Wells Fargo Funds Management and Evergreen Investments Announce Mutual Fund Product Offering Changes
January 13, 2010 |
Press Release |
Wells Fargo Funds Management and Evergreen Investments Announce Mutual Fund Product Offering Changes
SAN FRANCISCO—Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, the advisor to the
Wells Fargo Advantage Funds®, and its affiliate Evergreen Investment
Management Company, LLC, the advisor to the Evergreen Funds, have announced
plans to streamline and strengthen their mutual fund product offerings. The
plans include a series of fund mergers, reorganizations, and liquidations
which, following approval by fund shareholders, will result in a Wells Fargo
Advantage Funds family offering 128 mutual funds, variable trust funds, and
Wells Fargo Managed Account CoreBuilder® Shares, representing what we believe
to be the best investment management talent from both firms.
“Uniting these two mutual fund families gives us a tremendous opportunity to
better serve our clients by offering a powerful array of products that takes
advantage of the strengths of both organizations,” said Karla Rabusch,
president of Wells Fargo Advantage Funds. "We are thrilled with the
quality, breadth and depth of the investment options that will be available to
investors.”
The proposals are designed to both eliminate product overlap and reduce costs
to shareholders, while making the resulting product lineup compelling,
comprehensive, and easy to navigate. The proposals include the following:
• 27 Evergreen Funds will be
reorganized into new Wells Fargo Advantage Funds;
• 53 mutual funds from both
fund families will merge; and
• Four Evergreen Funds and one
Wells Fargo Advantage Fund will be liquidated.
These proposals have been unanimously approved by the Wells Fargo Advantage
Funds and Evergreen Funds Boards of Trustees.
“Our goal has always been to offer investors access to the independent thinking
of best-in-class asset managers with time-tested investment strategies,” said
Andrew Owen, head of Wells Fargo Funds Management’s Marketing, Investments and
Product group. “These actions enhance the overall quality of our investment
offerings, while preserving the agility of our multi-boutique investment
model.”
Following the fund mergers and reorganizations, Wells Fargo Funds Management will serve as investment advisor to all of the funds. Evergreen portfolio managers will continue to run Funds as part of Wells Capital Management, the institutional “multi-boutique” asset management firm within Wells Fargo’s Asset Management Group, which serves as subadvisor to many Wells Fargo Advantage Funds. Wells Capital Management is one of 17 distinct investment firms that Wells Fargo Funds Management currently engages to subadvise investment products across a variety of asset classes and styles, including equity, fixed-income, asset allocation, and money market.
“We recognize the importance of continuity for investors and are committed
to ensuring a seamless integration experience throughout this process,” said
Rabusch. “Our top priority remains our dedication to skillfully guiding clients
through the investment terrain to help them reach their financial
objectives.”
Following is a more comprehensive overview of the announced proposals. More
information can be found at www.wellsfargo.com/advantagefunds
or www.evergreeninvestments.com.
Reorganizations
Twenty-seven Evergreen Funds will each be reorganized into a new Wells
Fargo Advantage Fund. These reorganizations are subject to shareholder approval
and other closing conditions. In most cases, these reorganized funds will
continue to receive investment advisory services from their current investment
teams under Wells Capital Management. If the reorganizations are approved and
the other closing conditions are met, the reorganizations are expected to occur
in July 2010.
| Current Evergreen Fund | New Wells Fargo Advantage Fund Name |
| Evergreen Adjustable Rate Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Adjustable Rate Government Fund |
| Evergreen Asset Allocation Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Asset Allocation Fund |
| Evergreen Diversified Capital Builder Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Diversified Capital Builder Fund |
| Evergreen Diversified Income Builder Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Diversified Income Builder Fund |
| Evergreen Enhanced S&P 500 Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Disciplined U.S. Core Fund |
| Evergreen Fundamental Large Cap Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Core Equity Fund |
| Evergreen Global Large Cap Equity Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Disciplined Global Equity Fund |
| Evergreen Global Opportunities Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Global Opportunities Fund |
| Evergreen Golden Core Opportunities Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Small/Mid Cap Core Fund |
| Evergreen Growth Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Traditional Small Cap Growth Fund |
| Evergreen Health Care Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Health Care Fund |
| Evergreen High Income Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage High Yield Bond Fund |
| Evergreen Institutional Municipal Money Market Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Municipal Cash Management Money Market Fund |
| Evergreen International Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage International Bond Fund |
| Evergreen Intrinsic Value Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Intrinsic Value Fund |
| Evergreen Intrinsic World Equity Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Intrinsic World Equity Fund |
| Evergreen New Jersey Municipal Money Market Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage New Jersey Municipal Money Market Fund |
| Evergreen New York Municipal Money Market Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage New York Municipal Money Market Fund |
| Evergreen North Carolina Municipal Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage North Carolina Tax-Free Fund |
| Evergreen Omega Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Omega Growth Fund |
| Evergreen Pennsylvania Municipal Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Pennsylvania Tax-Free Fund |
| Evergreen Pennsylvania Municipal Money Market Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Pennsylvania Municipal Money Market Fund |
| Evergreen Precious Metals Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Precious Metals Fund |
| Evergreen Small-Mid Growth Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Growth Opportunities Fund |
| Evergreen Strategic Growth Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Strategic Large Cap Growth Fund |
| Evergreen Strategic Municipal Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Strategic Municipal Bond Fund |
| Evergreen Utility and Telecommunications Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Utility and Telecommunications Fund |
Mergers
In an effort to achieve possible economies of scale and to eliminate
redundancies among fund offerings, the following merger proposals of funds with
similar investment objectives and strategies will be put before shareholders of
the merging funds in a proxy solicitation. The table below highlights which
surviving fund will acquire the merging fund(s). The merger proposals are
subject to shareholder approval and other conditions; if approved and other
conditions are met, these mergers are expected to occur in July 2010.
| Merging (or Target) Fund(s) | Acquiring Wells Fargo Advantage Fund (Surviving Fund) |
| Evergreen California Municipal Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage California Tax-Free Fund |
| Evergreen California Municipal Money Market Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage California Municipal Money Market Fund |
| Evergreen Core Bond Fund Evergreen Short Intermediate Bond Fund Wells Fargo Advantage Diversified Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Total Return Bond Fund |
| Evergreen Core Plus Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Income Plus Fund |
| Evergreen Disciplined Value Fund Wells Fargo Advantage Equity Income Fund Wells Fargo Advantage U.S. Value Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Disciplined Value Fund1 |
| Evergreen Emerging Markets Growth Fund Wells Fargo Advantage Emerging Markets Equity Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Emerging Markets Equity Fund1 |
| Evergreen Equity Income Fund Wells Fargo Advantage Specialized Financial Services Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Classic Value Fund1 |
| Evergreen Equity Index Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Index Fund |
| Evergreen Fundamental Mid Cap Value Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Mid Cap Disciplined Fund2 |
| Evergreen Golden Large Cap Core Fund Wells Fargo Advantage Large Company Core Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Large Cap Core Fund1 |
| Evergreen High Income Municipal Bond Fund Evergreen Municipal Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Municipal Bond Fund |
| Evergreen Institutional 100% Treasury Money Market Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage 100% Treasury Money Market Fund |
| Evergreen Institutional Money Market Fund Evergreen Prime Cash Management Money Market Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Heritage Money Market FundSM |
| Evergreen Institutional Treasury Money Market Fund Evergreen Treasury Money Market Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Treasury Plus Money Market Fund |
| Evergreen Institutional U.S. Government Money Market Fund Evergreen U.S. Government Money Market Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Government Money Market Fund |
| Evergreen Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Intermediate Tax/AMT-Free Fund |
| Evergreen International Equity Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage International Core Fund3 |
| Evergreen Large Company Growth Fund Wells Fargo Advantage Large Company Growth Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Premier Large Company Growth Fund1 |
| Evergreen Mid Cap Growth Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Mid Cap Growth Fund |
| Evergreen Money Market Fund Wells Fargo Advantage Overland Express Sweep Fund4 | Wells Fargo Advantage Money Market Fund |
| Evergreen Municipal Money Market Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Municipal Money Market Fund |
| Evergreen Short-Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Short-Term Municipal Bond Fund |
| Evergreen Small Cap Value Fund Evergreen Special Values Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Special Small Cap Value Fund1 |
| Evergreen U.S. Government Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Government Securities Fund |
| Evergreen VA Core Bond Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage VT Total Return Bond Fund |
| Evergreen VA Growth Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage VT Small Cap Growth Fund |
| Evergreen VA Fundamental Large Cap Fund Wells Fargo Advantage VT Large Company Core Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage VT Core Equity Fund1 |
| Evergreen VA International Equity Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage VT International Core Fund5 |
| Evergreen VA Omega Fund Wells Fargo Advantage VT Large Company Growth Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage VT Omega Growth Fund1 |
| Evergreen VA Special Values Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage VT Small/Mid Cap Value Fund6 |
| Wells Fargo Advantage Aggressive Allocation Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Growth Balanced Fund |
| Wells Fargo Advantage Growth Equity Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Diversified Equity Fund |
| Wells Fargo Advantage Large Cap Appreciation Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Capital Growth Fund |
| Wells Fargo Advantage Stable Income Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage Ultra Short-Term Income Fund |
| Wells Fargo Advantage Strategic Income Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage High Income Fund |
| Wells Fargo Advantage VT C&B Large Cap Value Fund Wells Fargo Advantage VT Equity Income Fund | Wells Fargo Advantage VT Intrinsic Value Fund1 |
1. This fund will be newly created in order
to receive the assets of the Target Fund upon completion of the merger.
2. The Wells Fargo Advantage Mid Cap Disciplined Fund will be renamed
the Wells Fargo Advantage Special Mid Cap Value Fund following the
merger and is expected to make certain changes to its principal investments at
that time.
3. The Wells Fargo Advantage International Core Fund will be renamed the
Wells Fargo Advantage International Equity Fund following the merger and
is expected to make certain changes to its principal investments at that
time.
4. For the planned merger of the Wells Fargo Advantage Overland Express
Sweep FundSM, shareholder approval is not required
and will not be sought.
5. The Wells Fargo Advantage VT International Core Fund will be renamed
the Wells Fargo Advantage VT International Equity Fund following the
merger and is expected to make certain changes to its principal investments at
that time.
6. The Wells Fargo Advantage VT Small/Mid Cap Value Fund will be renamed
the Wells Fargo Advantage VT Small Cap Value
Fund on or about May 1, 2010 and is expected to make certain changes to its
investment objective and strategies at that time.
Liquidations
The Boards of Trustees of the Wells Fargo Advantage Funds and the
Evergreen Funds also approved the liquidation of their respective funds listed
below:
• Evergreen Golden Mid Cap Core
Fund
• Evergreen VA Diversified
Capital Builder Fund
• Evergreen VA Diversified
Income Builder Fund
• Evergreen VA High Income
Fund
• Wells Fargo Advantage VT
Money Market Fund
These proposals were based on the consideration that the funds’ small sizes
make it unlikely that a shareholder would benefit from the lower expense ratios
that larger funds may experience.
The Wells Fargo Advantage VT Money Market Fund was closed to new
insurance companies as of December 31, 2009. As of January 29, 2010, shares of
all four Evergreen Funds will no longer be available for purchase by new
shareholders. The Evergreen Golden Mid Cap Core Fund will be liquidated
on March 26, 2010. The four other funds will be liquidated on April 30,
2010.
Subadvisor Change
The Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Board of Trustees has approved a
proposal to replace Wells Capital Management with Metropolitan West Capital
Management, LLC as the subadvisor to the Wells Fargo Advantage Small Cap
Disciplined Fund. The Fund will be renamed the Wells Fargo Advantage
Intrinsic Small Cap Value Fund.
Additional Information and Where to
Find it
The foregoing is not an offer to
sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, shares of any investment company,
nor is it a solicitation of
any proxy.
In connection with the proposed shell reorganizations and mergers, the acquirer
will file a prospectus/proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. All shareholders are advised to read the prospectus/proxy statement
in its entirety when it becomes available, because it will contain important
information regarding the acquirer, the target, the transaction, fees,
expenses, risk considerations, the persons soliciting proxies in connection
with the transaction and the interests of these persons in the transaction and
related matters. Target intends to mail the prospectus/proxy statement to its
shareholders once it is declared effective by the Commission. Shareholders may
obtain a free copy of the prospectus/proxy statement when available and other
documents filed by the acquirer with the Commission at the Commission’s web
site at http://www.sec.gov. Free copies of the prospectus/proxy statement, once
available, may also be obtained by directing a request via mail, phone or email
to acquirer, Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, P.O. Box 8266, Boston MA, 02266-8266,
1-800-222-8222, or at www.wellsfargo.com/advantagefunds
or by directing a request via mail or fax to target, Evergreen Funds, 200
Berkeley Street, Boston, MA, 02116, 1-800-343-2898, or at www.evergreeninvestments.com. The
target and the acquirer also file annual and semi-annual reports and other
information with the Commission. You may read and copy any reports, statements,
or other information filed by the target or the acquirer at the Commission’s
public reference rooms at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C., 20549-0213.
Please call the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the
public reference room. Filings made with the Commission by either the target or
the acquirer are also available to the public from commercial
document-retrieval services and at the Web site maintained by the Commission at
http://www.sec.gov.
Participants in the Solicitation
The acquirer, the target and their respective directors, executive
officers, and certain members of their management and other employees may be
soliciting proxies from shareholders in favor of the transaction and other
related matters. Information concerning persons who may be considered
participants in the solicitation of the target’s shareholders under the rules
of the Commission will be set forth in prospectus/proxy statement when it is
filed with the Commission.
Stock fund values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Bond fund values fluctuate in response to the financial condition of individual issuers, general market and economic conditions, and changes in interest rates. In general, when interest rates rise, bond fund values fall and investors may lose principal value. Some funds, including nondiversified funds and funds investing in foreign investments, high-yield bonds, small and mid cap stocks, and/or more volatile segments of the economy, entail additional risk and may not be appropriate for all investors. Consult a Fund's prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.
A portion of the municipal Funds’ income
may be subject to federal, state, and/or local income taxes or the alternative
minimum tax (AMT). Any capital gains distributions may be taxable. The U.S.
government guarantee applies to certain underlying securities and not to shares
of the Funds.
An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although
the Fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it
is possible to lose money by investing in a money market fund.
Carefully consider a fund’s investment
objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. For a current
prospectus, containing this and other information, visit
www.evergreeninvestments.com for Evergreen Funds and
www.wellsfargo.com/advantagefunds for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds. Read the
prospectus carefully before investing.
For the Variable Trust Funds, please refer to the prospectus provided by
your participating insurance company for detailed information describing the
separate accounts, including information regarding surrender charges, mortality
and expense risk fees, and other charges that may be assessed by the
participating insurance companies.
CoreBuilder Shares are a series of
investment options within the separately managed accounts advised or subadvised
by Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. The shares are fee-waived mutual funds
that enable certain separately managed account investors to achieve greater
diversification than smaller managed accounts might otherwise achieve.
Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC, is a subsidiary of Wells Fargo
& Company and is an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company’s broker/dealer
subsidiaries. Evergreen mutual funds are distributed by Evergreen Investment
Services, Inc. Evergreen InvestmentsSM is a service mark of Evergreen
Investment Management Company, LLC.
Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo
& Company, provides investment advisory and administrative services for
Wells Fargo Managed Account Services and Wells Fargo Advantage Funds®. Other
affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services
for the Funds. The Funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor,
LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. 120039
01-10
About Wells Fargo Funds Management
Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo
& Company (NYSE:WFC), provides investment advisory and administrative
services for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds. Other affiliates of Wells
Fargo & Company provide subadvisory and other services for the Funds. The
Funds are distributed by Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member
FINRA/SIPC, an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. The organization manages
more than $179.1 billion in portfolio assets under management (as of December
31, 2009). The Wells Fargo Advantage Funds are a registered trademark of
Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. For more information on Wells Fargo
Advantage Funds, please visit www.wellsfargo.com/advantagefunds.
About Evergreen Investments
Evergreen Investments is one of the brand names under which Wells Fargo &
Company conducts its investment management business. Evergreen Investments
strives to meet client investment objectives through disciplined, team-based
asset management and through a broad range of investment products. The
organization manages more than $67.2 billion in portfolio assets under
management (as of December 31, 2009). Evergreen mutual funds are distributed by
Wells Fargo Funds Distributor, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC, an affiliate of
Wells Fargo & Company. Evergreen Investments(SM) is a service mark of
Evergreen Investment Management Company, LLC.
Source
Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC
Evergreen Investments
Media Inquiries
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