Ameriprise Unit Sees $30 Million Yearly Savings For Fund Holders

Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s (AMP) Columbia Management business on Monday said it expects mutual-fund shareholders to see about $30 million per year in savings from fee changes and fund mergers, including nine newly planned mergers and a slew announced in August.

Ameriprise bought Columbia's long-term asset management business from Bank of America Corp. (BAC) this spring and has been working since to consolidate that business with its RiverSource unit. Ameriprise has rebranded RiverSource funds Columbia, and Columbia is pursuing a series of fund mergers that will take the combined roster to just above 150 funds from more than 200.

"We're very comfortable now" with the planned fund line-up, said Chris Thompson, head of product management and marketing at Columbia, in an interview Monday. There could be one or two additional moves announced this fall, he said.

All the fund proposals require shareholder approval, which is expected either late in the first quarter or early second quarter next year. Columbia also expects fee changes to be fully implemented in the first half next year.

The additional nine fund mergers follow the proposal in August for 62 mergers aimed in part at eliminating overlap between the fund businesses. Because that effort is wrapping up, the company is now projecting yearly savings, Thompson said.

The company said these moves won't trigger staffing cuts. Columbia made personnel changes prior to the April 30 close of the deal with Ameriprise, but hasn't described those changes in detail.

-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728; jon.kamp@dowjones.com

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