Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

New York Stock Exchange
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Somewhat Bearish -45

Ameriprise put retirement savers at 'disavantage' in higher-fee funds, SEC says

AI-generated analysis

📉 The SEC charged Ameriprise Financial Services with steering retirement savers into higher-cost mutual funds when cheaper alternatives were available.

💰 Ameriprise agreed to pay a $230,000 civil penalty and repay over $1.78 million in unnecessary fees to affected clients with interest.

📅 The misconduct involved 1,791 customer accounts spanning from January 2010 through June 2015.

✅ Ameriprise voluntarily identified the accounts and has already moved customers into lower-cost funds as part of its remediation efforts.

⚖️ This settlement follows a recent SEC initiative encouraging advisors to self-report fee-related behavior without penalty.

🏛️ The case mirrors previous regulatory actions against UBS, Wells Fargo, Raymond James, and others regarding similar fee-steering practices.

Risk Factors
  • The SEC accused Ameriprise of putting retirement savers at a financial disadvantage by recommending higher-fee products over lower-cost options.
  • The company faced charges for failing to disclose that it received higher sales fees from the specific funds it recommended to clients.
Full Analysis
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Ameriprise Financial Services agreed to settle charges regarding the mis-selling of higher-fee mutual funds to retirement savers. The regulator accused the Minneapolis-based firm of steering clients into expensive products when lower-cost options were available, thereby benefiting from higher sales fees while reducing investor returns. As part of the settlement, Ameriprise agreed to pay a $230,000 civil penalty and has voluntarily identified 1,791 customer accounts involved in the misconduct between January 2010 and June 2015. The company stated that it has repaid customers for more than $1.78 million in unnecessary fees plus interest and moved these accounts into lower-cost funds. This case represents the latest in a series of regulatory actions targeting financial advisors for fee-related misconduct, following similar settlements with UBS and FINRA orders against firms like Wells Fargo and Raymond James. Ameriprise characterized the issue as a long-standing industry topic, noting that numerous other firms have reached similar agreements with regulators over comparable matters.