees are no good.

 

[RhodyGreg14]

A wrap fee is what Ameriprise charges you each year to supposedly manage your account. More than likely, you pay them for the plan then you implement the plan and then you never hear much from them yet they still charge you a yearly wrap fee. The wrap fee is a yearly percentage that is charged on a quarterly basis based on the average balance for that quarter so say the wrap fee is 1.5% and the average daily balance is 100k, for that quarter you'll pay approximately 100k x .015/4 or $375. This is in addition to the mutual fund management fees and 12b-1 fees. As you can see, this'll drain your account over time and cost you come retirement. Ameriprise takes their cut whether you make money or lose money. These fees are no good.

Is this something that only Ameriprise does?

 

[amerijunk]

Other companies charge wrap-fees as well. There's a chart on this early-retirement.org site that shows how these wrap fees can take a big bite out of your retirement.

While I don't have a problem with companies charging for their services, the problem I have with Ameriprise is that they're charging you for non-objective advice. The mutual fund companies that pay Ameriprise the most to be listed will be moved to the top of the "preferred list" so what you have is Ameriprise is charging you for a plan and then the funds they chose for you are based on whoever pays AMP the most and on top of that they charge you a wrap fee each quarter.

 

[Miss_Lala]

woohoo!

As of this morning, the funds from Ameriprise have been completely transferred into my new Vanguard account. Good riddance!

 

[travelover]

As of this morning, the funds from Ameriprise have been completely transferred into my new Vanguard account. Good riddance!

Nice job. How are your folks leaning?

 

[Miss_Lala]

Nice job. How are your folks leaning?

The verdict is still out. They weren't listening to what I thought, so I sent an article about what fees can do to your portfolio and that got them thinking. The problem is that they really like the guy. They've had him or his mother as an FA for over 15 years and feel loyalty. I will still try and get them to move to a better place, though.

 

[FinanceDude]

The verdict is still out. They weren't listening to what I thought, so I sent an article about what fees can do to your portfolio and that got them thinking. The problem is that they really like the guy. They've had him or his mother as an FA for over 15 years and feel loyalty. I will still try and get them to move to a better place, though.

As long as you are committed to helping them, things should work out. Your parents are more trusting with their personal finances than mine were.................