In just a few days Invesco will close on its deal to acquire te Van Kampen funds from Morgan Stanley. Marty Flanagan, Invesco's CEO reassures advisors that despite just four months of lead time, all is a go with the integration in an interview with InvestmentNews.

The deal will officially close next Tuesday, June 1, and will add some $119 billion in AUM to Invesco's total. Roughly half of that total is in mutual funds. When the two firms pull the switch on the merger they will be the thirteenth largest complex with nearly $140 billion in fund AUM. The combined families will also offer 190 open-end funds and 32 close-end funds when they complete the merger of 12 Van Kampen funds into similar funds at Invesco.

"We are ready to go head-to-head on breadth and depth [with the biggest players]," Flanagan told InvestmentNews. "We recognize that all clients are different and don't want investments delivered in the same way."

Flanagan also told the advisor-focused publication that Invesco's management has focused over the past few months on integrating the two firm's back offices and reorganizing staff. He did not provide details on how the staffing has changed.

Once the calendar clicks over, both fund families will be on DST Systems transfer agency platform. Currently Van Kampen uses a captive transfer agent -- Van Kampen Investor Services Inc. -- according to SEC filings.

On the sales side, Invesco has spent a month educating wholesalers on the new product line as part of a special training course.

Invesco will also reach out to the broader public with an ad campaign set to kick of in September. 

Edited by: Sean Hanna, Editor in Chief


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