Ameriprise Financial Reviews

by Francis Honor, 2/25/2023

Pros: Ask them as they will talk you asleep

Cons: Still a company actively ripping off its clients

A class action lawsuit may be the only way to settle the complaints. Any lawyers interested in starting this up? There will be no lack on evidence in the case.

by Ar Hue, 2/25/2023

Pros: very nice to talk with

Cons: did not work to increase our account value, just to keep our account open as we continued to lose money

$370K account became a $250K account over 5 years, during which the S&P rose by 43%. We would have been much better off to have kept our money far far away from Ameriprise. One star is too good for this company.

by David Roe, 2/21/2023

Pros: none

Cons: Self serving and do not work for you

Just have to say I suffered same financial loss as "Bernadette" who recently commented this site. Ameriprise in located in suburb of Philadelphia advised buying CNL Reit investment using IRA fund money. I invested 25 K in this fund with Ameriprise agent saying it will provide continuous steady returns. Found out after years, there is no way to sell this fund until they make a sale offer. Even when you die you can't liquidate this investment; even your estate will be stuck with the Reit. Recently an offer was made and Reit now only worth 40% of the 25K. I had to sell it because no guarantee that I would ever get rid of it. To add insult, the 10,000 capital loss is not reportable as a capital loss due to it being funded from IRA money. Double hit! What financial idiot would ever recommend such an investment! So unethical! I was a real sucker and trusted Ameriprise. They made lots of money off of the fees with the Reit and I lost about 15K.

by G.E. Markham, 1/30/2023

Pros: None

Cons: Unbelievably stressful company to work with

You will ALWAYS, no matter what time of day, be on hold for a minimum of a half-hour, up to an hour. Ameriprise has taken so much time out of my life. I took in my elderly parents 6 years ago. I have dealt with multiple companies where my dad had investments. I have dealt with banks and with the military. Ameriprise earns #1 in aggravation. They would not accept any forms that my father put into place while he was of sound mind. Forms that were done by him, in person, at a legal firm. When changes needed to be made with Ameriprise, they required that my dad sign their particular Power of Attorney forms. He was physically disabled and was in mental decline. But for his protection, they wanted him to sign new forms with a notary present. Legal forms he drew up with a lawyer while in good health were less protective than requiring him to sign papers in bad condition with a $50 notary? They actually open up the possibility of elderly people being taken advantage of with a practice like this. Not protecting them and making sure their designated Power of Attorney has to abide by their original paperwork is dangerous. I may not understand the legalities, but no other company required this. Both of my parents have since passed. It took me one week to settle affairs with other firms. It has taken months to finalize things with Ameriprise. I am fed up with waiting on hold for the department that I do not need. They couldn't even give me a direct number to the Estate Settlement department after my mom's passing. During such a difficult time, when your parents have died, they just caused more grief. When I did speak with Estate Settlement, the woman gave me no information at all about how they would handle the closing of the account. I foolishly assumed it would be simple like it was with the other companies. And each beneficiary cannot take care of things online. Each one of them has to call Ameriprise. I warned them to get a snack and enjoy the wait. The poor guy at the end of the road for me was forewarned that I was at wit's end. He did not handle my frustration in a way that diffused my anger. He literally made it so much worse. I have been in customer service all my life. They can speak to you like they are on Prozac, but what you really need is for them to actually pick up the phone and solve a problem in some reasonable amount of time, in some reasonable way. Stay away from Ameriprise. Worst experience ever.

by BERNADETTE C HILL, 1/10/2023

Pros: None

Cons: Deceitful

Sold us a REIT, got their commission, then washed their hands of us. We then had to deal with this "alternative investment" company BUT Ameriprise had the audacity to charge us a fee for "managing" this account. We could no longer access our money, god only knows who actually has it, but basically it was no longer ours. Recently we have been given the "opportunity" by a third party to sell our REIT shares to them. Instead of the $1084 listed on the latest Ameriprise statement, we could get $187. This we will do just to get rid of Ameriprise once & for all.

by Sonya Harmany, 12/17/2022

Pros: NONE

Cons: Too many to list here

People, read all the experiences provided by former clients. Believe them! High fees and commissions; agents have no shame when they lie right to your face and/or hide the truth by talking you into a coma. Wake up and take care of your financial fate - don't trust ameriprise agents with your future!

by Terri, 10/22/2022

Pros: None

Cons: Work in their best interest NOT yours

Horrendous experience. One star is too high. They recommended the mutual funds that made them the most money. Whenever I asked about fees, commissions etc that I was paying they side stepped the questions no matter how many times I asked verbally or in writing. Never got an explanation or an answer. When I finally realized I was being taken advantage of & ripped off, his comment was, "You may not have made money, but I made a lot off of you". I was with this man for like 15 to 20 yrs because I thought I could trust him but he took advantage of that trust and my financial ignorance. I reported him but they are investigated by their own agency - can you say conflict of interest. In case you can't guess, they did nothing.

by Mike Oliveri, 10/19/2022

Pros: Absolutely nothing to say here

Cons: Will ruin your early retirement chances, you will work till 80 to pay for their commissions

Totally agree with John D, 10/16/2022 comments. Recently with agent in suburban Philadelphia location and cannot understand how they are still in the financial advising business. Their advise will drain your future with high cost annuity type products.

by John D, 10/16/2022

Pros: Good at Deceiving

Cons: All

After 3 years of being fooled by all the fake politeness, I got out of Ameriprise except they will not release a $150 thousand dollar annuity without a tremendous loss.
They are NOT a company that I would recommend to anyone. Before the pandemic I asked them about selling some investments and reinvest later after the market dropped so their reply was “This virus won’t affect the economy”
They constantly wanted me to buy annuities and open multiple additional investments that charge monthly fee’s between $25-$50 a month and never disclose the additional charge fee’s.
Right before the Ukraine war started they wanted me to invest more of my personal saving’s. I asked don’t you think the possibility of a looming war this would be risky time and a bad decision? His reply was “ The war won’t have any affect on the economy” !!!!
During the next 3 month’s I was trying to get out, I lost about $150,000 in investments. I WAS at my goal to retire and they knew it but that made nothing to them. All they wanted was more money even after my tremendous loss !!
My advise is STAY AWAY and if you are using them GET OUT ASAP .

by Steve, 10/3/2022

Pros: They have a good sales pitch

Cons: Ameriprise is not there to help you

I have now helped 3 family members and 1 friend exit Ameriprise.
For those already with Ameriprise, you cannot leave easily.
-Compare your statement with a friend who has Vanguard or Schwab
-Try to understand what your fees are
-Get on Yahoo finance and compare your funds to an equivalent VG/Schwab/Fid
-Pay close attention to expense ratios
-Stay away from annuities (annuities are a high commission products)

by Kai Somerton, 7/5/2022

Pros: Are you kidding?

Cons: Self serving with limited financial knowledge except for Ameriprise funds

Everyone should take a look at their financial statement from Ameriprise. It is very complicated and made that way on purpose. It never tells you what the costs are of the funds they have you invested in. This they do not want you to know because you will realize you are paying 10 to 20 times what is charged by similar vanguard or fidelity funds. Ameriprise funds can only make any financial gains during times of economic prosperity. At all other times they are flat performers. Sad but when the funds are flat or loosing, the agent still makes money off of your hard earnings.

by anthony bartel, 6/17/2022

Pros: Brokers are usually young and aggressive to get your funds invested

Cons: Investments are in Ameriprise accounts that at flat performers with high fees

I have had several Ameriprise advisers due to my frequent change of locations. Without a doubt they have all been very aggressive about getting my funds and investing them as quickly as possible in Ameriprise featured funds. Over time these funds are flat performers but go negative due to the high fund fees and costs. It is really a shame that Ameriprise hires all these reasonably nice people and turns them into fund/money grabbing "squirrels". They act like they care about you but they truly hide the facts and actually get mad if you question their investment strategy, All I can say is "run forest run". Get out of Ameriprise as fast as you can.

by H. Hunt, 4/14/2022

Pros: Gives me a nice calendar every year.

Cons: Too good at giving you the "Big Lie" concerning your finances

I am getting out of Ameriprise as soon as feasible. With all the stuff going on I am taking a serious hit with the market. Sad thing is that not only do I take a market value loss I still get charged the crazy fund/index fees for the Ameriprise investments. Fees are at least 10 times what Fidelity charges. They are charging me to loose money; no wonder my agent doesn't seem concerned. Why should he be.

by William Spense, 4/12/2022

Pros: Unbelievable talented at persuasion

Cons: Organized system of ripping off clients

All thanks to Tim O, 4/6/2022 for telling a real story of what Ameriprise does to its clients. Please more people tell your story. Many people just let Ameriprise run their portfolio and are unaware of how bad it performs compared to self-managed funds like Vanguard or Fidelity. My goal was to retire when I was 55 but thanks to Ameriprise I had to work until I was 71. Now I am old and sick with little life years left. Wish I would have learned about Ameriprise's system of failure earlier. Sad, real sad.

by Tim O, 4/6/2022

Pros: Seriously Not One

Cons: Crooks

This is an update since my 2019 review and discontinuation with Ameriprise after 15 years of service. I went self directed and exceeded my Ameriprise total net gain (15 years worth) in year 1, repeated this in year 2, and yes repeated this again in year 3 with simple low cost index funds. I realize I had good market years, but Ameriprise also had many. Roger Kash and Cory Nesmith, Richmond, VA you should be ashamed of yourselves. How can you possibly look your spouses and kids in the face with respect. A crook is a crook, whether what you’re doing is legal or not. I’d be retired already if I never met you crooks. P.S. Make sure you tell you kids you screw others for a living. Ughhhh Ameriprise Sucks!,,,,

by Marcia Colon, 3/16/2022

Pros: Advisors make money

Cons: You don't

Just got out of the horrible CNL Properties investment my Ameriprise advisor sold me. Great deal! I invested 16K and after 12 years I was lucky to get out of it with 7K left. If you dont know, this is a Reit investment that makes Ameriprise 8% a year and you nothing. All principle gets eaten away and this investment is not liquid, i.e. can't get out of it unless shares are bought out. I am in my 80's now and had to sell when the low offer was made because this investment is not sellable even when you die. Unbelievably unethical that Ameriprise would sell this kind of looser to its clients.

by Pat Bowman, 3/1/2022

Pros: None

Cons: Dishonest

Unethical, sneaky, cruel, disgusting

by Steve K, 2/15/2022

Pros: Have many products to offer

Cons: Sale/fee oriented, Non-Fiduciary

Do yourself a favor and get several opinions on your financial picture and see how the various plans align with goals. I'd also add, do your own research as well. All firms are in business to make money, some do this with higher fees and products with embedded fees you'll never see. If something doesn't feel right to you, wait on making a decision. My experience was that my advisor churned/sold many funds he initially put me in causing me tax liabilities (albeit not huge) but the gains would have ben substantial had we just left the investments alone. At the end of the two years I spent with Ameriprise, I was no better off in one of the biggest Bull Markets in history. I paid them well with fees, got stuck with tax bills and had meager returns. I have since moved to a low fee firm and will do some of my own money management. Bottom line: Everyone needs to make money, its up to you how much you are willing to give them.

by Mark Cayman, 12/31/2021

Pros: Well organized sales cult

Cons: Personable agents who will win you over

Regarding my experience using Ameriprise Financial - I learned not to put all trust in someone else. I will never give someone else control over where goes. Learn at least the basics of investments so the Ameriprise agent does not "snow" you when talking about investments. Really, it is not "rocket science". There is no need to pay high funds fees with Ameriprise investments. When the Ameriprise fund earns less, it is a bad investment compared to Fidelity or Vanguard. The only reason the Ameriprise investment will recommend a fund is because they are making money on fees. The agents challenge is to recommend funds that pay them the most are just palpable enough for you to stomach them and not notice you are bent over with no lubrication.

by Paul, 12/2/2021

Pros: Great at writing 5 star reviews for themselves on this site

Cons: Poor investment choices, very high fees, not fiduciaries for their clients

It seems that one person wrote many of the recent glowing tributes about Ameriprise after reading the reviews from the clients that appear earlier. Keep these things in mind when dealing with Ameriprise Financial: 1) The advisors you’re working with are incentivized to sell you Ameriprise investment and insurance products which creates an inherent conflict of interest as these may not be in your best interest as the client. 2) Ameriprise fees are among the highest in the industry across the board which constantly cuts into the value of your portfolio. Ask your advisor to disclose ALL the fees (including the imbedded fund fees and the rider charges on annuities) associated with your account; you may be very surprised at how much of your money is going to Ameriprise instead of remaining with you.
The Ameriprise financial plan is a vehicle to sell its own products. Every recommendation is accompanied by an Ameriprise product pitch for that component. Before accepting any of these do research and see how those products rate in the industry from independent sources. You'll find the products you're being offered rarely if ever provide the best returns.
If you really want a financial plan, work with a fee-based fiduciary advisor; those advisors will work with you to create a plan based on your priorities and risk tolerance to maximize your returns without having a vested interest in selling you a single company’s offerings; especially the poorly performing ones offered by Ameriprise.

by Billy G, 11/20/2021

Pros: None

Cons: None

All the 5 stars are people that work for Ameriprise. That’s unbelievable, isn’t it a tad odd that 5 stars and no con. Not believable at all. Should not be allowed

by Richard Klingerman, 11/9/2021

Pros: Personable. Experienced. Understand investments, retirement and the big picture

Cons:

My advisor helped me retire earlier than expected and helped me understand what I needed to retire and leave my money/properties to my kids the right way. I was so confused and he helped clarify my situation for me and help me understand how the stock market works and the actual risks involved. I was recklessly invested and feel foolish looking back. Oh man do I wish I met my advisor 15 years ago. I would be so much wealthier, smarter, and confident with my decision. I would have made SO many decisions differently. It breaks me to see so many people with bad experiences on here that make my guy look bad when it really depends on each individual person! I recommend Ameriprise to all as a company but you need to know your personal advisor as well.

by R. Guiliani, 9/29/2021

Pros: Real financial advisors, honest and caring

Cons: none

I recently had the opportunity to work with professional agent from Ameriprise. He was polite, professional and on top of his game. He made me aware of options available I had not considered while laying out a solid foundation for continued growth. I can't say enough about him, his can-do attitude and reliable service. Thanks Ameriprise.

by Cullen Bellemore, 7/26/2021

Pros: Ameriprise agents are good at writting positive reviews on this site

Cons: Practiced presentations that are well coached with your money as the target

If you think Ameriprise has your best interest in mind, ask them to sign a fiduciary agreement!

by Gary Sanchez, 7/2/2021

Pros: The BEST out there

Cons:

Smart, know finance, and are able to understand taxes. Our advisor was able to point out all the areas our previous one time consultant made mistakes. He helped us realize we could be saving so much with taxes and helped create a great investment portfolio for us. Get yourself a REAL advisor. Actual human that knows his stuff.

by Vince Porter, 6/27/2021

Pros: Finance experts, smartest of all, and quality recommendations

Cons:

As someone who studied finance, I understand the art and the science that goes into financial planning and these guys get it! They completely restructured my portfolio and gave me something way less volatile than what I had but my returns were still very strong! They taught me about insurance as great financial instrument to use. They are quality. Always beware of those financial advisors that are so quick to just throw you into a single mutual fund and then ignore you or provide insurance without reaching what it is. That’s what my JP Morgan advisor did to me. Ameriprise is leader in financial planning and financial education. Thank you! I feel more confident with my Ameriprise advisor and my returns have been higher too!

by Rosa Santos, 6/24/2021

Pros: Experts in Retirement and Investment Planning

Cons: Underappreciated company

Ameriprise has been the best experience. This is the type of service every financial advisor should provide to their clients. I was with Vanguard and they sucked compared to this firm. These advisors are actual financially geniuses. Not a bunch of college kids in a call center giving terrible generic advice like Fidelity and Vanguard did with me. Never going to leave Ameriprise.

by Frank Keller, 6/15/2021

Pros: Fiduciaries, educators, and competent

Cons:

Best financial planning and advise firm. They understand estate strategies. They understand investments and financial planning. They understand insurance. They understand taxes. 10/10

by Judy Wilson, 6/14/2021

Pros: Smart, Informative, Trusted

Cons:

I switched from Vanguard to Ameriprise and.. WOW. The level of expertise and advice is incomparable. Highly recommend an Ameriprise advisor.

by Leo Burns, 6/11/2021

Pros: Best Advisor I’ve Worked With

Cons:

I’ve worked with a lot of advisor, from the terrible “low-fee” advisors to RIAs, and my Ameriprise advisor has been the best advisor. You get what you pay for. All these comments about fees being high are from people who want good service, advice, and recommendations, but they want it for free, and can’t wrap their heads around why their portfolios are terrible and Fidelity just connects them with a call center filled with newly graduated college kids that don’t know a thing about investing and CERTAINLY not financial planning (completely different things). If you’re serious about financial planning, investing, and retiring confidently, see an advisor from Ameriprise. They are known for financial planning. Not these sweatshop brokerages where you are just a number so they control your assets and leave you in the dark thinking you are saving money… what a joke. I get a feeling some of these comments are from competitors. Thank you Ameriprise for all that you have done for me.

by Ramona Ceaman, 6/10/2021

Pros: Nice and personable

Cons: Charge high fees resulting in less earnings/gain over time

Most of the people that use Ameriprise seem to like their advisor. This is by design. They are sales people first and advisors second. True, they are nicer and contact you more than other financial advisors but adversely you will make less money on your Ameriprise investments due to high fees and fund operating percentages. It can amount to some serious money loss over time. But if you want to hire someone to call you frequently, use Ameriprise. If you want to make more money, use an advisor that invests in low fee funds. Do your homework. Compare fund cost percentages and performance. Just because a fund charges a high fee doesn't mean it will make you any more money.

by Christine Garcia, 6/9/2021

Pros: Top service and top advice! 10/10

Cons: Zero

I absolutely love my advisor from Ameriprise. My sister is with an Ameriprise advisor in Florida and she feels the same! Love, love, love them! This firm is for sure the industry leader in service. They are so caring and really take the time to teach and explain. They even loop in experts when I requested without hesitation, showed me proof when I was in doubt, and took the time to educate. I was with Wells Fargo before and WOW. They DID NOT call me as often as my Ameriprise advisor or try to meet with me or explain to me what the F they even had me in. The old school banks have to up their standards. Ameriprise = quality advice and recommendations!! 10/10

by Judy Kies, 6/6/2021

Pros: Very insightful and helpful

Cons:

It’s true when they say, “you don’t know what you don’t know.” I started working with my advisor a few years ago, and if it wasn’t for him, I would not be living as confidently and securely as I am now - especially after a terrible divorce!!! He taught me so much about what options are available to me and helped me feel confident and back on my feet once we got my finances in order. He helped me understand my taxes too. My CPA didn’t even do that!! Everything from soup to nuts with my investment portfolio to my medical directives and estate plan for my kids. I couldn’t be happier with my advisor.

by David, 5/23/2021

Pros: None

Cons: More so a group of Annuity Salespeople, from my experience.

More so a group of Annuity Salespeople, from my experience.

by David Johnstone, 5/21/2021

Pros: Great personal service and very educated about investments and planning

Cons: They have a lot of hate from people that don't understand

My Ameriprise advisor has literally changed my life around and my financial picture. People leaving negative reviews here DO NOT understand the difference between financial planning and advice compared to just opening your own account and trying to figure it out on your own... BIG DIFFERENCE. Investing the right way takes a science and an art. I have lost so much money trying to do what they do on my own in the past years. My advisor works hard for me, and yes, they are compensated for it. I have never been charged a fee that I was not aware of by my advisor. If your advisor sucks, GET A BETTER ADVISOR. Do not consider everyone bad because of some bad seeds. The company is just the resource the advisors are able to use to help you... you should be involved in every decision and the decision maker. That is how it is with me and my advisor and I can't be any happier..... I've experienced the other "advisors" at the brokerages. Terrible service, no care for the client.

by jim hall, 5/16/2021

Pros: none

Cons: charge too much

I started with American Express Financial Advisors back in 1999 and was charged $600 up front and told there would be no more fees involved. Ameriprise took over and started charging $20 per year (not a big deal) and said it covered all my funds (be aware my accounts were in the thousands of dollars range). Then they talked me into switching my 401K from the job I was leaving into their fund and I started getting charged an additional $20 a year for that fund too (once again in the low thousands of dollars) and they made the excuse that it was a different kind of fund and that's why the additional fee. Finally the straw that broke the camel's back was when they were going to start charging $100 per year for each fund so I closed my accounts (which they charged me $50 to do) and used the money to pay off credit card debt to save on the interest since that was actually in "my" best interest.

by Vance Everstone, 5/12/2021

Pros: Always there if you need to contact them

Cons: Highest fees, not fiduciary company

Ameriprise is not a fiduciary financial advisor. There investments put them first instead of your long term benefit. Examples of looser investments are: 1) real estate Reits 2) high cost/low cost annuities. 3) Riversourse insurances 4) Other obscure Ameriprise related stock funds. All are not the good performing low cost investments that produce the highest return for you in the long run. All are investments that produce the highest return for Ameriprise and the "Agent". Wish i had it to do over, I could easily have twice the income than with Ameriprise.

by Katherine Wu, 5/4/2021

Pros: 1) Your advisor is YOUR advisor 2) Lots of resources and help 3) leaders in ACTUAL financial planning

Cons: None

I currently work with an Ameriprise advisor in Los Angeles and he has been so so great. I am self employed so helped me with planning for my retirement, long term care, and education planning for my nieces and nephews. They always keep me updated with what is going on and I love the relationship we have. I can say that my advisor is like family to me. I prefer it this way. Definitely when it comes to handling my finances. My advisor also reviewed my father's trust and helped me set one up for myself too. I can not be more thankful. The type of service from my advisor at Ameriprise is nothing compared to what I was getting at UBS. My friends that are at Fidelity also do not get this type of attention or service so i am happy.

by Casey, 4/26/2021

Pros: Excellent client service. Real fiduciaries. Industry leaders in research and investment management. Very helpful in every way.

Cons: None really

I made the switch from Fidelity to Ameriprise and I couldn’t be happier and more thankful. The depth of the planning and advice I received from my Ameriprise advisor can’t be compared to anything I received at Fidelity or while I was with Vanguard. Amerirpise actually creates a custom plan for you and reviews your entire financial picture to help. And they check in with you too. My Amerirpise advisor taught me so much and how it all comes together. The client service with your own personal advisor can not be compared to calling a random advisor in a call center like where I was at before and it felt like they did not really care about you. The personal touch at Ameriprise can not be replaced.

by Arthur, 4/24/2021

Pros: Sharp, excellent customer service, experts in all areas, great advice, very knowledgeable, experienced

Cons: None

I thought I understood investments and would never pay a dime to an advisor, but I was an idiot for waiting so long. I love that I hired a financial advisor. There is so much I have learned from Sam (my Ameriprise advisor) and have made some great investment decisions thanks to his recommendations and guidance. Sam always checks in with me to share the latest and greatest investment research too. The amount of research his team does is incomparable to what I was doing for my own portfolio. Sam also took a look at my trust documents and helped me with reducing my taxes. I was shocked by how very well-rounded he is. I was even more shocked that my CPA didn’t think of the things my financial advisor thought of. He’s really been a savior, and I love all of the reads he shares with me too. You really do get what you pay for at Ameriprise. I highly recommend.

by Kevin, 4/11/2021

Pros: Our advisor is very knowledgable and did a great job in walking us through our options. He was not biased towards their own products and educated us on the pros and cons of the different recommendation alternatives. Our advisor also helped us strategize for tax and estate planning, which was an amazing help to us! So much we didn’t know that our CPA and estate planning attorney didn’t mention!

Cons: Not all advisors are built the same, but this is applies to every industry where the advisors/agents operate independently under a big name.

Our advisor has been great to us. We have learned so much from him. He has provided us with multiple financial plans over the years, helped us come up with solutions that we compared to other alternatives, which he went through and explained the differences. Just make sure your advisor is a CFP! The option for your investment choices is ultimately yours but the advisor has to be qualified enough to guide you. We are lucky that our advisor is very knowledgable in tax planning and estate planning as well. He has helped us in making big financial decisions (e.g., comprehensive analysis for lease or buy home and investment allocations and long-term care planning). He walked us through all of the pros and cons of each insurance option too and allowed us to ultimately pick what we were most comfortable with. Regarding the fees being high, that is all negotiable and they are honestly competitive. You are paying for the advisor’s time, advice, and service, so the negative comments below shock me. Good planning and advice costs a fee as with any other service. By saying to go to Fidelity or brokerages where you manage your own account without having the background or knowledge is the equivalent of recommending someone to remodel their own home because they don’t want to pay a contractor or to do their own taxes because a CPA is too expensive... but this is after consulting with a contractor or CPA for hours and being educated on the solutions and plan he’s come up with for you. Hospitals have good doctors and bad doctors. Real estate firms have good agents and bad agents. Understand your advisors credentials and background before settling with one. A background in finance and/or a CFP designation is must! Our advisor didn’t have it, but he was an exception due to his strong financial and insurance background.

by Lisa, 4/8/2021

Pros: None.

Cons: Told me what I wanted to hear but didn’t follow through.

I hired a “recommended” Ameriprise financial advisor. I paid several thousand for a financial plan upfront, with the agreement that if I liked the plan and his thought process, I would consider moving my 401k to their management. After 3 months and several meetings, the only plan I got included rough idea of asset allocation, an annuity I told him 3 times I didn’t want and an income producing combination of funds that Ameriprise put together. When I asked what funds that included, the answer was “the right ones for you”. I actually laughed. When the “advisor” told me I needed to rollover my 401k to him NOW, I said I was still waiting for a comprehensive plan, including a cash flow mapped out. He got mad, said I was playing around and offered to refund me. I jumped at the chance to get rid of him. Bullet dodged. He never should have said he’d do a financial plan and taken my money because he had no intention of producing one. Or maybe he didn’t know what a financial plan should include.

by Otley Simenson, 3/24/2021

Pros: None

Cons: Sells their products that have low returns with highest costs and commissions in industry

Totally agree with the comments posted by Peter, 3/17/2021. When there are so many low fee methods to invest money, i.e. Vanguard, Fidelity etc. there is absolutely no reason to get tied up with Ameriprise Financial. Now that I look back and see all the money I lost with Ameriprise it just makes me sick. I just got out of Ameriprise and I can already see the funds growing quicker with Fidelity low cost investments. It is really sad to see the carnage created by Ameriprise "self-serving" investments. If you are in Ameriprise, get out now!

by Peter, 3/17/2021

Pros: None I can think of

Cons: Excessive Fees, Poor Performance, Pushing Clients into High Commission Products

If you don't have your money invested with Ameriprise do yourself a favor and immediately switch to a Vanguard or Fidelity where you actually have the opportunity to make money for yourself instead of making your Ameriprise advisor even richer.
The entire goal of Ameriprise is to have you take your money out of any investment that it does not manage and move it into its portfolio of services which are overpriced and underperform. You will be steered to the products that make the advisors the highest commissions (think Riversource Annuities) and be told that this will secure your financial future with no discussions of the exorbitant fees associated with the annuity or your inability to move your money out of it without huge penalties once you figure out what a bad investment you've made.
How Ameriprise ever got the 4.5 out of 5 customer satisfaction rating it claims on the website is unbelievable considering how poorly its products perform compared to other investment firms. The majority of the reviews on this site provide the accurate picture of how Ameriprise really operates.

by Mitch Simpari, 2/27/2021

Pros: Not applicable

Cons: All agents are trained in the same methods to build/acquire your trust

It is just so sad to think of all the money people are loosing compared to investing in low cost funds such as fidelity, vanguard or similar. The Ameriprise agents have no compassion for this. They are successful at Ameriprise when they balance the garbage investments such as annuities, Reits and high cost funds to a point that you do not realize you are getting screwed. Just a shame.

by thomas andersen, 1/28/2021

Pros: none

Cons: Not working for you but for themselves

Ameriprise does not work your account for your benefit but for theirs. After many years of using Ameriprise (with several different agents) I came to realize that their method of concern is not about you but how they can manage and place your money to make them the most over the term. If you are already in Ameriprise I would recommend that you really take a hard, hard look at what they are doing to your accounts. Ask your agent to give you in writing what the costs, fees and commissions are for each investment. If they balk or overly discuss in anyway you can assume you are being screwed. You will undoubted learn that the commissions, fees and costs of your investments are extreme compared to investments like Fidelity, Vanguard. Ameriprise will try to tell you that you are paying more because the investments are closely managed and therefore they make you more. They will not tell you that the more they manage your funds the more they get in commissions, fees. Thus they win and you make less than market rate on your investments. If you want to make about 1/2 of what you would with other investment companies then stay with Ameriprise. They will smile and talk to you monthly if that is what you want.

by Daniel Dumile, 1/1/2021

Pros: Many around in most areas

Cons: Make more on your money than you do

Although Ameriprise/Agents are almost everywhere, if you search internet for "Best Financial Advisor Companies" Ameriprise is rarely listed. That should tell you something.

by Nicholas Gertz, 12/29/2020

Pros: Negative value

Cons: Use your money to make them big fees

Just looked at the REIT my Ameriprise agent put me in back in 2013. In seven years its value went from 15,000 down to 10,000. Ameriprise earns really high fees and commissions off of these accounts. If I would have put this money into a low fees diversified fund at fidelity or vanguard it would easily be worth double the amount; 30,000.00. What a looser! Also, almost impossible to get out of a REIT and if you do it could be at much less value i.e. 50%. I can' t sell the Reit even when I die, it requires an offering. Man, did my agent give me the shaft or what. He lives in a real nice house though.......

by D. Torok, 12/18/2020

Pros: None compared to other companies

Cons: Self-serving, secretive of their fees and commissions

Ameriprise makes it seem complex and confusing so that you feel you need them. You would be better just investing in a very low fee fund at Fidelity or Vangard. These funds are easy to self manage, diversified, have very low fees and will (without a doubt) grow at a better rate than paying ameriprise to muck it up. Check it out for yourself. Ameriprise tries to sell you annuities, Reits and other complex platforms that charge you up to 20 times the fees of a low commission Fidelity or other fund. It is a shame people don't realize this until they have lost lots of $$$ with ameriprise.

by MLR, 12/16/2020

Pros: None

Cons: I was a client for 20 plus years for the first 15 years they did made a return but the last 3 years they have not made a positive return drop they lost money after I paid $30,000 in fees.

Pass on Ameraprise.

by Ann, 11/29/2020

Pros: Got nothing here

Cons: They suck

They just suck, period

by Sidney Resamore, 11/23/2020

Pros: Creative in finding funds that make them high commissions

Cons: Avoid funds that are low cost and would make you money

Looked at my investments and found out Ameriprise commission rates about 10 - 20 times higher than similar investments with Fidelity. Performance with the Ameriprise investment was actually much worse than the Fidelity investments that had lower fees. Ameriprise said their funds were better because they were more closely managed than other investment funds. Really? Seems like Ameriprise is charging high rates so I can make less.

by James, 11/1/2020

Pros: None

Cons: Too Many To List.

Stay away from Ameriprise Financial. They focus only on one thing; making money for themselves. They care nothing for the client. They are fast talking spinners who convince you to invest in financial products that are inappropriate for you but make money for them. They push annuities constantly. And, REITS. Stay away from them. Please.

by Owen Anders, 10/14/2020

Pros: Arrogant, self serving (good for them)

Cons: Arrogant, self serving

This review is in response for comments posted by Jay, 10/12/2020. Jay, feel bad for you bud, unfortunately it happens far too often. What they did to you would be grounds for a lawsuit. It was truly unbelievable. I hope you hold them accountable. Concerned former Ameriprise client.

by Jay, 10/12/2020

Pros: Made some money for me in short time they permitted me to stay with them. CEO never met or corresponded with me, but has acknowledged me via e-mail since they asked me to leave.

Cons: Not completely informative; too much emotion; not flexible

I joined Ameriprise on a friend's recommendation for a managed account of mostly an IRA The trader immediately took my account, sold everything and invested virtually all in mutual funds without reviewing with me. I made some small recommendations for purchases, nearly all of which the trader declined to make since he "managed" my account. I learned much later through a third party he was following a "cookie cutter" account, and had little room for fluctuation.

They later recommended an annuity. Two days later when I came to the office I asked for a little more time to decide. The trader refused (suggesting later I was too nervous since I had asked to go to the men's room twice--which in actuality was a urological problem) and asked me to leave. I then received a very angry call from my financial advisor telling me to remove my accounts (which were in the higher six figures) ASAP. When they didn't all move for several weeks, I had to call Corporate several times...Corporate did take care of it but said I really didn't have to remove all my accounts if I hadn't wanted to, unlike what the advisor told me.

I did finally move to a brokerage firm that shows me a lot more respect and will let me even take an annuity from yet another firm or split my holdings. With Ameriprise it was either all or nothing. And what on earth they hoped to accomplish by telling me to leave is a mystery other than to let the financial person let off some steam. I am a 70+ year-old stroke survivor (not familiar with the market) and each day appreciate the kindness, respect, and dignity I'm getting from my new brokerage Firm and they seem to appreciate the business I've given them. And further, the new Firm has looked at all my finances and my life in general, and not only what I have in the market, and further, the new Firm[s fee is less than Ameriprise's.

On a positive note, the CEO of the Ameriprise franchise, who never met or corresponded with me while I was there (he said his staff kept him "informed"), has acknowledged me via polite e-mails and does seem to have a better temperament. And I did make some money in a rising market but am a long-term guy my current Firm assures me they will be kinder and i can stay forever (I asked for them to at least keep me a year minimum and they agreed.)

by Stan Rumel, 9/20/2020

Pros: They are good at selling financial products

Cons: The products they sell are costly in fees, commissions with moderate performance

One thing I can say about Ameriprise is that they ensure to keep in contact with you. In my case at least quarterly. They review all the accounts with you usually via teleconference, especially now with the Covid virus. The mistake I have made in my financial planning is that I did not compare what I would have made with other financial companies; Fidelity or Vangard for example. When I did this comparison, however, I learned that I was loosing a great deal with Ameriprise. The investment performance was lower than other investment companies. Additionally, the fees, commissions were significantly higher; up to 20 times higher than self managed Fidelity/Vanguard investments. I calculated that if I would have gotten rid of Ameriprise 15 years ago my account value would be double what it is today. Dont trust me though, do your homework and compare fees, commissions and performance of investments.

by Steve, 9/15/2020

Pros: Our Ameriprise broker analyzes our full financial picture, not just the money we have with Ameriprise. Our Ameriprise advisor and her staff are top notch, responsive and attuned to our accounts. Our advisor contacts us at least once every six months to address our overall finances (again, not just the money we have with Ameriprise).

Cons: None really

We have been pleased with the service and the progress of our investments. Our advisor has us very well diversified in stocks, municipal bonds, CDs, ETFs, mutual funds and cash. The fees are a little higher than some other firms, but we believe our advisor is working on our behalf and she takes her role as a fiduciary seriously. We inherited some money and asked our advisor for suggestions on how to invest the funds. Instead of taking our money to earn her more commissions, our advisor recommended we pay off our mortgage instead, so we did.

by John Chiriano, 9/1/2020

Pros: Nice personality, good actor, can talk you into anything

Cons: Does not work to help you but to make money for Ameriprise

Recent comments by submitters to this website continue to state how their Ameriprise financial adviser is nice and great to work with. Ameriprise routinely has the client rate their advisor which mostly questions how much they call and discuss your account. Isn't it amazing that they never ask about how you would rate "Ameriprise" on its financial performance such as comparing fees, service charges and commissions? This is because their strategy is to have the advisor strategically contact you so to re-emphasize how much they care about you and reinforce the feeling that your accounts are being well managed. The more they keep in touch with you the less chance you will research other investment companies and learn that Ameriprise charges 10 to 20 times what others do for fees, commissions. I wish everyone who uses Ameriprise just remember that it is not about the "advisor personality" or how nice he/she is, but about how well they perform financially. Important** dont believe what the Ameriprise Advisor tells you. Instead, evaluate their service charges, fees, commissions against the other leading investment companies. You will learn that you are getting ripped off by an advisor that is "nice".

by Russell Warren, 7/26/2020

Pros: Love the broker. Operates in my best interest and with head office messes up (as they do frequently) he handles it

Cons: None

Central Office systems are designed for the ease of the company, not the customer. Have been with them since 1986 and have pretty consistently found that to be true.

Think they know it. I frequently receive requests to evaluate my local representative who I love but in all of those years I have never been asked to evaluate the head office which develops the policy, the forms, and the systems. Just this past week I requested that a donation be sent directly from my account but their form does not include the designated use of the donation so I have to send the charity notice that it is coming and why. Earlier in the same week I was sent an auto sign for a $280K product Pretty easy to figure out how to sign. No so much figuring out how to see
what I was signing. At my request my representative sent me a hard copy so I could review it.

If they wanted to focus on customer service they could easily view their systems with that in mind. They don't, so it falls on the local rep to fit the needs of the client with the policies of the head office. Fortunately mine always does and without a whimper. They need to thoroughly analyze the customer orientation of USAA if they want to be at least adequate. If my rep retires I am out of there!

by Helen Franklin, 7/7/2020

Pros:

Cons: Joel van Hofwegen San Jose, refused to buy Amazon when I requested it, said it wasn't going anywhere. I switched to Ameriprise in MNN they lost my funds, never told me, I just found out today. I closed the account, but they really screwed me.

Sloppy communication, they lost one $1,000 check I wanted to invest. They couldn't care less. They finally found the check, lost for a month! Opportunity for the stock was lost. I demanded they buy the stock at the price on the date I had on that check . They refused. Cost me money because of their negligence. I closed the account, sloppy customer relations, sloppy firm.

by Albert Simmons, 6/22/2020

Pros: Broker doing their job

Cons: None - not their fault

The brokers are basically doing the job asked of them by Ameriprise. Unfortunately, Ameriprise charges high fees which ensures they make a profit even when the market goes into the dumps. Only thing I can recommend it to ensure you ask the Broker to give you the fees charged for every investment in writing; email is fine. You will be surprised how much you are paying for the investments. You may be more surprise to find out that Ameriprise is making more on your investments that you are. Check it out!

by ron, 6/12/2020

Pros: Very friendly and I can call him anytime I want.

Cons: Fees might be a little high.

Not making as much as I would like,but who is?

by John Tappan, 5/27/2020

Pros: Focus strongly on Ameriprise's values

Cons: Can vary based on educational background of advisor

Ameriprise Financial is a top company with a strong mission statement: "To help people feel confident about their financial future". The proof in their success is the high approval rating on its client - 4.5 out of 5. The financial advisors are well trained and skilled in making people feel better about the poor performance of their portfolio. This is only achieved by building a trust relationship. This advisor-client trust is key to the continuance of the business relationship. What other company would be able to maintain a relationship where almost all of its clients have no idea how much they are paying in investment fees and maintenance charges. In our current economic times Ameriprise has been able to advise clients where to invest their money so that money is always made for Ameriprise. All financial markets are down and many clients took a serious hit. The proof that Ameriprise Financial is the best is that most people will stay with them even though they are loosing money every single day. They can always say that they "feel confident" about their financial future with Ameriprise.

by Jim Cracchiolo, 5/17/2020

Pros: Ameriprise compensates its leaders well

Cons: None

Ameriprise is a great place to work. Its staff of financial advisors are well compensated despite having limited financial knowledge. It is great to be able to make money, i.e. 24 mil/year in an economy where all client are loosing their shirts. God Bless America

by Sonny Jenkins, 3/20/2020

Pros: None at all

Cons: Just looking out for themself

As I am loosing money in the CO-19 Virus market decline, my broker and Ameriprise are still making high commissions and charging excessive fees. For them it is a win- win.

by David Byron, 2/28/2020

Pros: I got nothing

Cons: Too many to list here

In a down market like we have now, your investments may drop up to 10% due to stocks dropping. Ameriprise, however, continues to charge you regular account fees, expenses and commissions in some cases up to 5%. They charge you whether your account goes up or it goes down. Nice to pay to loose money, isn't it? The fees they charge are up to 10 times what is charged by other investment companies such as Fidelity. Get out of Ameriprise as soon as you can!

by David Byron, 2/28/2020

Pros: I got nothing

Cons: Too many to list here

In a down market like we have now, your investments may drop up to 10% due to stocks dropping. Ameriprise, however, continues to charge you regular account fees, expenses and commissions in some cases up to 5%. They charge you whether your account goes up or it goes down. Nice to pay to loose money, isn't it? The fees they charge are up to 10 times what is charged by other investment companies such as Fidelity. Get out of Ameriprise as soon as you can!

by William, 2/18/2020

Pros: Professionals at making money for themselves - at your expense

Cons: Yes. They are cons

My widowed mother has been invested with them and has had the same adviser since 1990.

Two years ago, I asked if I could see her documentation from Ameriprise and was shocked to find that she was within two years of being broke! I requested the last three years of her records and found out why - sky high fees and mismangement that led to constant underperformance. In addition, her financial plan was so totally inaccurate, it was criminal - missing accounts, unrealistic projections, wrong account balances, nonexistent categories, even had her age wrong. Over the years, he had sold her annuities and was raiding those to keep his AUM commissions high. Plus annual fees for 'consultation' and additional fees to place her in load funds which were churned every three months. All tolled, her fees and commissions were between 2.5% and 3.5% annually. Since her account earned less than 5% annually this meant that Ameriprise took out over half of her income for themselves. Just totally disgusting and reprehensible.

I had a meeting with her adviser and pointed out the inaccuracies and inconsistencies. He told me I was wrong and I produced the document he had prepared himself and asked him to show me where the missing accounts were. He couldn't find them, but looked me in the eye and said 'trust me' they're in there. Yeah, sure they are, that's why you can't find them.

The last straw was when I looked at what her results would be if, instead of trusting her money with Ameriprise, she had placed the money in a balanced fund with Vanguard or Fidelity and had taken the same distributions over the last 17 years. Her account balances in either case would have exceeded one million dollars! Instead she was nearly broke. I convinced her to terminate the relationship and I now send her money to live on.

So if you decide to place your money with these crooks, instead of feeling secure at 85, be prepared to go on public assistance and eat dog food. How they are permitted to continue this practice legally is beyond me.

by Anthony Scarmonti, 1/24/2020

Pros: nothing here

Cons: Too many to list

Please read all the reviews listed here before deciding to use Ameriprise Financial Services. They tell a real story of their performance and ethical philosophy. Encourage current Ameriprise clients to list your opinion of their services honestly and for the benefit of potential Ameriprise clients.

by Justin Morrow, 1/15/2020

Pros: No positives to Ameriprise

Cons: Trained to sell you products that make money for themselves, your benefit is secondary

Stay away from Ameriprise Financial Services. If you make any money it is by chance and not by any skill they provide. Better off investing directly with low fee diversified stock funds. Fees are about 1/10 what Ameriprise will charge you.
If you decide to use Ameriprise, "may God be with you".

by Ron Stief, 1/10/2020

Pros: Very good at talking around your account poor performance.

Cons: Look at client as way to make money for themselves not the other way around.

Pick investments and funds that give them the most money in fees and expenses. Try to sell you investments from RiverSource which is part of Ameriprise. Fees are high and self serving to Ameriprise. Recommend you compare Ameriprise fees with other investment companies. You will be surprised how high Ameriprises fees are compared to others.

by Sandy Perlman, 1/4/2020

Pros: Absolutely nothing

Cons: Ameriprise is not a fiduciary company. This means that they are not required to advise what is best for you but instead advise on what gives them the biggest fees and commission.

1. If you are using Ameriprise ask your advisor for a list of all fees associated with you investments.
2. Compare the fees with other investments such as Fidelity
3. Take charge of the periodic meetings by asking tough questions about each investment. Don't let the advisor control your periodic meeting as he/she will spin you in circles.
4. Ask yourself, why do I need these people (Ameriprise) to invest my hard earned money. I could do much, much, much better going direct with Fidelity or other service.
5. If you currently use Ameriprise, compare each of your investments with fees against what you could have made with Fidelity investment or similar. You will be surprised how your Ameriprise investments make "unimpressive" gains but charge you several percentage points for fees and account maintenance costs.
6. Do yourself a favor and really investigate/compare with other companies. Your Ameriprise advisor will not come out and tell you how much you are loosing. They will hide reality with words and numbers making you think they know what they are doing.

by Andrew, 12/31/2019

Pros: Smiles while screwing you

Cons: Smiles while screwing you

Fees up the arse
Ginger Ewing put us in CNL reit illegally
Lost thousands
Stay away

by Jonathon Stolzfus, 12/27/2019

Pros: They do meet regularly with you and review things

Cons: Not fiduciary advisors; they look ar your investments as a way to make themselves more money not you.

Ameriprise pushes complicated variable annuities that have super high fees and costs. All giving them more money and you less. If you want to test your advisor, ask him/her to give you in writing the fees/costs associated with each of your investment. They will talk up a storm about the "value" of the fee but not the reality that you are paying more for a basic investment. Truth is that you can get more from dealing direct with Fidelity, Vanguard or other major investment firm. Ameriprise fees are several percentage points above Fidelity or Vanguard funds. This can amount to a serious loss to you investment over time.
They also will try to sell you a Reit boasting its long term benefit to your portfolio. Truth is that Reits pay the most to Ameriprise and for you almost no payback. In fact you may find yourself in a position where you are stuck with the Reit and cant even sell it due to the complex restrictions.
Also stay away from any insurance they try to sell you. The fees will eat you up and by your advisor a new boat.

by Ted, 11/1/2019

Pros: nothing I can think of

Cons: nickle and diming my account.

I have had a brokerage account for some 12 years. It was recently with a firm called IPI and they apparently sold or transferred the account to Ameriprise. Prior to IPI it was with another broker attached to my local bank and the bank changed brokers to IPI. Anyway, I had established this account about 12 years ago and about 10 years ago I set it up so that I would get $2000. draws each month deposited to my checking account. About a year ago Ameriprise took over the account and I have had nothing but trouble since. First, they didn't continue the $2,000. draws. I noticed about 2 months in that I was only getting $1500. deposited to my checking account. I called and was told that they would take care of it and then I got a notice that they had sold another $500. to complete the $2,000 draw, but they charged me a $6 transaction fee. I had never been charged such fees before and so I called about it and was told that it was because I had made a 'special sales request' when I had asked them to fund the regular and normal $2,000. I was assured that the fee wouldn't be on any future sales so long as they were a part of the regularly scheduled $2,000 draw. Well, guess what, I just happened to be looking at my statement and I'm still getting charged and they're trying to tell me now that some of these sales are not a part of my regular draw sales. I clearly explained that I have never, ever, ever requested any stock sales other than what my broker picks to sell to fund my $2,000 draw. Anyway, Ameriprise, for whatever reasons they'd like to claim is the problem, has not continued the good service that I've gotten for the past 12 years with my account.

I would not recommend them as a broker. Their service doesn't seem to come up to the standards I've received from other brokerage firms. Their customer service is abysmal.

by Sharon Davis, 6/19/2019

Pros:

Cons:

I have spent over 3 hours of cell time on the phone with all different departments with different employees and cannot get help.
Had I known it would have been this much trouble and HASTLE I would never have let them handle my accounts. Very disgusted!! I would not recommend this financial institution.AT ALL!!!

by Niles, 5/14/2019

Pros:

Cons: Clunky website - not great returns

I have 1% of my total retirement income invested with Ameriprise - and apparently that is 1% too much. I have *never* had as many problems with my other retirement accounts simply navigating the websites or transferring funds into my accounts. I am constantly locked out and then have to go through the automated phone option hell to try and get things resolved. Returns on my accounts have been nominal. I would rather skip all of this hassle and go with another firm.

by John B, 3/23/2019

Pros: Some local brokers are OK.

Cons: Mine never contacted me except to meet their minimum regulatory requirements.

I tried to close my account; Three times I submitted exactly what they asked for. I got "rejected" twice; the third time, they just ignored me. I have had to hire legal counsel to sue them to get my money out. Stay away.

by jckiowa, 3/15/2019

Pros: None

Cons: They failed to file properly with IRS, so we got a 39,000 tax bill!

In 2015 we consolidated all of our retirement accounts with one firm. No problems, until we tried to rollover our Ameriprise IRA. Took months of form filling, phone calls, their irrational demands for certain signatures, etc. Our new firm kept at them, and we finally received our funds. Thought we were finished with them until last December, 2018,, when we received a tax notice from the IRS for $39,000! Turns out Ameriprise had incorrectly filed the information with the IRS, and they thought we had cashed in the IRA rather than rolling it over. Luckily our new management firm had all the paperwork, which we submitted to the IRS. It took until last week to get an "all clear" from the IRS. Imagine getting a bill like that two days before Christmas!
Do not invest a dime with these inept people. Reading these complaints should be fair warning. If the company you work for employs them to manage your retirement funds, demand a change or an alternate firm.

by Nadia, 3/7/2019

Pros: Friendly and available

Cons: Bad or no advice, sold me inappropriate products

High fees for a one time financial plan that was not appropriate - was new to investment at the time and that’s why I had hired them
Bad advice for mutual funds that ended up losing me money
High annual fees and $250 dollar closing fee!!
I’ll never come back this was horrible

by DM2060, 2/19/2019

Pros: My Financial advisor always returned my calls within hours. 24 call return was rare. I never had a problem. I always dealt with the same person.

Cons:

Ameriprise Financial did not always have the biggest returns. The last 10 years were a rough time to move ahead with investments. I found slow positive movement even during the market crash in the 2008-2009 period. Whether I could have done better could have depended on educating myself with different investment vehicles, costs etc. JD Power rates Ameriprise # 12, not too impressive and I will seriously consider other options, But I haven't had the negative experiences other customers have had.

by Tim O, 2/18/2019

Pros: None, I'd have them given zero stars if it were an option

Cons: Recomend high cost investments, Significantly below market gains in great years, Significantly above market loses in bad years, Invest with their fees in mind, not investment return or the client, Excessive closure fees, but hey I'm done with them

Stay away from Ameriprise unless you need to either lose money or make way less investment return than the rest of the world. Out of 3 brokers spanning 15 years, only one was a decent advisor, the other two were in it to win it for their wallets. Yes I was with them way too long and no excuse but laziness on my part. Don't make my mistake!!!

by Gail Rosen, 2/12/2019

Pros: NONE

Cons: Broker Gavin Bobo sold my elderly mother annuities inside of her IRA, whicih is not advisable. Did not explain to her what they were and used high pressure sales tactics. He has since been fired from PNC.

Broker Gavin Bobo sold my elderly mother annuity products inside of her IRA. She did not understand what he was selling her. He did not explain to her what they were and used high pressure sales tactics. He has since been fired from PNC.

by Cindy C, 1/13/2019

Pros: Good Communication, investments conservative but competitive, always friendly

Cons: Need to explain their fees better and their statements are a nightmare, need an overhaul.

**

by Todd, 12/29/2018

Pros: Good spring water

Cons: Consultants are clueless

Immediately lost $40K in the stock market against my objections. When I tried to withdraw my money they told me it will take up to ten days to close my account and corporate will not wire my money to my checking account. I’m sorry I ever stepped foot in that place.

by Michael, 9/26/2018

Pros: Can't think of any

Cons: Overcharge clients

In my opinion, they overcharge for financial plans beyond excessively. My current firm charges a ONE-TIME financial planning fee of $500, has WAY better presentations, and I get unlimited service and review meetings for life. My Ameriprise plan was $1200 per year, it took my adviser approximately 10 minutes to generate, and I paid that EVERY YEAR at my ONE annual meeting. It's all about making money for their shareholders. When I called Ameriprise I could barely reach an assistant and my adviser rarely called me back without several reminders. It's mostly proprietary products and the account trading and closing fees are excessive!

by Carol G, 9/19/2018

Pros: None

Cons: Not trustworthy and not transparent

I had an account with them years ago - my "adviser" was ALWAYS late for our meetings. I finally got fed up and closed my accounts - or so I thought. They kept an account open and charged me maintenance fees - with no disclosures about those fees.

I recently called them because my "adviser" sent me an email and told me I now had a new adviser. I called to tell them to quit bugging me and found out I had $635.00 in a "dead" account. I then found out that it was initially over $1000.00 in that "dead" account, but they had been charging me quarterly "maintenance fees"... for a dead account.

I complained and wanted all of those "fee" charges back, but of course, they denied that. I know I have no chance in getting back the money they stole from my account; however, I do have the satisfaction of knowing I have already gotten 4 of my friends to leave them, and have prevented many co-workers from getting involved with that scammimg company....

by D. Shumate, 9/4/2018

Pros: Zero

Cons: Excessive & Surprise Fees / Resistant to Transfers

Trying to break ties with AMEX. Had to call and demand transfer of my funds to another firm because they wouldn’t act on the request. Agent was hostile, demeaning and rude but I got the bulk of my funds out.

I am still trying to rollover a Roth IRA, which they have found one reason after another to deny. The last request was denied because the said they did not like the format of the account number. This has been going on for months. However, I will get my money from them. It is MY money.

Investors beware of preditory practices.

by Happy, 8/26/2018

Pros:

Cons:

Truly about who your broker is and not about the company, though Ameriprise is quite large, and has a number of solutions, must have the right rep to give the best recommendations.

by ben dover, 8/8/2018

Pros: none

Cons: website and customer service

Just bend over and grab your ankles because they will give you the shaft

by Carl, 6/15/2018

Pros: None

Cons: Horrible customer service, no accountability

Avoid Ameriprise. I dealt with the Providence, RI office and Ray Arruda (CFP, Financial Advisor) and Jacqueline Fortin made dealing with transferring money out and closing the account so much more stressful and difficult than it needed to be. When the financial advisor and his assistant both failed to help me, I forwarded all the details to the Ameriprise Corporate Officers for help...they did not even bother to reply. Here's the short list...they don't return phone calls or emails, they don't address your concerns or answer questions. Their only concern seems to be making money for themselves... their clients do not seem to matter to them. As an attorney, I recommend to all my clients to avoid risk whenever possible. Avoid Ray Arruda, Jacqueline Fortin, and Ameriprise to avoid unnecessary stress and expense. Just do a few minutes of research online and also take a look at the SEC charges and penalties levied against Ameriprise for more detail on their behavior.

by Philip, 5/29/2018

Pros: none

Cons: Poor communication

Poor advice. Poor follow through. Better to give my three year old my money and have her throw it out the window while riding in the car. Jake , smooth talk, no action.

by Liz, 5/18/2018

Pros: Friendly advisors

Cons: yearly fees, requirements to consult financial advisor before trading, lack of knowledge of tax laws

I inherited an IRA from my grandma that was at Ameriprise. It was in bonds, and I wanted to move it to an index fund, so I called and asked how to move it. The representative couldn't give me a list of S&P 500 index funds they offer unless I set up an appointment with a financial advisor. Next I asked for him to calculate my Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from the IRA. He said the home office doesn't calculate RMDs. I talked to another Ameriprise rep who told me I had no RMD until 2025 because of my age. I have another inherited IRA at Fidelity, so I knew they were wrong. I called again and got a third rep who told me I had no RMD. On the fourth try I got someone to correctly calculate my 2018 RMD, but I was not looking forward to more time on the phone with financial advisors for tasks that I can do myself online at Vanguard. Plus, Ameriprise charges $75 yearly fees just to keep the account open, so I decided to move the money to Vanguard. I read that Ameriprise used to require a medallion signature to move your account, but luckily they cooperated with Vanguard with a regular signature. My grandma didn't have a computer, so maybe Ameriprise serves a purpose for older folks who are willing to pay fees in order to work with financial advisors over the phone.

by Jimmy, 4/10/2018

Pros: Home office rated -99

Cons:

Worst customer service. Had problem with calleer id. Amerprise innformed me it was my phone carrier. Contacted my phone carrier and was told there was nothing wrong with my account and that is was Ameriprise carrier. My phone carrier has to tell Ameriprise how to fix the problem. Spent about 2 to 3 hours of my time to fix their problem.

by Kristi U, 3/26/2018

Pros: None

Cons: High Fees, bad advice, and difficult to make changes

I have used Ameriprise for 3 years and they have constantly steered me towards the investments that make the most money for the advisory. There are hidden fees, the advisers don't respond to questions and they make it almost impossible to get your money out and then charge you high fees to do so.

by Jerry Floren, 3/12/2018

Pros: None

Cons: Fees too high. Main office cannot make simple fund transfers in a timely manner. Frustrating phone tree.

All I wanted to do was transfer my IRA funds from Ameriprise into my primary work IRA account. This should have only required a form, which I filled out correctly. However, Ameriprise did not follow the simple instructions in the cover letter accompanying the form. This led to me calling Ameriprise five times with each call averaging 30 minutes,. There also was $131.00 in transfer fees. This seems excessive for a transfer taking over a month to complete. I had another IRA transferred from a bank to my work IRA account. This transfer was accomplished with just the form, it only took a few days, and there was no fee to transfer the funds.

Since my experience, I have read a number of reviews about Ameriprise, and my experience is typical. It is difficult to transfer funds, and their earnings greatly under-perform earnings from many other institutions.

by Anonymous, 2/24/2018

Pros: The broker is the worst

Cons: The broker is the worst

I was a full time employee at the Glendale, CA location.

I have had plenty of full-time jobs and in different industries. This was by far the worst ever.

My boss/the broker was a narcissist who played favorites. My coworker was a real jerk who was always late, always disrespectful, and always obnoxious. My boss didn’t care. She was a very poor manager.

When I got sick and had to take medical leave, she fired me. If you’re looking for job security and consistency, you won’t find it at the Glendale, CA location.

You will work overtime and not get paid.

You will get fired if you get sick. And I don’t mean a simple doctors note. I mean, real, legitimate medical issues where the state certifies it as well.

The lady/the broker that has posted an assistant/operations manager position is someone with no conscience. She is the boss that I worked for. My job is now available because she can’t control her emotions. She will fire you just because you are on medical leave and because she “has a nervous breakdown,” which will be at least twice a week. Good luck dealing with her and her uncontrollable emotions.

I wouldn’t recommend even my worst enemy to work at the Glendale, CA location. It’s no wonder she is losing her clients on a daily basis. They can tell what a shipwreck she is.

And good luck dealing with the coworker you will be sharing a room with. When I say he is obnoxious, rude, and psychotic, trust me there words are nothing. My description is an understatement. He is the worst coworker ever, who will break all boundaries and to be honest is in many ways the reason her clients are leaving on a daily basis. Unfortunately for her, she doesn’t yet know who the real problem is. She thought that by firing me she would feel relaxed, but she doesn’t know the real devil is still working for her.

Good luck to anyone who thinks they can work at the Glendale, CA location. Only two employees working there.

by Steve, 2/8/2018

Pros: Willing to meet with you and talk over the phone

Cons: Totally clueless about investing, take no responsibility for extremely poor performance

I was with a Raleigh branch, three young guys, brash, bold - on reflection, quite arrogant. But, I thought they were personable but every time we met, I could see my account going down in value (this is with a highly diversified portfolio, mostly mutual funds in a record bull market). Eventually, after seven years, I wisened up at which point they realized they had better take their money and run which they did. After I queried them on their continued poor performance against standard benchmarks, they had the nerve to fire me! Horrible advice.

by Diane, 2/6/2018

Pros: None

Cons: Negligent, lies & self serving

My advisor told me I was in a moderately conservative account. I objected to being put 79% in stock but was told it was moderately invested with slow growth over time. I lost 10,000 after 6 months and asked to move money and was told I would recoup that money in 3 months.3 months later I lost another 10,000. I requested all documents I signed and saw I was invested moderately aggressive. I was lied to and I never read my contract as I was only given the last page to sign which I thought I was signing a rollover account. I was told the management fee was 1% and the contract showed I was charged 1.5 %. This company. Pushes aggressive stocks and does not listen to your needs. Fidelity is the complete opposite as they listen to your needs and discuss reccomendations to you before they invest your assets. Do not invest with this company.

by David Pietras, 1/31/2018

Pros:

Cons:

Worst company to deal with, gives the run around every time you talk to them. If you want to lose money, then they are great

by Marvel Rog, 1/18/2018

Pros: Polite

Cons: Bad advise, condescending and untrustworthy

Do your research and avoid them!

by Big tit lover, 1/17/2018

Pros: Loved that bitch at the desk with the big tits sucked my cock many times while waiting thank u Sharon and Becky and the old ceo

Cons:

Loved Becky s and Sharon's big tits at front desk lot of good blow jobs and titfucks there

by Nathan korkus, 9/16/2017

Pros: Good Musician

Cons:

They duped my retired mother with not one but 3 VUL policies. Destroyed legal documents for the 1st VUL class action law suit. Changed the 2nd VUL contract after it was signed. Sold the 3RD VUL through the mail and forged the document. Inflated the projection to 10 percent. Never earned me than 3, guaranteed 4. And the advisor got 5 commission. The managed returns to fail. She started with 12600.00 and they set her for failure at 9000 fee per year. They withheld material facts. The whole thing is a conspiracy to take advantage of the unknowing customer. Another advisor had us surrender the policy to what he said "stop the bleeding" the company locked the new advisor out of the accounts ameriprise investigated but will not share informaton and are defiantly in conspiracy. She lost between 75000 and 42400 with this product an advisor unethical behavior. Me just don't know how much, they won't tell us.

by Janet, 9/2/2017

Pros: None

Cons: Negligent

I was sold a RiverSource Life Insurance Policy by an Ameriprise Financial Advisor as an investment vehicle for my son's future who was 1 year old. I told the financial advisor they we wanted conservative investments and nothing risky. When 2008 hit, we lost 25K in those investments.

I had the advisor move the funds into something safe at low risk until the market stabilized. Well, having a full time job and a family, I trusted the advisor to watch our policy -- like they claimed they would. Eight years passed and I heard nothing from this person until I reached out because the policy wasn't making any money.

Basically, since they had gotten 10 years out of the policy, and made a lot of money off my family in fees, the advisor told me I'd be best getting another rep.

It that isn't negligent and unscrupulous behavior I don't know what else is. Honestly, I wish there was a class action suit against this company and their dishonest business practices. They are no better than legal thieves.

by Rick, 8/23/2017

Pros: Made good investments for me.

Cons: No personal contact with me on my accounts. Charge me to go over my accounts.

The advisor would not have personal contact with me. The advisor refused to talk to me on the phone. I have found a new advisor with another company that treats us like family and this company gets better reviews than Ameriprise. Now Ameriprise is dragging their feet on transferring my accounts. Ameriprise had no problem taking my money when I invested with them but now that I am transferring to another company they don't want to transfer my accounts in a timely manner.

by Steve, 3/3/2017

Pros: Tell you what you want to hear

Cons: Broker's main focus is there own money, putting you in a variable annuity without telling you

This person in Lincoln met me at the gym and met his yearly bonus putting me in a horrible product of high risk so he could make highest commissions on 100% variable annuity. Stay away from all of them as they don't care about clients.

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