Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) is betting that its deal to acquire part of Bank of America Corp.'s (BAC) Columbia Management will give its brokerage a bigger piece of the high-net-worth market.

Over the past year, Ameriprise has been beefing up its wealth management group through acquisitions such as H&R Block & Co.'s (HRB) advisory business and by recruiting financial advisers from major brokerages. Both measures have primarily boosted the company's focus on mass-affluent clients, or those that have between $100,000 and $1 million in investable assets.

The Columbia deal, however, could help Ameriprise raise that bar and allow its brokers to manage more money for the wealthiest of clients, boosting its standing among brokerage firms. The deal also expands the company's more stable asset management revenue.

In an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Ameriprise Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Cracchiolo said, "we think some of the capabilities that Columbia has can actually be brought to our retail clients as well as to complement what we already provide."

Ameriprise, a former division of American Express, offers wealth management and asset management services, life insurance and annuities, and home and auto insurance. Its wealth management and asset management segments both reported second-quarter losses driven by falling asset-based fees and reduced customer activity.

Ameriprise raised capital through an equity offering earlier in the year to prepare for an acquisition in the asset management and retail distribution businesses, Cracchiolo said in the company's second-quarter earnings call in July.

Once the Columbia deal closes in the spring, Ameriprise will have global assets under management of nearly $400 billion. During a conference call with analysts, the company projected that 64% of Columbia's equity assets are sold through a third-party provider, while roughly 30% are sold the same way on the fixed-income side. Bank of America affiliates, notably Merrill Lynch, accounted for 36% and 71%, respectively.

Gaining access to these clients could give Ameriprise an opportunity to reach investors its own advisers previously couldn't.

The average broker at Ameriprise produces about $270,000 in fees and commissions, while those from H&R Block are slightly higher, with $300,000 in annual production. By comparison, the averagefinancial adviser has between $500,000 and $600,000 in production.

"Maybe it's a decent environment to think about going more up-market," said Sterne Agee & Leach analyst John Nadel. "The competition has suffered there and maybe (such a move) won't cost as much as a few years ago."

Not everyone is convinced that the transaction will attract the desired audience. Bob Ellis, principal at research and consulting firm Novarica, expressed some concerns that rich investors won't be motivated to switch to a brand with less name recognition.

"I can take my Volkswagen Beetle and put a Rolls Royce grill on the front, but it's not fooling anyone," he said.

Even after the acquisition closes, Ameriprise will have $1 billion in excess capital, Cracchiolo said.

Nagel said this financial strength could be a marketing advantage in reaching out to high net worth clients. "They just don't have the cachet and the track record in the high net worth space, but they can show prospective clients things that folks who have been active in that market can't - a lot of stability (and) no near-death experience."

-Brett Philbin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2173; brett.philbin@dowjones.com

(Lavonne Luykendall in Chicago and Jessica Papini in New York contributed to this report.)