Ameriprise Financial, Inc. is the modern name for what started off as the brokerage branch of American Express Financial Advisors (AEFA), a subsidiary of American Express Company–the charge card company. In 2005, American Express launched AEFA as an independent company. The company’s headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The company has been known by various prior names, including IDS. It marketed the “golden” American Express name, using the name American Express Financial Services. There have been some serious and significant regulatory actions against the company, which may have led to its spin-off from American Express in 2006.
Ameriprise Financial states it has three million individual, business and institutional clients and more than $500 billion in assets “owned, managed and administered by the firm”. It has had over 12,000 representatives, ranking it as the third largest sales force in the U.S. securities industry. It also claims to have the largest number of Certified Financial Planners, is one of the fastest-growing annuity providers, and that its insurance subsidiaries combine to make it the nation’s 18th largest life insurance company.
