Ameriprise to lose 89 advisors, $18.5B from Comerica deal

Ameriprise will lose nearly 90 advisors and nearly $19 billion in client assets as a result of the acquisition of its institutional client Comerica Bank by Fifth Third Bank last month.

Ameriprise stated in a quarterly update Tuesday that Comerica has informed it of plans to cease using it as an investment services provider. That change — a direct result of Comerica's acquisition by Fifth Third Bank on Feb. 2 — will lead to the departure of 89 advisors with $18.5 billion in client assets from Ameriprise by the end of the third quarter.

Ameriprise said in its update that it has "protections in place as part of the contractual terms of Comerica discontinuing this relationship."

"This decision will not have a material impact on future Advice & Wealth Management segment and Ameriprise Financial operating earnings," according to the update.

READ MORE: Ameriprise's relationship with Comerica in limbo after Fifth Third deal

Ameriprise has been the investment services provider and broker-dealer for Comerica since 2023, providing various insurance, brokerage and advisory services to Comerica through its financial institutions group. A spokesperson for Ameriprise said, "We have appreciated our strong partnership with Comerica and understand this was Fifth Third's decision following their merger."

"We will work with Fifth Third to ensure a smooth transition," the spokesperson added. "In the meantime, Comerica advisors will continue to have access to our leading platform of advisor technology, tools and services until the transition is completed."

The assets leaving Ameriprise include $2.9 billion held in "wrap" accounts, which provide a wide variety of investment-related services for a single fee. Separately, $1.7 billion is in the form of cash "sweeps," or uninvested cash sitting in clients' brokerage accounts.

Fifth Third's acquisition of Comerica was valued at about $10.9 billion. Cincinnati-based Fifth Third now has roughly $294 billion in assets, making it the 16th largest insured depository institution in the country.

In an earnings call in January, Ameriprise executives acknowledged Fifth Third's then-pending acquisition of Comerica but did not specify exactly what the merger would mean for their firm.

"We have really generated really good value in our partnership with them," Ameriprise CEO Jim Cracchiolo said. "I know Comerica is very positive on our relationship."

READ MORE: Huntington Bank gives Ameriprise institutional unit $28B boost

Throughout all of this, Ameriprise has continued adding clients to its financial institutions group. Last month, it announced that Huntington Bank had chosen it to provide brokerage, advisory and insurance services to its wealth management unit, Huntington Financial Advisors. Huntington Financial Advisors, which had previously handled those functions internally, has 260 advisors managing $28 billion in client assets.

— This article has been updated to include a statement from Ameriprise and details about Fifth Third's acquisition of Comerica.