Evergreen Investments, the investment management brand of Wachovia Corporation, announced Monday that the board of trustees of the Evergreen Funds has approved plans to merge the Aggressive Growth Fund into the Evergreen Omega Fund.

The funds were among four currently managed by Maureen Cullinane and soon to be handed over to Aziz Hamzaogullari. Cullinane will retire from Evergreen next month.

"[The merging] was an opportunity for consolidation and realignment ... part of our regular evaluation of product offerings," said company spokesperson Dan Flaherty. "Our board considered [the management transition] as part of the review," he added.

Flaherty said the two funds have "substantially the same objective, which is growth."

According to information on the firm's Web site, the Aggressive Growth Fund invests in companies of all cap sizes with potential for steady or accelerated earnings growth. The Omega Fund invests in common stocks and in securities convertible to common stocks of U.S. companies, again across market capitalizatons.

Final approval will be sought at a shareholder meeting scheduled for August 21 at the Boston headquarters of the Evergreen Funds. If passed, the merger is scheduled to take place on August 25.  

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