The Pacific Basin and European Equity funds had total assets of about $9.2 million at the end of last month. Both have generated “limited’ sales and are unlikely to grow, Principal said in a regulatory filing. The International fund had approximately $236 million in assets on Sept. 30.
The “catalyst” for the proposed merger is a recent agreement to sell most of its BT Financial Group, Principal said. A unit of the group that oversees the funds to be eliminated will stop managing them at the end of this month. Principal agreed to sell most of the group to Westpac Banking, an Australian bank, in August.