John Tappan, age 24, founds Investors Syndicate in Minneapolis, Minnesota. To provide financial solutions to Middle America and give smaller investors access to more benefits, Tappan introduces the Face Amount Certificate, an innovative and democratizing investment idea.
One thousand people pool $5 apiece.
Investors Syndicate mission: "To meet every obligation on its due date and to conserve and protect the investor's money with every safeguard possible."
Demonstrating Tappan's personal dedication to his clients, he extends payment terms to help them make monthly payments. To one out-of-work investor, he writes, "If you do not get work and it's hard for you to get the dues, and you run behind for a month or so, I will protect you and see that it is not lapsed."
Clients include teachers, loggers and miners.
Responding to a weakened economy, Investors Syndicate begins offering seven-year contracts with 50 coupons attached with no "membership" fees or upfront loads.
Clients pay $0.50 apiece for the coupons, which helps those of modest means to invest more easily.
The Panic of 1907 spreads through the country, bankrupts brokerage firms and prompts investors to pull their money out of banks.
Unlike many institutions during the financial crisis, Investors Syndicate survives and keeps its clients' money working.
Investors Syndicate introduces the "Ten Year Guaranteed First Mortgage Certificate," which pays out in full value in ten years. The new certificate adds new security features. The first prevents the account from being lapsed after the first two years of payment. The second feature protects out-of-work clients.
To help meet the needs of clients, Investors Syndicate opens a fire and tornado insurance agency to provide policies to those whose mortgages required property insurance to secure their loans.
Investors Syndicate survives the financial crisis of previous year and opens offices in four new states. Within two years, it opens new offices in nine more states.
West Coast entrepreneur John R. Ridgway purchases Investors Syndicate from founder John Tappan and his partners.
The Great Depression lasts a decade.
Thousands of financial institutions fail, countless people are left penniless. Meanwhile, Investor Syndicate pays out every dollar on its due date — a total of $101 million — to its clients.
Investors Syndicate provides career opportunities for people from all walks of life. Former schoolteachers, beekeepers, housewives, waiters and secretaries join its ranks. A capability of listening and forming one-on-one relationships with clients is equally valued as sales experience. Its sales force of 3,000 operates in 41 states, the District of Columbia and eight provinces in Canada.
Investors Syndicate introduces one of the first mutual funds, the Investors Mutual Fund, which gives clients important new investing options and two distinct advantages: diversification and professional management. By the 1960s, Investors Mutual Fund is the largest balanced mutual fund in the world.
In an act of cooperation between industry and government, Investors Syndicate participates in Congressional hearings to help the SEC create distinct standards for investment institutions, which ultimately protect the interests of investors.
Investors Stock Fund and Investors Selective Fund are created to give investors the opportunity to enjoy a better return than fixed-rate securities.
Ruth Abrahamson joins the company in 1946 and later becomes the number one female sales representative in the country.
Investors Syndicate renames itself Investors Diversified Services (henceforth called IDS) to more clearly indicate its growing range of products and services. In the next decade, IDS becomes the largest investment company in the US.
IDS founds the Investors Syndicate Life Insurance and Annuity Company and offers life insurance to help protect and preserve the financial well-being of clients.
The company is eventually renamed the IDS Life Insurance Company.
IDS institutes the Four Cornerstones philosophy, which is composed of cash reserves, insurance protection, fixed-income investments and equity investments. This foundational approach provides clients with greater stability in difficult economies and challenging markets.
IDS moves into the new Philip Johnson-designed tower in downtown Minneapolis. Clients can see the IDS tower from at least 50 miles away, a constant reminder of their investments being hard at work. The IDS tower still stands as the tallest building in Minneapolis.
In the opening credits of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," Mary Tyler Moore tosses her hat into the air in front of the IDS Tower. Entertainment Weekly lists it as the second greatest moment in television. And memorable for all the IDS employees peering out their windows.
A firm believer in being a helpful member of the community, Investors Diversified Services donates $3.6 million to area organizations.
American Express Company acquires IDS.
Jason Robards appears as company spokesperson in a TV campaign.
IDS/American Express acquires Wisconsin Employers Casualty Company of Green Bay and renames it IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company.
The Alex Alexander award is created in memory of our company's long-term top producer, Alex M. Alexander. Mr. Alexander led the company in sales for more than 45 years of his 51-year career.
His legacy is honored every year as new top sales leaders are recognized.
IDS is renamed American Express Financial Advisors (henceforth called AEFA).
James Cracchiolo becomes President and CEO of AEFA.
AEFA acquires Dynamic Ideas, LLC, and its powerful portfolio management tools that improve the management of client assets.
AEFA acquires Threadneedle, a leading British investment firm, to expand investment services to clients around the world.
American Express Financial Advisors is renamed Ameriprise Financial. The name Ameriprise is a blend of "American" and "Enterprise."
Ameriprise Financial becomes an independent, publicly owned company with more than 12,000 advisors and registered representatives and more than 2.7 million individual, business and institutional clients.
Ameriprise Financial announces the RiverSource brand. The brand includes insurance, annuities and investment products and is focused on growing and protecting client income through retirement.
More people choose Ameriprise for financial planning than any other U.S. firm.
Ameriprise Financial introduces its personal and collaborative approach, Dream > Plan >
Track > ® to help clients better define, arrange and achieve their financial goals.
Dennis Hopper appears as company spokesperson in a TV campaign.
Ameriprise Financial and its representatives do not provide tax or legal advice. Consult your tax advisor or attorney regarding specific tax issues.
Ameriprise Financial enters the FORTUNE 500® at 297.
Source: FORTUNE Magazine, April 30, 2007.
Global economic crisis drives broad stock market declines.
When the independent Reserve Fund "breaks the buck" in one of its money market funds and freezes assets, Ameriprise Financial responds by advancing $700 million to help meet clients' immediate cash needs and developing extensive market volatility resources for advisors to help their clients.
Ameriprise Financial acquires
J. & W. Seligman and H&R Block Financial Advisors, expanding investment services to more clients in more areas.
True to John Tappan's founding vision of helping those with less, Ameriprise Financial announces a charitable partnership with Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization.
Financially healthy, Ameriprise Financial refuses TARP funding.
Photo courtesy of Feeding America. Image may not be reprinted without permission of Feeding America.
With the acquisition of the long-term asset management business of Columbia Asset Management Group, LLC, Ameriprise Financial becomes the eighth largest manager of long-term U.S. mutual fund assets.
Ameriprise is recognized with a 2011 TNS Choice Award for superior client retention. According to TNS, a leading independent research company, Ameriprise Financial clients assign high satisfaction marks and report strong relationships with their advisors.
Ameriprise is a top-10 provider of mutual funds, insurance, annuities and financial planning.
Tommy Lee Jones appears as company spokesperson in TV campaign.
Ameriprise Financial works one-on-one with millions of clients to help them put more within reach. In over 115 years, the company has withstood recessions, depressions, downturns and panics and has only grown stronger. Of the more than 5,000 publicly traded companies in the United States, only 486 have been in business more than 100 years. Among those companies is Ameriprise Financial.