First American Funds' Board said today that the merger of several of its funds has been finalized following shareholder approval on March 13 and unanimous approval of the Board on Dec. 4 of last year.

The Large Cap Growth Fund has been merged with the Large Cap Growth Opportunities Fund; the Health Sciences Fund to the Large Cap Growth Opportunities Fund; Mid Cap Growth Fund to the Mid Cap Growth Opportunities Fund; the Small Cap Growth Fund to the Small Cap Select Fund; Emerging Markets Fund to the International Fund; Bond IMMDEX Fund to the Core Bond Fund; and the High Yield Bond Fund to the High Income Bond Fund.

The principal investment strategies and risk factors of each merging fund, with the exception of Health Sciences Fund, are similar to those of the corresponding surviving fund, according to the firm. The move to merge the funds may eliminate shareholder confusion over products that may be considered similar, according to a prepared release.

The fund mergers are intended to qualify as tax-free reorganizations, with merger expenses borne by U.S. Bancorp Asset Management.

"By better focusing our resources, we believe we maximize our opportunity to produce superior investment performance," explained Mark Jordahl, CIO of U.S. Bancorp Asset Management, the funds' RIA. He added that the increased asset sizes of the surviving funds may allow them to engage in investment transactions on potentially more advantageous terms.

The fund mergers are part of a larger initiative announced last November by the firm. 

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