In December of 1996, the Evergreen and Keystone family of funds combined to make the 28th largest mutual fund complex in the United States with approximately $34 billion in assets under management. The fund complex has quadrupled in size over the last three years due to b performance, sales growth and the successful integration of acquisitions.
"Evergreen Keystone Funds have experienced tremendous growth," said William Ennis, Managing Director of Evergreen Keystone. "Now is the appropriate time to create a comprehensive and linear family of funds with a single, easily recognizable name -- Evergreen."
"By putting our fund organization under the common umbrella name of Evergreen Funds, we create a simpler and more cohesive image that will help improve awareness of our 'brand' to prospective clients and will help clarify our identity to existing shareholders. In addition, streamlining the fund families will allow for cost savings for our shareholders as the result of consolidating prospectuses, annual reports and legal registrations," said Ennis.
The Board also approved a consolidated pricing structure for the entire fund family. Currently, the fund family is composed of two multi-classed group of funds, the Evergreen and the Keystone America Funds (KAF). The fund family also includes the Keystone Custodian Funds (KCF), a B-class, CDSC group of 10 funds.
The KCF Funds will merge into the Evergreen Funds, giving the fund family a single pricing structure. KCF shareholders will benefit from a lower 12b-1 fee after four years, enhancing fund yields and maximizing shareholder returns.
"As we continue building a world class mutual fund complex we believe its important to have a unified money management entity," said Ennis. "These strategic moves strengthen brand recognition in the marketplace and make our fund family more efficient."
After the name change shareholders will receive benefits including: Full exchangeability for all Evergreen Keystone shareholders; Simplified fund reporting by bringing all Evergreen Keystone funds under one name; A unified fund family with a common risk/reward spectrum, without "gaps" in product which existed within the separate families. "Our intent is to craft a timeless, user-friendly fund family that will secure enduring and genuine rewards to its shareholders," Ennis concluded.
Evergreen Funds offer a wide array of investment products distributed by full-service brokers, financial planners and banks. For more complete information about Evergreen Funds please call your investment representative to receive a prospectus or visit us on the web. You may also obtain information on Evergreen Funds by calling 800-343-2898.
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