Morgan Stanley has been asking asset management companies if they are interested in acquiring or forming a partnership with its Van Kampen mutual fund business, according to Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources. 

The New York-headquartered firm has told at least one potential bidder it was discussing a transaction in which it would gain a stake in Atlanta-based Invesco, according to one source. Nuveen Investments and Aberdeen Asset Management were among those approached, the sources said.

Morgan Stanley co-president James Gorman is reviewing the company’s investment management operations; chief financial officer Colm Kelleher has said the retail business has “some performance issues.”