American Express 2003 Annual Report Download - page 21

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imately $85 billion in assets owned and managed. In 2003, Threadneedle was named the Best Fund Manager
over five years in Standard & Poor’s European Fund Awards and Best Overall U.K. Fund Group of the Year in
the Lipper Fund Awards. With this acquisition, American Express has become the second-largest retail invest-
ment manager in the U.K. and an important force in money management outside of the United States.
Threadneedle will play a key role in the expansion of our financial services businesses outside of the United
States and becomes our international asset management platform. This acquisition provides us with excellent
growth opportunities in international retail and institutional markets.
Broadening Our Product Offerings
We continue to expand the breadth of AEFA product offerings in an effort to attract and retain clients. During 2003,
we introduced six new mutual funds and announced our intention to merge several portfolios to create a
stronger, more focused and differentiated equity product line. We rolled out Financial Accounts, a free online
service that helps clients organize and track the value of their American Express and third-party financial
accounts. In addition, we launched the ONE High-Yield Savings account that offers account holders the benefits
of competitive interest rates for their cash reserves.
Growing Our Advisor Force
AEFA’s business model centers on financial planning advice. Many of our advisors are Certified Financial Plan-
ners who work closely with clients to develop long-term financial strategies. In fact, AEFA has more advisors
who have earned the CFP designation than any other firm. Our advisors are not brokers who focus only on
completing transactions for clients. As a result, our clients tend to stay with us and have a long-term view of invest-
ing. AEFA’s client retention rates are above 94 percent — among the highest in the industry.
At a time when many of our competitors are shrinking their field forces, AEFA continued to grow its advisor
force in 2003. AEFA now has more than 12,000 advisors, up 4 percent from last year. In addition, veteran advisor
retention rates remained strong.
In 2003, AEFA reached an important milestone — the number of current clients who had purchased financial
planning services from their AEFA advisors reached one million. This is significant because clients who pur-
chase financial advice services typically have deeper relationships with AEFA.
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