Columbia Threadneedle Investments, the global asset management group of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. AMP, agreed to acquire New York-based registered investment advisor Emerging Global Advisors, LLC (“EGA”) with an aim to significantly expand its smart beta capabilities.While the transaction is expected to close later this year, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.With $892 million in assets, EGA is a leading provider of smart beta portfolios focused on emerging markets and has an established presence in the smart beta marketplace. EGA is the investment advisor to the EGShares suite of nine emerging markets equity exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and launched its first ETF in 2009.On the other hand, Columbia Threadneedle with $464 billion in assets has been making efforts to venture in the smart beta marketplace. In the first quarter of 2016, it offered its own smart beta strategies by making preliminary registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission for multiple ETFs under the Columbia Beta Advantage ETFs banner.The current acquisition will help Columbia Threadneedle capitalize on the expertise of EGA to enhance its smart beta strategies. Columbia Threadneedle will benefit from EGA’s experience in converting investment insights into rules-based, smart beta strategies, whereas EGA will gain access to Columbia Threadneedle’s rich investment expertise.“The experience and knowledge of the EGA team and strong emerging markets ETF products will complement our existing actively managed product lineup,” said Ted Truscott, chief executive officer of Columbia Threadneedle Investments. “The EGA acquisition will allow us to reach even more investors and accelerates our efforts as we build our smart beta capabilities.”“Columbia Threadneedle Investment’s expansive footprint across global markets provides an opportunity to accelerate the growth of our smart beta platform,” said Robert Holderith, President and Founder of EGA.Currently, Ameriprise holds a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Some better-ranked investment management firms include SEI Investments Co. SEIC, Cohen & Steers Inc. CNS and Eagle Point Credit Company Inc ECC. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AMERIPRISE FINL (AMP): Free Stock Analysis Report COHEN&STRS INC (CNS): Free Stock Analysis Report SEI INVESTMENTS (SEIC): Free Stock Analysis Report EAGLE POINT CRD (ECC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research