Deals & People April 6, 2015

Ameriprise Asset Management Group Rebrands

Columbia Management has joined forces with its U.K.-based affiliate Threadneedle Investments to launch Columbia Threadneedle Investments.
Reported by

With combined capabilities, resources and reach, the global brand offers clients resources from both firms. The joint entity represents 2,000 professionals across 18 countries, responsible for more than $500 billion in assets. Both are owned by Ameriprise Financial.

“The Columbia Threadneedle Investments brand reinforces our dedication to helping investors achieve their financial goals,” says Vicki Lester, head of U.S. intermediary marketing. “It represents a tremendous opportunity for us to further define our capabilities in the marketplace as we deliver investment products and solutions that meet the needs of our clients, advisers and distribution partners.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

The group has launched a new logo, visual identity and brand positioning. It is placing focus on the client, and the brand is positioned to reflect this, explains Rupert Pybus, global head of brand. “Our clients’ success is, and always will be our priority and we have therefore put the customer at the heart of Columbia Threadneedle Investments, ensuring we deliver successful investment outcomes, solutions and service for our clients across the globe,” he says. 

While operating under one brand, there is no change to the corporate structure or regulated entities. Additionally, the company states investment teams, strategies and processes, existing funds and client portfolios and mandates in place at both firms will remain unchanged. 

The firm maintains investment offices in London, Singapore, Boston, Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, Portland, Oregon and other U.S. locations.

Deals & People April 6, 2015

Lincoln Trust Rebrands as LT Trust

A new name, logo and redesigned website are the former Lincoln Trust’s latest steps in building its retirement business brand.
Reported by

The former Lincoln Trust Company, newly renamed LT Trust, has rolled out a new logo, brand identity and redesigned its website, www.LTRetire.com. The rebrand aims to highlight the firm’s evolution from providing self-directed individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to offering innovative, low-cost retirement plan solutions for small plan clients, aimed at helping all participants achieve retirement readiness.

For years, the name Lincoln Trust was synonymous with alternative assets. The company then acted as a custodian for investors looking to hold real estate and private debt, among other vehicles, in self-directed IRAs.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

The firm sold its self-directed IRA division to PENSCO Trust Company in 2012 to ready for expansion in the defined contribution (DC) marketplace. Then came the task of re-educating the adviser community that Lincoln Trust was now in the traditional mutual fund retirement space. LT Trust maintains its ability to hold alternative assets in a 401(k) plan, but the goal is to create a clean break from its legacy IRA business.

The new brand is a logical step that allows the company to put a stake in the ground, delineating its commitment to providing a low-cost retirement platform to all clients, according to Robert H. Beriault, chairman and chief executive of LT Trust.

“Although we have rebranded, our commitment to customers remains the same,” Beriault says. “We will continue to bring the best solutions we can to the retirement plan industry—to encourage transparent, low-cost plans that give participants the greatest chance of retiring with enough income to support their lifestyle.”

LT Trust, formerly Lincoln Trust, based in Denver, provides trust, custodial, recordkeeping and administration services to more than 2,000 employers.

«