Segment Information

The Company’s reporting segments are Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Annuities, Protection and Corporate & Other.

Beginning in the first quarter of 2017, the long term care business, which had been reported as part of the Protection segment, is reflected in the Corporate & Other segment. The Company discontinued underwriting long term care insurance in 2002 and the transfer of this closed block to the Corporate & Other segment allows investors to better understand the performance of the Company’s on-going Protection businesses. Prior periods presented have been restated to reflect the change.

The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those of the Company, except for operating adjustments defined below, the method of capital allocation, the accounting for gains (losses) from intercompany revenues and expenses and not providing for income taxes on a segment basis.

The largest source of intersegment revenues and expenses is retail distribution services, where segments are charged transfer pricing rates that approximate arm’s length market prices for distribution through the Advice & Wealth Management segment. The Advice & Wealth Management segment provides distribution services for affiliated and non-affiliated products and services. The Asset Management segment provides investment management services for the Company’s owned assets and client assets, and accordingly charges investment and advisory management fees to the other segments.

All costs related to shared services are allocated to the segments based on a rate times volume or fixed basis.

The Advice & Wealth Management segment provides financial planning and advice, as well as full-service brokerage services, primarily to retail clients through the Company’s advisors. These services are centered on long-term, personal relationships between the Company’s advisors and its clients and focus on helping clients confidently achieve their financial goals. The Company’s advisors provide a distinctive approach to financial planning and have access to a broad selection of both affiliated and non-affiliated products to help clients meet their financial needs. A significant portion of revenues in this segment is fee-based, driven by the level of client assets, which is impacted by both market movements and net asset flows. The Company also earns net investment income on invested assets primarily from certificate products. This segment earns revenues (distribution fees) for distributing non-affiliated products and intersegment revenues (distribution fees) for distributing the Company’s affiliated products and services provided to its retail clients. Intersegment expenses for this segment include expenses for investment management services provided by the Asset Management segment.

The Asset Management segment provides investment management and advice and investment products to retail, high net worth and institutional clients on a global scale through the Columbia Threadneedle Investments brand, which represents the combined capabilities, resources and reach of Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC (“Columbia Management”) and Threadneedle. Columbia Management primarily provides products and services in the U.S. and Threadneedle primarily provides products and services internationally. The Company provides U.S. retail clients with products through unaffiliated third party financial institutions and through the Advice & Wealth Management segment, and provides institutional products and services through its institutional sales force. Retail products for non-U.S. investors are primarily distributed through third-party financial institutions and unaffiliated financial advisors. Retail products include U.S. mutual funds and their non-U.S. equivalents, exchange-traded funds and variable product funds underlying insurance and annuity separate accounts. Institutional asset management services are designed to meet specific client objectives and may involve a range of products, including those that focus on traditional asset classes, separately managed accounts, individually managed accounts, CLOs, hedge fund or alternative strategies, collective funds and property funds. CLOs, hedge fund or alternative strategies and certain private funds are often classified as alternative assets. Revenues in this segment are primarily earned as fees based on managed asset balances, which are impacted by market movements, net asset flows, asset allocation and product mix. The Company may also earn performance fees from certain accounts where investment performance meets or exceeds certain pre-identified targets. The Asset Management segment also provides intercompany asset management services for Ameriprise Financial subsidiaries. The fees for all such services are reflected within the Asset Management segment results through intersegment transfer pricing. Intersegment expenses for this segment include distribution expenses for services provided by the Advice & Wealth Management, Annuities and Protection segments.

The Annuities segment provides variable and fixed annuity products of RiverSource Life companies to individual clients. The Company provides variable annuity products through its advisors and its fixed annuity products are distributed through both affiliated and unaffiliated advisors and financial institutions. Revenues for the Company’s variable annuity products are primarily earned as fees based on underlying account balances, which are impacted by both market movements and net asset flows. Revenues for the Company’s fixed deferred annuity products are primarily earned as net investment income on assets supporting fixed account balances, with profitability significantly impacted by the spread between net investment income earned and interest credited on the fixed account balances. The Company also earns net investment income on owned assets supporting reserves for immediate annuities with a non-life contingent feature and for certain guaranteed benefits offered with variable annuities and on capital supporting the business. Revenues for the Company’s immediate annuities with a life contingent feature are earned as premium revenue. Intersegment revenues for this segment reflect fees paid by the Asset Management segment for marketing support and other services provided in connection with the availability of variable insurance trust funds (“VIT Funds”) under the variable annuity contracts. Intersegment expenses for this segment include distribution expenses for services provided by the Advice & Wealth Management segment, as well as expenses for investment management services provided by the Asset Management segment.

The Protection segment offers a variety of products to address the protection and risk management needs of the Company’s retail clients including life, DI and property casualty insurance. Life and DI products are primarily provided through the Company’s advisors. The Company’s property casualty products are sold through affinity relationships. The Company issues insurance policies through its life insurance subsidiaries and the Property Casualty companies. The primary sources of revenues for this segment are premiums, fees, and charges that the Company receives to assume insurance-related risk. The Company earns net investment income on owned assets supporting insurance reserves and capital supporting the business. The Company also receives fees based on the level of assets supporting VUL separate account balances. This segment earns intersegment revenues from fees paid by the Asset Management segment for marketing support and other services provided in connection with the availability of VIT Funds under the VUL contracts. Intersegment expenses for this segment include distribution expenses for services provided by the Advice & Wealth Management segment, as well as expenses for investment management services provided by the Asset Management segment.

The Corporate & Other segment consists of net investment income or loss on corporate level assets, including excess capital held in the Company’s subsidiaries and other unallocated equity and other revenues as well as unallocated corporate expenses. The Corporate & Other segment also includes the results of the Company’s closed block long term care business. The Corporate & Other segment also includes revenues and expenses of consolidated investment entities, which are excluded on an operating basis.

Management uses segment operating measures in goal setting, as a basis for determining employee compensation and in evaluating performance on a basis comparable to that used by some securities analysts and investors. Consistent with GAAP accounting guidance for segment reporting, operating earnings is the Company’s measure of segment performance. Operating earnings should not be viewed as a substitute for GAAP income from continuing operations before income tax provision. The Company believes the presentation of segment operating earnings, as the Company measures it for management purposes, enhances the understanding of its business by reflecting the underlying performance of its core operations and facilitating a more meaningful trend analysis.

Operating earnings is defined as operating net revenues less operating expenses. Operating net revenues and operating expenses exclude results of discontinued operations, the market impact on IUL benefits (net of hedges and the related DAC amortization, unearned revenue amortization, and the reinsurance accrual), integration and restructuring charges and the impact of consolidating investment entities. Operating net revenues also exclude net realized investment gains or losses (net of unearned revenue amortization and the reinsurance accrual) and the market impact of hedges to offset interest rate changes on unrealized gains or losses for certain investments. Operating expenses also exclude the market impact on variable annuity guaranteed benefits (net of hedges and the related DSIC and DAC amortization), the market impact on fixed index annuity benefits (net of hedges and the related DAC amortization), and the DSIC and DAC amortization offset to net realized investment gains or losses. The market impact on variable annuity guaranteed benefits, fixed index annuity benefits and IUL benefits includes changes in embedded derivative values caused by changes in financial market conditions, net of changes in economic hedge values and unhedged items including the difference between assumed and actual underlying separate account investment performance, fixed income credit exposures, transaction costs and certain policyholder contract elections, net of related impacts on DAC and DSIC amortization. The market impact also includes certain valuation adjustments made in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Codification 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, including the impact on embedded derivative values of discounting projected benefits to reflect a current estimate of the Company’s life insurance subsidiary’s nonperformance spread.

The following tables summarize selected financial information by segment and reconcile segment totals to those reported on the consolidated financial statements:



	December 31,
	2017		2016
	(in millions)
Advice & Wealth Management	$	13,270	$	12,654
Asset Management	8,393		7,254
Annuities	98,276		93,481
Protection	18,039		16,780
Corporate & Other	9,492		9,652
Total assets	$	147,470	$	139,821



	Years Ended December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
	(in millions)
Operating net revenues:
Advice & Wealth Management	$	5,506		$	5,036		$	5,013
Asset Management	3,077			2,964			3,254
Annuities	2,499			2,463			2,541
Protection	2,044			2,241			2,131
Corporate & Other	173			237			256
Eliminations ⁽¹⁾	(1,411		)	(1,406		)	(1,461		)
Total segment operating revenues	11,888			11,535			11,734
Net realized gains (losses)	46			6			4
Revenue attributable to CIEs	94			128			446
Market impact on IUL benefits, net	1			24			7
Market impact of hedges on investments	(2		)	3			(21		)
Total net revenues per consolidated statements of operations	$	12,027		$	11,696		$	12,170

⁽¹⁾ Represents the elimination of intersegment revenues recognized for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 in each segment as follows: Advice and Wealth Management ($953, $982 and $1,035, respectively); Asset Management ($47, $44 and $43, respectively); Annuities ($351, $333 and $340, respectively); Protection ($62, $46 and $42, respectively); and Corporate & Other ($(2), $1 and $1, respectively).



	Years Ended December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
	(in millions)
Operating earnings:
Advice & Wealth Management	$	1,163		$	911		$	859
Asset Management	740			621			761
Annuities	710			329			650
Protection	216			263			198
Corporate & Other	(426		)	(359		)	(214		)
Total segment operating earnings	2,403			1,765			2,254
Net realized gains (losses)	44			6			4
Net income (loss) attributable to CIEs	2			(2		)	125
Market impact on variable annuity guaranteed benefits, net	(232		)	(216		)	(214		)
Market impact on IUL benefits, net	4			36			(1		)
Market impact of hedges on investments	(2		)	3			(21		)
Integration and restructuring charges	(5		)	—			(5		)
Pretax income per consolidated statements of operations	$	2,214		$	1,592		$	2,142