Van Kampen Funds turned to Jim O'Shaughnessy and his team at O’Shaughnessy Asset Management to sub-advise six new funds. Chicago-based Van Kampen filed with the SEC Friday last week to roll out the Van Kampen O’Shaughnessy global, international, large cap growth, small/mid cap growth, all cap core and enhanced dividend funds. The funds will be offered in Class A,B, C, I and R shares.

Van Kampen and OSAM signed an exclusive pact earlier this month.

"We will not sub-advise any other US-registered mutual funds," said O'Shaughnessy, OSAM's founder, chairman, CEO and CIO, in an interview.

A quantitative money management firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, OSAM sub-advises Royal Bank of Canada's family of mutual funds. RBC owns an 11 percent stake in OSAM; the remainder of the firm is owned by OSAM employees and their family. OSAM ended 2008 with AUM of about $5 billion.

OSAM was founded in mid-2007 by O'Shaughnessy and 13 of his colleagues at Bear Stearns Asset Management. The firm currently has 37 employees.

In e-mailed comments to The MFWire, Van Kampen president and CEO Jerry Miller said the relationship with OSAM "allows us to leverage the expertise of a firm that has experienced tremendous success in quantitative investing and add more depth and breadth to our equity line-up."

The six funds in the Van Kampen O'Shaughnessy series will have Van Kampen Funds as distributor, Van Kampen Investor Services as transfer agent and State Street Bank and Trust Company as custodian.

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Company Press Release

CHICAGO - (Business Wire) Van Kampen Funds Inc., a subsidiary of Van Kampen Investments Inc. (“Van Kampen”), announced today a new exclusive agreement with O’Shaughnessy Asset Management (“OSAM”), a Stamford, Connecticut-based quantitative money management firm with approximately $5 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2008. OSAM is led by Jim O’Shaughnessy, a pioneer in quantitative equity analysis and the author of the best-selling “What Works on Wall Street.” In connection with the relationship, Van Kampen filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a new series of six open-end equity mutual funds that will be advised by Van Kampen and sub-advised by OSAM.

The new series of Van Kampen funds will give individual investors exclusive access to OSAM’s investment strategies in the form of a U.S. registered mutual fund. A registration statement has been filed for the following series of equity funds under the Van Kampen Partners Trust:

* Van Kampen O’Shaughnessy Global Fund
* Van Kampen O’Shaughnessy International Fund
* Van Kampen O’Shaughnessy Large Cap Growth Fund
* Van Kampen O’Shaughnessy Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund
* Van Kampen O’Shaughnessy All Cap Core Fund
* Van Kampen O’Shaughnessy Enhanced Dividend Fund


"As we continue to execute our long-term growth strategy, Van Kampen is focused on delivering innovative investment solutions along with best-in-class asset management expertise to our investors and distribution partners," said Jerry Miller, President and CEO of Van Kampen. "With this agreement, we are looking to leverage the expertise of a firm that has experienced tremendous success in quantitative investing and a strong track record of working as a mutual fund sub-advisor. Establishing a relationship with O’Shaughnessy Asset Management adds more depth and breadth to our equity line-up, further aligning our product set with current demand for investment solutions that offer more potential benefits from diversification."

"Our firm believes it is an opportune time for investors to take advantage of compelling opportunities in the U.S. equities markets and working with Van Kampen helps fulfill one of our key growth objectives – offering individual investors in the U.S. access to our time-tested strategies in a mutual fund format," said Jim O’Shaughnessy, founder of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management. "We are very pleased to be working with Van Kampen. Their strong relationships serving clients across distribution channels and product sets is an ideal fit for our strong legacy of working with financial advisors and our conviction in the value of applying empirical, fundamental research to uncover the best stock selection strategies."

The agreement with OSAM represents another significant step in Van Kampen’s efforts to enhance its product offerings to meet the evolving needs of individual investors and its distribution partners. Most recently, in November 2008, Van Kampen launched the Retirement Strategy Funds, a new set of target-date funds with an innovative, next-generation design.

About Van Kampen

Van Kampen Asset Management is a wholly owned subsidiary of Van Kampen Investments Inc. Van Kampen Investments Inc. is one of the nation’s largest investment management companies, with approximately $83 billion in assets under management or supervision, as of November 30, 2008. With roots in money management dating back to 1927, Van Kampen Investments Inc. has helped nearly four generations of investors achieve their financial goals. For more information, visit Van Kampen Investment Inc.’s website at www.vankampen.com.

About O’Shaughnessy Asset Management

O’Shaughnessy Asset Management is a Stamford, Connecticut-based quantitative money management firm. The firm delivers a broad range of equity portfolios to institutional investors and the high net-worth clients of financial advisors in the United States. O’Shaughnessy Asset Management also serves as a sub-adviser to a family of mutual funds through the Royal Bank of Canada, which are only available in Canada. The firm’s investment strategies are based on the research of Chairman and CEO James P. O’Shaughnessy, widely regarded as a pioneer in quantitative equity analysis. Mr. O’Shaughnessy and his team have identified the characteristics that have led to successful investing over the last fifty years, and it is these characteristics that form the foundation of the firm’s strategies. As of December 31, 2008, O’Shaughnessy Asset Management managed approximately $5 billion. For more information, visit www.osam.com.

 

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