Our History

We're proud of a distinguished investment heritage that stretches back for decades.

1932

 Keystone creates one of the first mutual fund families.

1971

 Wells Fargo & Company introduces one of the first institutional index funds.

1978

 Wells Fargo applies Markowitz and Sharpe’s research on Modern Portfolio Theory to investment portfolio management.

1984

 Wells Fargo Stagecoach Funds launches its first Asset Allocation Fund.

1988

 Wells Fargo’s proprietary Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) model is first applied to Wells Fargo Collective Funds.

1989

 The TAA Model is first applied to Wells Fargo’s asset allocation mutual funds.

1994

 Wells Fargo introduces the LifePath Funds, one of the first suites of target date funds (now the Wells Fargo Advantage Dow Jones Target Date Funds).

1996

 Evergreen Investments and Keystone Funds merge.

1997

 Wells Fargo launches Wells Fargo Advantage WealthBuilder Portfolios, a fund-of-funds suite of products that includes the use of quantitative models to shift assets across investment styles.

1999

 Norwest Advantage Funds and Stagecoach Funds are reorganized into Wells Fargo Funds after the merger of Norwest and Wells Fargo.

2001

 Wachovia formally completes a merger of equals with Evergreen Funds’ umbrella company, First Union Corporation, to create the new Wachovia Corporation.

2002

 Evergreen Retail and Evergreen Institutional companies form the umbrella asset management company, Evergreen Investments.

2002

 Evergreen Investments adds the First International Advisors group to its platform and renames it Evergreen International Advisors.

2003

 Wells Fargo significantly expands its fund lineup with the acquisition of Montgomery Asset Management.

2003

 Evergreen Investments forms a relationship with Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co., LLC (GMO).

2004

 Wells Fargo’s adoption of Philadelphia-based Cooke & Bieler Funds brings new large-cap and mid-cap value funds to the lineup.

2004

 Artisan Funds is hired to manage the Wells Fargo International Equity Fund.

2005

 The integration of Strong Funds creates Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, resulting in one of the 20 largest mutual fund companies in the United States.

2005

 Evergreen Investments announces strategic investment in Golden Capital Management, LLC.

2006

 Wells Fargo Advantage Funds relaunches the target date product line as Wells Fargo Advantage Dow Jones Target Date Funds.

2006

 Evergreen Investments acquires majority interest in intrinsic-value managers Metropolitan West Capital Management, LLC.

2007

 Wells Fargo Advantage Funds launches five additional Wells Fargo Advantage Dow Jones Target Date Funds.

2007

 Evergreen Investments acquires majority interest in European Credit Management Limited (ECM), a London-based fixed-income investment management firm.

2008

 Wells Fargo launches the Luxembourg-domiciled Wells Fargo (LUX) Worldwide Fund.

2008

 Wells Fargo & Company completes the acquisition of Wachovia Corporation (the parent company of Evergreen Investments) on December 31.

2010

 The Boards of Trustees of Wells Fargo Advantage Funds and Evergreen Funds approve the merger of the fund families and a new fund lineup that will be branded under the Wells Fargo Advantage Funds name.