Invesco Aim to lose Aim in name

Invesco Ltd. is changing the name of its Invesco Aim unit to Invesco, and its Aim Funds to Invesco Funds, according to an executive at the investment firm. The reason for the name change, which will happen April 30, is that “the connection between Aim and Invesco has been made,” said Andrew Schlossberg, chief marketing officer of Invesco Aim. “Invesco” now can stand in for “Aim” without any confusion, he added. Invesco PLC merged with Aim Investments in 1997. No similar change is in the works for Van Kampen Funds Inc., which Invesco acquired from Morgan Stanley in October for $1.5 billion. No strong marketing connection exists yet between Invesco and Van Kampen, so Invesco will be added to the Van Kampen open-end fund names at the close of the acquisition, Mr. Schlossberg said. The deal is expected to be completed mid-year, Invesco, however, will rebrand the Morgan Stanley open-end funds that are part of the transaction by removing Morgan Stanley from fund names and replacing it with Invesco. Invesco is still “working through the details” with regards to the fate of closed-end funds offered by both Van Kampen and Morgan Stanley, said Ivy McLemore, a spokesman for Invesco,. Asked whether the Van Kampen name would be dropped once a “connection” is made between Invesco and Van Kampen, Mr. Schlossberg said that is something “clients and shareholders dictate over time.”