Investing January 17, 2002

AIM Funds Turn Sour

January 17, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The AIM fund family bears the dubious distinction of being named the worst offender in the Maverick Adviser's Fourth Quarter 2001 Lemon List.

Reported by

Fred Schneyer

Three of the top 10 spots for chronic underperformers belong to AIM:

AIM Charter Fund at sixth,
AIM Weingarten Fund at seventh, and
AIM Blue Chip Fund in the tenth spot

The list is ranked by asset size.

Of the 387 funds on the Lemon List, there are nine AIM funds representing $22.7 billion in assets. The complete list represents $213 billion in assets.

Other than the AIM funds, the list includes three Vanguard funds totaling $15.8 billion, 11 American Express funds totaling $15.2 billion, and five Putnam funds totaling $14.5 billion.

To get on the Lemon List, the funds must underperform their benchmarks by 25% for the last 12 months, and also underperform over a three-year and a five-year time horizon.