Ameriprise Financial Inc. announced Wednesday that its exposure to Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual and other mortgage-backed securities is expected to result in a $200 million to $225 million after-tax, realized investment loss -- or less than 1 percent of the company's investments. The Minneapolis-based financial planning and insurance company also said operating earnings will be negatively affected by its decision to help its clients stuck in the Reserve Primary money market fund get their money back.

Ameriprise also announced good news with the bad, reaffirming that despite the financial crisis, it has a strong balance sheet and more than $4 billion in cash as of Sept. 30, so it's not reliant on frozen credit markets to conduct business as usual. The company said it also expects to have about $1 billion in excess capital by year's end.

Ameriprise will report third-quarter earnings after the market closes on Oct. 29.

KARA MCGUIRE