Ameriprise-owned asset management units unify under single brand

Ameriprise Financial has relaunched its asset management businesses as Columbia Threadneedle Investments.

Minneapolis-based Ameriprise in January announced plans to rebrand Columbia Management and Threadneedle Investments under a single name. On Monday, it will start using new logos and messaging for the business.

"We have brought together two well established, successful asset managers under one brand, offering clients a broader set of capabilities and a truly global presence," Ted Truscott, CEO of Columbia Threadneedle Investments, said in a statement.

Ameriprise bought the U.K.-based Threadneedle Asset ­Management in 2003 for $570 million. It bought Boston-based Columbia Management in 2010 from Bank of America for about $1 billion.

The new logo for Columbia Threadneedle Investments can be interpreted a number of ways but it incorporates an interlocking C and T representing Columbia and Threadneedle. The stylized T points northeast, and plays off the compass design of Ameriprise's corporate logo that also points northeast. The new logo can be interpreted as indicating the direction the new group is going, a reflection of the way the firms work together, and an indication which way client assets should grow.

The logo also includes the tagline: "Your success, our priority".

"We put the client at the heart of our new brand," said Vicki Lester, head of U.S. intermediary marketing for Ameriprise. "We wanted to make a clear statement of our commitment to clients."

Rupert Pybus, global head of brand for Columbia Threadneedle Investments, led the overall rebranding effort. The idea of the rebrand came up two years ago but the real work started a year ago.

"Investment management has become a much more global business, the idea of going to a more global marketing entity was driven by our clients." Pybus said. "We will be offering clients more opportunity to benefit from the global research that we will now be able to inform all our investment teams."

The rebrand will not change established investment teams, existing funds, client portfolios or strategies and processes in place at both firms. The rebranding doesn't mean all funds will be universally available to clients. Regulations guide where funds can be marketed and sold.

The names of individual funds won't change but will be marketed as Columbia funds or Threadneedle funds available through Columbia Threadneedle Investments.

The rebrand also solidifies the working relationships and sharing of investment information between all of Columbia Threadneedle's investment teams.

Columbia Threadneedle has 198 funds rated by Morningstar, 115 of them are rated 4 or 5 stars. Combined, they'll have 2,000 people and over 450 dedicated investment professionals in 18 countries across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.