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Ameriprise Competitors: Raymond James, Edward Jones, UBS
2024 Raymond James and Ameriprise competitors. Ameriprise Financial rivals at wealth
management, investment advisors, and full service brokerage services.
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Ameriprise Competitors
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Ameriprise Strengths
Ameriprise offers user-friendly financial planning tools for basic financial literacy, retirement planning and life insurance shopping. Almost every pathway leads the user to engage with an Ameriprise financial advisor via its call centers in Minnesota and the Philippines, or to local advisors near the user’s zip code. The website provides users with introductory information on their local advisors to begin a planning relationship, or users can work remotely with a call center-based team. In either case, a new prospective client will need to provide comprehensive financial planning information such as income, total net worth, liabilities, high-level family history, personal and business goals. The Ameriprise site provides easily understood guides for preparing to start a financial planning relationship. (see attached screenshots)
Once the user becomes a client, Ameriprise offers different service levels to support specific categories such new families, high net worth, small business and multi-product clients. The
available self-help information complements but does not replace the advisor relationship. Almost all transactions would involve a financial advisor using the website as a communication and reporting platform. If a client wanted to make their own investment decisions, place trades, etc. then the Ameriprise advisor can establish specific but limited account privileges for online, phone and/or mobile transactions. Brokerage fees for individual trades are not competitive because Ameriprise is focused on supporting its fee-based financial planning relationships and marketing insurance products not discount brokerage.
In a financial planning relationship, Ameriprise advisors have access to a number of industrialstrength planning tools, some of which may involve client participation should the user prefer. Outside Ameriprise, most independent RIA’s and wealth management firms provide similar tools on a complementary basis for use in collaboration with their affluent clients paying annual asset-based fees in the 1-3% range. However, very few clients (or wealth management advisors) tap the full potential of the most powerful financial planning platforms. Therefore, users who pay the Ameriprise advisor to perform rigorous financial planning involving multiple, predictive “what if” scenarios may learn more than from lightly regarded planning by wire house advisors.
One of the lowest cost, but less well known, offerings is Ameriprise’s wholly-owned home and auto insurance company based in Wisconsin. Normally accessible only through its advisor network, Ameriprise offers extremely low-cost home and auto insurance only to low risk clients. The reason Ameriprise rates are so low is two-fold: Ameriprise does not advertise home and auto insurance and it only serves a very select, low-risk population. As one might expect, Ameriprise policy terms and service levels are also less competitive compared with better known home and auto insurance providers. Clients must remember they get what they pay for.
Recommendation
Therefore, the user is forewarned to set their expectations with their eyes wide open, do their due diligence, select their own personal financial advisor and establish a successful long-term relationship. Ameriprise has many, perhaps a majority, of ethical, professional and client-centric advisors, especially among their longer-tenured independent advisor franchisees. Still, most of these independent advisors are also those who were the most accomplished and successful at playing Ameriprise’s game of fee-based planning, insurance and annuities.
A prospective Ameriprise client can be most successful by micro-managing their relationship with the Ameriprise advisor, including shopping hard inside and outside Ameriprise for the right advisor for a long-term, win/win relationship. The successful client will likely need and benefit from comprehensive planning vs transactional or outsourced wealth management. Ultimately, the client must drive their own financial journey and the right Ameriprise can advisor can help.
Updated on 7/4/2024.
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