Ameriprise Financial Inc. plans to reduced the lineup of mutual funds run by Columbia Management, but step up marketing and add jobs, according to a report in the Boston Globe.
Ameriprise, based in Minneapolis, in may completed a $1 billion purchase of the long-term asset management business of Columbia. Based in Boston, Columbia operates mutual funds, 529 plans and retirement plans.
Columbia, under Ameriprise, plans to “significantly thin its lineup of mutual funds” but step up marketing, the Globe reported. The firm also plans to offer new types of investments.
The company also is expected to add 150 jobs over the next three years to the 500 employees already employed in Massachusetts.
With 1,300 employees worldwide and $327 billion in total assets under management, Columbia is one of the largest mutual fund companies located in Boston,
Columbia will consolidate similar funds, bringing down its count from more than 200.
William F. “Ted’’ Truscott, chief executive of Ameriprise’s asset management business, told the Globe the objective is to find the right balance between too many funds and too few.
“You don’t want a 14-page menu, but on the other hand you don’t want a half a page either,’’ Truscott said.
Columbia expects to announce details of the consolidation this month.
Columbia’s best-known funds include Columbia Acorn, a $14.8 billion mid-cap growth fund, and Columbia Value and Restructuring, a $5.9 billion fund which mainly invests in large-cap U.S. stocks.
