The European arm of Atlanta-headquartered Invesco, has acquired Morgan Stanley’s retail asset management business in a bid to broaden its investment capabilities.

Invesco completed the acquisition of Morgan Stanley’s retail asset management business including Van Kampen Investments (which has assets under management totaling $120 billion as at end-June), further strengthening its range of investment capabilities and vehicles, the firm said in a statement.

Following the acquisition, Invesco now has more than 650 investment professionals managing $557.7 billion in assets, as at 30 June, through a range of investment strategies covering equities and fixed income markets as well as alternative asset classes; these are available through different investment vehicles (funds, segregated accounts, exchange-traded funds) and sub-advisory, the firm said.

“Invesco and Morgan Stanley’s retail asset management business/Van Kampen boast complementary teams and cultures with a strong focus on investment excellence. Our combined organisation expands the depth and breadth of our investment strategies, strengthening our ability to provide meaningful solutions to clients,” said Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, chief executive officer at Invesco Europe.

The combination also strengthens Invesco’s investment capabilities in US and Japanese equities through its offering of value-based investment strategies: six funds, focused on US, Japanese and global equities, have been added to Invesco’s global product range as a result of the merger.

“Invesco will benefit from the addition of several teams of experienced investment managers with specialist, sectoral knowledge and strong research resources,” said de Franssu.

The merger was designed to have minimum impact on clients, with no changes in the investment policy of the individual sub-funds. Service providers, investment management fees and the calculation of performance fees will remain unchanged. Invesco also does not expect any material changes to its total expense ratios.