Meridian Investment Management, the adviser of the ICON family of mutual funds has changed its name to ICON Investment Management effective January 1.

Cynthia Crossland, a spokesperson for ICON, told the MFWire.com that the change was based on the reality of the situation; everyone already referred to the company as ICON.

“Meridian has been managing money since 1991 and we have some retail accounts dating back to 1986, with the launch of the [ICON] funds, the name fell by the wayside,” she said.

The ICON fund family was launched in 1997 and is comprised of nine domestic sector funds, four diversified equity funds and three international funds worth $2.2 billion in assets.

However, the name change coincides with a number of new initiatives at the firm. Crossland said the company has increased staff in its sales division and expanded distribution in the institutional marketplace by the adding institutional shares. The firm is also tapping into NYSE wirehouse platforms to find advisors to purchase its funds on that platform. And, the funds themselves are doing well.

"The company has grown by 53 percent as of 12/31/02 and many of our funds are hoping to receive several Lipper certifications for top ranking fund performance," she said. 

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