Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC Independent Advisor Business
Bottom line
- Total investment $10K – $138K including a $2K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $3.1M/year (median $1.8M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 35/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 574 loans (below the industry average).
- 10 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC Independent Advisor Business unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
626%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC Independent Advisor Business units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
26.4%
3.23× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
3.13×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$14.3M
on $27.6M purchase
Total debt
$13.3M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate as independent financial advisors under the Ameriprise brand, providing investment management, retirement planning, and financial advisory services to retail clients. Day-to-day activities include client prospecting, portfolio management, compliance with regulatory requirements, and generating assets under management (AUM) that determine royalty payments to the franchisor.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 34 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Ameriprise's declining unit count, opaque royalty structure, extensive regulatory/legal troubles, withheld profitability data, and unprotected territories create elevated risk of franchisee underperformance and franchisor vulnerability.
Score breakdown · what drove the 35 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-3.0% YoY) signals shrinking franchisee base and potential market saturation or dissatisfaction
- 02MINORExtremely wide royalty range (9-28% of GDC) lacks transparency; unclear what determines placement and actual franchisee take-home
- 03HIGHSix active litigation matters including class action, FINRA arbitration, and three regulatory settlements indicate systemic compliance failures in supervision and advertising
- 04MEDNo average net income disclosed despite $3.07M average revenue — suggests marginal profitability or franchisor unwilling to disclose poor performer data
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees and company-employed advisors
- 06MINORLow franchise fee ($1,500) and high investment range suggests upfront capital may be understated or variable costs are substantial
- 07MINORThree-year term is short; renewal risk and franchisor control leverage are high
- 08MINORRecent SEC/FINRA settlements indicate franchisor's own regulatory compliance deficiencies that cascade to franchisees
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
97 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC Independent Advisor Business · FDD (2026) PDF