Ameriprise hits affluent clients with new fees

Ameriprise Financial Inc. next year will begin imposing annual fees of up to $80 on the brokerage accounts of many of its customers — a move likely to irk the firm’s financial advisers and registered representatives.

Starting Jan. 1, Ameriprise will hit clients with between $100,000 and $500,000 in their brokerage accounts with fees of $40 to $80 a year. The fees are capped at $200 per household.

“I find this a little surprising, and I can’t imagine advisers are all that happy about it,” said Sean Cunniff, research director at The Tower Group Inc., adding that brokers will likely eat the fees, especially for top clients.

“In my experience, account fees are not that common,” he said, noting that brokerage firms often charge fees only for retirement accounts, due to their high administration costs.

The fee reflects “fair pricing for the value delivered,” said Sarah McKenzie, senior vice president of brokerage and managed products at Ameriprise.

Another Ameriprise official, who asked not to be identified, said that the company has reviewed its fees and found them to be below the average of what competitors charge. The official noted that only certain fees are increasing and that the impact will be minimal for the average client.

The company’s move follows Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC’s decision in April to begin charging a $35 fee on brokerage accounts, but only for households that hold less than $25,000 in accounts.

Ameriprise’s new fees will affect the clients of the firm’s 7,590 franchisee advisers and the 2,196 employee reps. The 1,898 independent reps and advisers with Securities America Inc. won’t be affected.

Clients with less than $100,000 in an Ameriprise brokerage account will continue to pay a brokerage fee of $40 a year. Clients with more than $500,000 won’t see any new fees.

E-mail Bruce Kelly at [email protected].

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