Ameriprise??

B

Broland

Dryer sheet aficionado
Joined
Jul 14, 2015
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49
Location
SoCal
Has anyone had experience with Ameriprise? I met with one of their senior advisors (very experienced guy) and he was walking me through some of their investment programs. They have some very interesting programs with impressive upsides while minimizing downsides.

I've never paid advisor fees and he indicated theirs would be "less than 1% all-in" which don't seem too bad for the services they provide. For all those who wanna respond with "if it's too good to be true ..." don't bother. Just interested in people's experiences in dealing with Ameriprise. Thanks.
 
Broland said:
... They have some very interesting programs with impressive upsides while minimizing downsides. ...
Click to expand...
Did he also have snake oil and eternal life cream for sale? Run.
 
I am a former FA. I have worked for ML, Smith Barney, Fidelity and Schwab over a 25 year career.

I would strongly suggest you stay far away from Ameriprise. Nearly every Ameriprise client that walked into my office to transfer their account held expensive managed accounts and annuities. And none of them truly understood the true cost of their investments.

Vanguard PAS or Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium is all you need if you need allocation and investment guidance. Good Luck.
 
1% doesn't sound like much until you consider:

If you make 10% on your money (which you probably won't with Ameriprise), then their 1% fee is 10% of your gains.

If you want to follow the 4% rule, then their 1% fee is 25% of your draw.

In addition to the fees themselves, you will probably have higher taxes due to their general approach of putting you in a number of investments and then buying and selling them frequently. This active management, in addition to creating higher taxes, may add higher costs (12b1 fees, transaction costs, bid/ask spreads), and result in lower overall performance.

I will wager you a donut of your choice that the "senior advisor" who is "very experienced" does not have a CPA or an MBA or a CFP or a CFA. (If I'm wrong, let me know via PM how to send you the donut.)

Run.

(My total portfolio management costs are under 5 basis points annually. My 10 year rate of return is 14.5% as of 3/31/2021. I have made one transaction this year in total across my five investment accounts and own exactly two mutual funds across those five accounts.)
 
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I am a former Ameriprise customer. Through time, I educated myself on investing and finally saw how I was paying thousands of dollars per year in fees alone for their services. Not to mention the added expense of high-cost investments they had me in. Once I decided to leave them, I realized how difficult they made it for me to accomplish that. Multiple years later, I’m still stuck in one of their non-tradeable recommended investments.

I recommend you consider alternative solutions.
 
Thanks for the info (and past posts, which I read every one). Perhaps to add clarity, the programs I'm interested in are 100% equities (no annuities etc). Specifically, they have a couple of programs that have "triggers" on when to exit and enter the market(s). They're not 100% of course, but it's more scientific than I can predict.

I'm very happy with my investments, my strategies and returns. HOWEVER, I'm working on streamlining my life in all aspects and having (at least some) of my nest egg on autopilot without me needing to provide "parental guidance" would be refreshing!

I'm sure many will just say "ETF's", sit back and relax, but to-date, I've outperformed them for the past 10+ years and want to continue that trend ... without the effort!
 
Broland said:
Thanks for the info (and past posts, which I read every one). Perhaps to add clarity, the programs I'm interested in are 100% equities (no annuities etc). Specifically, they have a couple of programs that have "triggers" on when to exit and enter the market(s). They're not 100% of course, but it's more scientific than I can predict.

I'm very happy with my investments, my strategies and returns. HOWEVER, I'm working on streamlining my life in all aspects and having (at least some) of my nest egg on autopilot without me needing to provide "parental guidance" would be refreshing!

I'm sure many will just say "ETF's", sit back and relax, but to-date, I've outperformed them for the past 10+ years and want to continue that trend ... without the effort!
Click to expand...


The reason you "outperformed" is because you had a more concentrated portfolio than an ETF and hence you took more risk. Maybe M1 Finance has what you're looking for? Take a look at their site.
 
Broland said:
Specifically, they have a couple of programs that have "triggers" on when to exit and enter the market(s). They're not 100% of course, but it's more scientific than I can predict.
Click to expand...


I and many others on this forum would argue that any of us, including you, can predict as well as the so-called "experts". Sounds like they're using market timing as a reason to buy and sell (with the tax burden falling on the customer) and generate more fees.


If your desire is to streamline, look at things like the 3-fund portfolio or even a (low-cost) target date fund.
 
They sold my relative a mess of stinky Ameriprise annuities that cost a fortune when he passed away. Later they screwed up a large 1099 for a rollover they reported as a taxable distribution it cost me $5,000 to get it straightened out. My advisor jumped ship to go to another outfit operated through Fidelity and there were fights for our business with the newly appointed advisor. We fired everyone and moved everything to Fidelity. In hindsight, all of this and more caused me to join this forum and learn to manage it myself. I had no doubts that anyone could do better than these clowns did. And I have saved a small fortune in fees since I started doing just that.

Run like the wind.
 
If you are looking to outperform ETFs Ameriprise is not the place for you.

This senior Ameriprise would have more higher wealth clients if they worked for any of the better investment firms but they choose to work for a company with a horrible reputation? And they promise you they'll respect you in the morning too?

Trust me they're just sizing you up for the opportunity only meant for special clients.
 
Run, Forest, Run!!!

I was in the financial biz for my working life. Ameriprise (then IDS/American Express) was the only job I was ever fired from. Why? I could not meet there production levels. I was so-o-o-o-o glad they dumped me. I made more on unemployment benefits in a month than I made in the previous eight months. Got a great position after that and really started improving my financial situation.
 
My mother has been with Ameriprise for years after they bought out whoever she started with. The experience has been challenging the whole time. I've tried repeatedly to get her out of there but she liked the woman who was handling her account so she stayed. Finally, that woman got promoted and a new guy took on her account and she's had far more trouble ever since. Finally, she agreed to start transferring out her money little by little as bonds redeemed (she is 100% bonds with them). So every time she gets principal payments, I transfer them out and move them into her Vanguard account. I'm hoping that over the coming year we can pretty much empty out that account.


Stay away from Ameriprise. They are bad news.
 
If you are looking for validation to choose Ameriprise, this is not the right forum for you. They have a terrible reputation here and we’ve seen too many stories of people coming to this forum after having discovered how badly they are being ripped off.

If you don’t agree with this and still think it’s the right solution for you, it’s your money to do as you wish. But I would recommend you look elsewhere to have a discussion on it. Nothing sets the members of this forum on fire any faster than discussing hot topics like whether to go with Ameriprise, Edward Jones, the local guy at the bank that wants to sell you a fixed index annuity, and so on.
 
Broland said:
Specifically, they have a couple of programs that have "triggers" on when to exit and enter the market(s). They're not 100% of course, but it's more scientific than I can predict.

I'm very happy with my investments, my strategies and returns. HOWEVER, I'm working on streamlining my life in all aspects and having (at least some) of my nest egg on autopilot without me needing to provide "parental guidance" would be refreshing!
Click to expand...

Their programs and triggers will not beat the market over time, especially after adjusting for risk, fees, and taxes. If they claim it does (they will) then ask them for risk-adjusted, after fees, and after tax numbers proving it. They won't or can't provide those to you.

My nest egg, as I alluded to previously, is on autopilot as well, at 1/20th of the cost, minimal taxes, and zero additional fees. I don't get birthday cards, Christmas cards, or lunches, but I can buy those myself 1000 times over with the lower cost and better performance.

I did make one transaction earlier this year, and that was a regularly planned sale of stock in my taxable account to provide me with money to live on because I retired five years ago at age 46.

"Lethargy bordering on sloth remains the cornerstone of our investment style." - Warren Buffett, 1990. (<- You've probably heard of him, he's a pretty good investor.)
 
I had a good friend that was a FA for them. I meet with him one time and never charged me anything and reviewed my holding and had some very good advice for me. In the mean time, I found ER site and I have not had to ask anyone else another question how too, or what would be the route to go with my financing.

This FA did tell me to stay where I was at with my money and never once pressured or tried to convince me to do so. He did say he would always have an open door if I needed advice or service with him.

I have also heard some say they would not do business with Ameriprise. I have no reason why not thou.
 
Broland said:
Has anyone had experience with Ameriprise? I met with one of their senior advisors (very experienced guy) and he was walking me through some of their investment programs. They have some very interesting programs with impressive upsides while minimizing downsides.

I've never paid advisor fees and he indicated theirs would be "less than 1% all-in" which don't seem too bad for the services they provide. For all those who wanna respond with "if it's too good to be true ..." don't bother. Just interested in people's experiences in dealing with Ameriprise. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Run away and don't look back.
 
Broland said:
Thanks for the info (and past posts, which I read every one). Perhaps to add clarity, the programs I'm interested in are 100% equities (no annuities etc). Specifically, they have a couple of programs that have "triggers" on when to exit and enter the market(s). They're not 100% of course, but it's more scientific than I can predict.

I'm very happy with my investments, my strategies and returns. HOWEVER, I'm working on streamlining my life in all aspects and having (at least some) of my nest egg on autopilot without me needing to provide "parental guidance" would be refreshing!

I'm sure many will just say "ETF's", sit back and relax, but to-date, I've outperformed them for the past 10+ years and want to continue that trend ... without the effort!
Click to expand...

Then you've been lucky and/or have taken more risk than the index funds.

Just take what the market provides: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads®_investing_start-up_kit
 
FA's in general get a bad rap here (unless they are fiduciaries, used for events rather than a constant AUM agreement), but Ameriprise is nearly universally cited as one of the bottom of that dubious pile.

You can get that autopilot with a bogle lazy portfolio at Vanguard or Fidelity for 0.05% or less.
 
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