A series of changes that are remaking Ameriprise Financial Inc. more along the lines of a pure wirehouse are angering some long-time employees and causing some turmoil at the advisory giant.
In its latest move, the Minneapolis brokerage giant is switching its rules to make it much harder to go from being an employee to being a franchisee. Amerprise employees now must meet steep qualifications, such as working for the company for 10 years, before becoming a franchisee, or face paying high fees to set up their own shops.
For decades, Ameriprise, which has the fourth-largest advisor network in the nation, has inhabited a kind of gray area between being a wirehouse and an independent broker-dealer. Full article.