Invesco Agency files mortgage REIT IPO

Another mortgage real estate investment trust has entered the public arena. Invesco Agency Securities Inc. filed a $250 million initial public offering Monday. The company will invest in mortgage-backed securities that are backed by government sponsored agencies such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. It will trade under the symbol IVR. The REIT will be externally managed by Invesco Institutional Inc., a unit of Invesco Ltd. of Atlanta. The IPO is the latest in a series of mortgage REITs going public. In April, Hatteras Financial Corp. of Winston Salem, N.C., completed an IPO. A finance company, Chimera Investment Corp. of New York, which invests in residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, and other assets, filed a $345 million IPO in June. Other REITs that have announced plans to go public include Point Asset Management Inc. of Pittsburgh, North Sound Mortgage Investments Corp. of New York and American Capital Agency Corp. of Bethesda, Md. Zurich, Switzerland-based Credit Suisse Group and Morgan Stanley of New York were the underwriters for Invesco.