The following discussion and analysis of our consolidated financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the "Forward-Looking Statements," our Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes that follow and the "Consolidated Five-Year Summary of Selected Financial Data" and the "Risk Factors" included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. Prior year amounts have been recast for the retrospective adoption of new accounting rules on deferred acquisition costs ("DAC"). In addition, certain reclassifications of prior year amounts have been made to conform to the current presentation. References below to "Ameriprise Financial," "Ameriprise," the "Company," "we," "us," and "our" refer to Ameriprise Financial, Inc. exclusively, to our entire family of companies, or to one or more of our subsidiaries.

Overview

Ameriprise Financial is a diversified financial services company with a 118 year history of providing financial solutions. We offer a broad range of products and services designed to achieve the financial objectives of individual and institutional clients. We are America's leader in financial planning and a leading global financial institution with more than $681 billion in assets under management and administration as of December 31, 2012.

Our strategy is centered on helping our clients confidently achieve their goals by providing advice and managing their assets and protecting their assets and income. We utilize two go-to-market approaches in carrying out this strategy:
Wealth Management and Asset Management.

Our wealth management capabilities are centered on the long-term, personal relationships between our clients and our financial advisors and registered representatives (our "advisors"). Through our advisors, we offer financial planning, products and services designed to be used as solutions for our clients' cash and liquidity, asset accumulation, income, protection, and estate and wealth transfer needs. Our focus on personal relationships, together with our discipline in financial planning and strengths in product development and advice, allow us to address the evolving financial and retirement-related needs of our clients, including our primary target market segment, the mass affluent and affluent, which we define as households with investable assets of more than $100,000. The financial product solutions we offer through our advisors include both our own products and services and the products of other companies. Our advisor network is the primary channel through which we offer our affiliated insurance and annuity products and services.

Our network of more than 9,700 advisors is the primary means through which we engage in our wealth management activities. We offer our advisors training, tools, leadership, marketing programs and other field and centralized support to assist them in delivering advice and product solutions. We believe that our nationally recognized brand and practice vision, local marketing support, integrated operating platform and comprehensive set of products and solutions constitute a compelling value proposition for financial advisors, as evidenced by our strong advisor retention rate and our ability to attract and retain experienced and productive advisors. We have and will continue to invest in and develop capabilities and tools designed to maximize advisor productivity and client satisfaction.

We are in a strong position to capitalize on significant demographic and market trends driving increased demand for financial advice and solutions. In the U.S., the ongoing transition of baby boomers into retirement, as well as recent economic and financial market crises, continues to drive demand for financial advice and solutions. In addition, the amount of investable assets held by mass affluent and affluent households, our target market, have grown and accounts for over half of U.S. investable assets. We believe our differentiated financial planning model, broad range of products and solutions, as well as our demonstrated financial strength in the face of persistent economic headwinds, will help us capitalize on these trends.

Our asset management capabilities are global in scale, with Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC ("Columbia" or "Columbia Management") as the primary provider of U.S. products and services and Threadneedle Asset Management Holdings Sàrl ("Threadneedle") as the primary provider of products and services outside of the U.S. We offer a broad spectrum of investment advice and products to individual, institutional and high-net worth investors. These investment products are primarily provided through third parties, though we also provide our asset management products through our advisor channel. Our underlying asset management philosophy is based on delivering consistently strong and competitive investment performance. The quality and breadth of our asset management capabilities are demonstrated by 111 of our mutual funds, including 51 Columbia Management funds and 60 Threadneedle funds, being rated as four- and five-star funds by Morningstar.

We are positioned to continue to grow our assets under management and to strengthen our asset management offerings to existing and new clients. Our asset management capabilities are well positioned to address mature markets in the U.S. and Europe. We also have the capability to leverage existing strengths to effectively expand into new global and emerging markets, to which investors are increasingly looking as a source of growth and income. In the past few years, we have

expanded beyond our traditional strengths in the U.S. and U.K. to gather assets in Continental Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa. In addition, we expect to leverage the collective investment and distribution capabilities of Columbia and Threadneedle to develop new solutions designed to manage an increasingly complex and volatile marketplace.

The financial results from the businesses underlying our go to market approaches are reflected in our five operating segments:

º •
º Advice & Wealth Management;

º •
º Asset Management;

º •
º Annuities;

º •
º Protection; and

º •
º Corporate & Other.

Our operating segments are aligned with the financial solutions we offer to address our clients' needs. The products and services we provide retail clients and, to a lesser extent, institutional clients, are the primary source of our revenues and net income. Revenues and net income are significantly affected by investment performance and the total value and composition of assets we manage and administer for our retail and institutional clients as well as the distribution fees we receive from other companies. These factors, in turn, are largely determined by overall investment market performance and the depth and breadth of our individual client relationships.

Financial markets and macroeconomic conditions have had and will continue to have a significant impact on our operating and performance results. The persistent economic headwinds of the past several years have mitigated growth opportunities in our industry by affecting asset values and dampening client confidence and activity. In addition, the business and regulatory environment in which we operate remains subject to elevated uncertainty and change. To succeed, we expect to continue focusing on our key strategic objectives. The success of these and other strategies may be affected by the factors discussed in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K - "Risk Factors."

Equity price, credit market and interest rate fluctuations can have a significant impact on our results of operations, primarily due to the effects they have on the asset management and other asset-based fees we earn, the "spread" income generated on our annuities, deposit products and universal life ("UL") insurance products, the value of DAC and deferred sales inducement costs ("DSIC") assets, the values of liabilities for guaranteed benefits associated with our variable annuities and the values of derivatives held to hedge these benefits.

Earnings, as well as operating earnings, will continue to be negatively impacted by the ongoing low interest rate environment. In addition to continuing spread compression in our interest sensitive product lines, there is also the potential for interest rate related impacts to DAC and DSIC amortization and the level of reserves as a result of our ongoing review of various actuarial related assumptions, which could be material.

In January 2013, we completed the conversion of our federal savings bank subsidiary, Ameriprise Bank, FSB ("Ameriprise Bank"), to a limited powers national trust bank. In connection with this conversion, deposit-taking and credit-originating activities of Ameriprise Bank were terminated. In addition, Ameriprise Financial was deregistered by the Federal Reserve as a savings and loan holding company and will no longer be subject to supervision and regulation as such. We will continue to make available to our clients certain deposit and credit products via referral arrangements with respected third party financial institutions. We incurred $26 million of restructuring charges in 2012 related to exiting the banking business, of which $7 million related to the impact of an interest rate hedge. The transition released approximately $375 million of formerly required capital, which we anticipate using to repurchase shares throughout 2013. We estimate that the transition will reduce our annual earnings by approximately $60 million in 2013. At the enterprise level, we anticipate that the earnings per share impact will be neutralized by the end of 2013, as we redeploy the excess capital to shareholders through share repurchases.

In the third quarter of the year, we conduct our annual review of insurance and annuity valuation assumptions relative to current experience and management expectations. To the extent that expectations change as a result of this review, we update valuation assumptions and the impact is reflected as part of our annual review of life insurance and annuity valuation assumptions and modeling changes ("unlocking"). The unlocking impact in the third quarter of 2012 primarily reflected the low interest rate environment and the assumption of continued low interest rates over the near-term. Specifically, the starting 10-year Treasury rate assumption used in modeling was reduced by 150 basis points and we assumed rates would stay flat until mid-2013, then increasing to their ultimate rate by mid-2016. We did not change our ultimate long term assumption. See our Consolidated and Segment Results of Operations sections below for the pretax impacts on our revenues and expenses attributable to unlocking and additional discussion of the drivers of the unlocking impact.

We consolidate certain collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs") and other investment products (collectively, "investment entities") for which we provide asset management services to and sponsor for the investment of client assets in the normal course of business. These entities are defined as consolidated investment entities ("CIEs"). For further information on CIEs, see Note 4 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. Changes in the valuation of the CIE assets and liabilities impact pretax income. The net income (loss) of the CIEs is reflected in net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests. The results of operations of the CIEs are reflected in the Corporate & Other segment. On a consolidated basis, the management fees we earn for the services we provide to the CIEs and the related general and administrative expenses are eliminated and the changes in the assets and liabilities related to the CIEs, primarily debt and underlying syndicated loans, are reflected in net investment income. We continue to include the fees in the management and financial advice fees line within our Asset Management segment.

While our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), management believes that operating measures, which exclude net realized gains or losses; the market impact on variable annuity guaranteed living benefits, net of hedges and the related DSIC and DAC amortization; integration and restructuring charges; income
(loss) from discontinued operations; and the impact of consolidating CIEs, best reflect the underlying performance of our core operations and facilitate a more meaningful trend analysis. While the consolidation of the CIEs impacts our balance sheet and income statement, our exposure to these entities is unchanged and there is no impact to the underlying business results. Management uses certain of these non-GAAP measures to evaluate our financial performance on a basis comparable to that used by some securities analysts and investors. Also, certain of these non-GAAP measures are taken into consideration, to varying degrees, for purposes of business planning and analysis and for certain compensation-related matters. Throughout our Management's Discussion and Analysis, these non-GAAP measures are referred to as operating measures.

It is management's priority to increase shareholder value over a multi-year horizon by achieving our on-average, over-time financial targets.

Our financial targets are:

º •
º Operating total net revenue growth of 6% to 8%,

º •
º Operating earnings per diluted share growth of 12% to 15%, and

º •
º Operating return on equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive income of 15% to 18%.

The following tables reconcile our GAAP measures to operating measures:

                                                          Years Ended
                                                         December 31,
                                                        2012       2011
                                                         (in millions)
            Total net revenues                        $ 10,217   $ 10,192
            Less: Revenue attributable to the CIEs          71        136
            Less: Net realized gains                         7          6
            Less: Integration/restructuring charges         (4 )        -

            Operating total net revenues              $ 10,143   $ 10,050

                                                                        Per Diluted Share
                                                Years Ended                Years Ended
                                                December 31,              December 31,
                                             2012          2011          2012        2011
                                               (in millions, except per share amounts)
Net income                                 $     901     $   1,010
Less: Net loss attributable to
noncontrolling interests                        (128 )        (106 )

Net income attributable to Ameriprise
Financial                                      1,029         1,116     $    4.62    $  4.53
Less: Loss from discontinued
operations, net of tax                            (2 )         (60 )       (0.01 )    (0.24 )

Net income from continuing operations
attributable to Ameriprise Financial           1,031         1,176          4.63       4.77
Add: Integration/restructuring charges,
net of tax (1)                                    46            62          0.21       0.25
Add: Market impact on variable annuity
guaranteed living benefits, net of tax
(1)                                              173            40          0.77       0.16
Less: Net realized gains, net of tax
(1)                                                5             4          0.02       0.01

Operating earnings                         $   1,245     $   1,274     $    5.59    $  5.17

Weighted average common shares
outstanding:
Basic                                          218.7         241.4
Diluted                                        222.8         246.3

º (1)
º Calculated using the statutory tax rate of 35%.

The following table reconciles net income from continuing operations attributable to Ameriprise Financial to operating earnings and the five-point average of quarter-end equity to operating equity:

                                                                       Years Ended
                                                                      December 31,
                                                                     2012      2011
                                                                      (in millions)
Net income from continuing operations attributable to Ameriprise
Financial                                                           $ 1,031   $ 1,176
Add: Integration/restructuring charges, net of tax (1)                   46        62
Add: Market impact on variable annuity guaranteed living
benefits, net of tax (1)                                                173        40
Less: Net realized gains, net of tax (1)                                  5         4

Operating earnings                                                  $ 1,245   $ 1,274

Total Ameriprise Financial, Inc. shareholders' equity               $ 9,071   $ 9,169
Less: Assets and liabilities held for sale                                -        30
Less: Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax              1,001       701

Total Ameriprise Financial, Inc. shareholders' equity from
continuing operations, excluding AOCI                                 8,070     8,438
Less: Equity impacts attributable to CIEs                               397       478

Operating equity                                                    $ 7,673   $ 7,960

Return on equity from continuing operations, excluding AOCI            12.8 %    13.9 %
Operating return on equity, excluding AOCI (2)                         16.2 %    16.0 %


   º (1)
   º Calculated using the statutory tax rate of 35%.

º (2)
º Operating return on equity, excluding accumulated other comprehensive income ("AOCI"), is calculated using the trailing twelve months of earnings excluding the after-tax net realized gains/losses; market impact on variable annuity guaranteed living benefits, net of hedges and related DSIC and DAC amortization; integration/restructuring charges; and discontinued operations in the numerator, and Ameriprise Financial shareholders' equity, excluding AOCI; the impact of consolidating investment entities; and the assets and liabilities held for sale using a five-point average of quarter-end equity in the denominator.

Critical Accounting Policies

The accounting and reporting policies that we use affect our Consolidated Financial Statements. Certain of our accounting and reporting policies are critical to an understanding of our consolidated results of operations and financial condition and, in some cases, the application of these policies can be significantly affected by the estimates, judgments and assumptions made by management during the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements. The accounting and reporting policies we have identified as fundamental to a full understanding of our consolidated results of operations and financial condition are described below. See Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for further information about our accounting policies.

Valuation of Investments

The most significant component of our investments is our Available-for-Sale securities, which we carry at fair value within our Consolidated Balance Sheets. The fair value of our Available-for-Sale securities at December 31, 2012 was primarily

obtained from third-party pricing sources. We record unrealized securities gains (losses) in accumulated other comprehensive income, net of impacts to DAC, DSIC, certain benefit reserves and income taxes. We recognize gains and losses in results of operations upon disposition of the securities.

When the fair value of an investment is less than its amortized cost, we assess whether or not: (i) we have the intent to sell the security (made a decision to sell) or (ii) it is more likely than not that we will be required to sell the security before its anticipated recovery. If either of these conditions is met, an other-than-temporary impairment is considered to have occurred and we must recognize an other-than-temporary impairment for the difference between the investment's amortized cost basis and its fair value through earnings. For securities that do not meet the above criteria, and we do not expect to recover a security's amortized cost basis, the security is also considered other-than-temporarily impaired. For these securities, we separate the total impairment into the credit loss component and the amount of the loss related to other factors. The amount of the total other-than-temporary impairment related to credit loss is recognized in earnings. The amount of the total other-than-temporary impairment related to other factors is recognized in other comprehensive income, net of impacts to DAC, DSIC, certain benefit reserves and income taxes. For Available-for-Sale securities that have recognized an other-than-temporary impairment through earnings, the difference between the amortized cost basis and the cash flows expected to be collected is accreted as interest income if through subsequent evaluation there is a sustained increase in the cash flow expected. Subsequent increases and decreases in the fair value of Available-for-Sale securities are included in other comprehensive income.

For all securities that are considered temporarily impaired, we do not intend to sell these securities (have not made a decision to sell) and it is not more likely than not that we will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis. We believe that we will collect all principal and interest due on all investments that have amortized cost in excess of fair value that are considered only temporarily impaired.

Factors we consider in determining whether declines in the fair value of fixed maturity securities are other-than-temporary include: (i) the extent to which the market value is below amortized cost; (ii) the duration of time in which there has been a significant decline in value; (iii) fundamental analysis of the liquidity, business prospects and overall financial condition of the issuer; and
(iv) market events that could impact credit ratings, economic and business climate, litigation and government actions, and similar external business factors. In order to determine the amount of the credit loss component for corporate debt securities considered other-than-temporarily impaired, a best estimate of the present value of cash flows expected to be collected discounted at the security's effective interest rate is compared to the amortized cost basis of the security. The significant inputs to cash flow projections consider potential debt restructuring terms, projected cash flows available to pay creditors and our position in the debtor's overall capital structure.

For structured investments (e.g., residential mortgage backed securities, commercial mortgage backed securities, asset backed securities and other structured investments), we also consider factors such as overall deal structure and our position within the structure, quality of underlying collateral, delinquencies and defaults, loss severities, recoveries, prepayments and cumulative loss projections in assessing potential other-than-temporary impairments of these investments. Based upon these factors, securities that have indicators of potential other-than-temporary impairment are subject to detailed review by management. Securities for which declines are considered temporary continue to be carefully monitored by management.

Deferred Acquisition Costs and Deferred Sales Inducement Costs

We adopted new accounting rules for DAC on January 1, 2012 on a retrospective basis. See below for our updated accounting policies on the deferral of acquisition costs.

We incur costs in connection with acquiring new and renewal insurance and annuity businesses. The portion of these costs which are incremental and direct to the acquisition of a new or renewal insurance policy or annuity contract are deferred. Significant costs capitalized include sales based compensation related to the acquisition of new and renewal insurance policies and annuity contracts, medical inspection costs for successful sales, and a portion of employee compensation and benefit costs based upon the amount of time spent on successful sales. Sales based compensation paid to advisors and employees and third-party distributers is capitalized. Employee compensation and benefits costs which are capitalized under the new accounting standard relate primarily to sales efforts, underwriting and processing. All other costs which are not incremental direct costs of acquiring an insurance policy or annuity contract are expensed as incurred.

For our annuity and life, disability income and long term care insurance products, our DAC and DSIC balances at any reporting date are supported by projections that show management expects there to be adequate premiums or estimated gross profits after that date to amortize the remaining DAC and DSIC balances. These projections are inherently uncertain because they require management to make assumptions about financial markets, anticipated mortality and morbidity levels and policyholder behavior over periods extending well into the future. Projection periods used for our annuity products are typically 30 to 50 years. Projection periods for our life insurance and long term care insurance products are often 50 years or longer and projection periods for our disability income products can be up to 45 years. Management regularly monitors financial market conditions and actual policyholder behavior experience and compares them to its assumptions.

For annuity and UL insurance products, the assumptions made in projecting future results and calculating the DAC balance and DAC amortization expense are management's best estimates. Management is required to update these assumptions whenever it appears that, based on actual experience or other evidence, earlier estimates should be revised. When assumptions are changed, the percentage of estimated gross profits used to amortize DAC might also change. A change in the required amortization percentage is applied retrospectively; an increase in amortization percentage will result in a decrease in the DAC balance and an increase in DAC amortization expense, while a decrease in amortization percentage will result in an increase in the DAC balance and a decrease in DAC amortization expense. The impact on results of operations of changing assumptions can be either positive or negative in any particular period and is reflected in the period in which such changes are made. For products with associated DSIC, the same policy applies in calculating the DSIC balance and periodic DSIC amortization.

For other life, disability income and long term care insurance products, the assumptions made in calculating our DAC balance and DAC amortization expense are consistent with those used in determining the liabilities and, therefore, are intended to provide for adverse deviations in experience and are revised only if . . .