Allied Irish Banks is merging its U.S. fund units in a move aimed at gaining efficiencies. The bank said that it is combining The ARK Funds, which has 21 funds and more than $6.5 billion in assets under management, with the Govett Funds, with $97 million in assets under management.

Each of the Govett funds is merging into a like ARK Fund. The $65 million Govett Smaller Companies Portfolio merged with and became the ARK Small-Cap Equity Portfolio. The $4 million Govett Global Income Fund, with assets of $4 million, merged with and became the ARK Income Portfolio. The $12 million Govett Emerging Markets Equity Fund merged with and became the newly introduced ARK Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio. The $16 million Govett International Equity Fund merged with the ARK International Equity Selection Portfolio and was renamed the ARK International Equity Portfolio.

Allied Investment Advisors acts as the investment advisor for all of the ARK Portfolios except the ARK International Equity Portfolio and the ARK Emerging Markets Equity Portfolio, which are sub-advised by AIB Govett, Inc.

"The merging of these two well-respected fund families is a further extension of our commitment to offering investors a broad spectrum of investment opportunities with experienced management," stated Michele Dalton, product manager, ARK Funds. "This is more than simply a merger of funds - we are combining the best of two investment worlds for our shareholders. We will utilize ARK's exceptional U.S. equity and fixed income investment experience and Govett's more than 60 years of international investing experience, with an anticipated result of superior-quality investments." 

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