Joseph F. Gerdes

Brokerage services

In a brokerage account, you will pay a quarterly maintenance or custodial fee, which may be waived if your account meets certain asset levels. You will pay transaction-based fees when you buy and sell securities. This means if you make more trades, you will pay more in fees and if you make fewer trades, you will pay less in fees.

• With individual securities like stocks, bonds and ETFs, you will pay a transaction-based commission that varies based on the value of the trade.

• With investment products such as mutual funds, you will either pay an upfront commission or a back-end sales charge if you sell the position before a set time frame.

• You will also pay a flat order handling fee when you buy or sell most securities.

In addition to those described above, you may have different expenses based on the products and services you choose. You may also pay for additional services you request, such as wire transfers.

Impact of fees on your investments
You will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments. Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time. Please make sure you understand what fees and costs you are paying.

At Ameriprise, all clients have an opportunity to discuss key financial goals with their financial advisor and track one or two priority goals online at no additional cost. As you continue to work together, you may choose to receive more comprehensive advice from your advisor through a financial planning relationship, as appropriate for your personal situation and financial goals.

When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer or act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the recommendations and investment advice we provide you. Here are some examples to help you understand what this means.

• When you purchase an investment product such as a mutual fund or annuity that includes internal fees for management and other services, Ameriprise earns more money than if you purchase an investment that does not have internal fees such as a stock or bond. This is because Ameriprise generally receives a portion of these fees from the service providers to these investment products, which helps fund the cost of maintaining accounts and offering an investment platform to our clients.

• When you hold a brokerage or advisory account with us, we’ll earn revenue on your cash within our sweep programs. If your cash is swept to our affiliated bank, then Ameriprise Bank, FSB earns “spread revenue” — the difference between the revenue it earns and the interest it pays you — on your deposits. This spread revenue compensates our bank for the operational costs and risks it bears. Our affiliated clearing brokerdealer receives revenue sharing from our mutual fund sweep program and receives payments from third-party banks with respect to our multi-bank sweep program.

• When you purchase an investment product from a company affiliated with Ameriprise, we receive revenue associated with the fees charged by the product for the services provided to you. Examples of affiliated products include: Columbia Threadneedle investments, RiverSource annuities or life insurance and Ameriprise certificates.

• Certain products we offer, such as individual bonds, can be purchased from or sold directly to our affiliated clearing broker-dealer through what is referred to as a principal trade. By conducting a principal trade, we are often able to provide greater liquidity and access to securities. Our clearing broker-dealer affiliate generally receives more compensation from principal trades than trades that occur in the market.

Our financial advisors are compensated differently depending on their affiliation with us and the type of products and services they provide to you.

• With investment advisory services, including both financial planning and managed accounts, your financial advisor receives a percentage of any advisory fees you pay.

• With brokerage services, your financial advisor receives a percentage of the brokerage commissions you pay and ongoing fees from certain investment products you may hold.

• The percentage of payments described above varies based on the amount of commissions your financial advisor generates annually, number of clients and assets under management.

• Some financial advisors also receive a salary from us.

Most of our financial advisors receive gifts and entertainment from the sponsors of products we offer, though we restrict the amount they are allowed to receive consistent with industry regulations.