Money manager American Century Investments said on Thursday it signed celebrity cyclist Lance Armstrong to a three-year pact that calls for the Tour de France star to lend his name to a new series of mutual funds.
American Century said it will launch in May the LIVESTRONG portfolios, using a name that reflects the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s mission of inspiring people affected by cancer.
Armstrong, a cancer survivor, started his foundation to raise funds for people affected by the disease. The foundation created the yellow “Livestrong” wristbands.
Kansas City, Missouri-based American Century said it will make an annual payment to the foundation based on investments in the LIVESTRONG portfolios. Investors will not pick up any of that expense, the company said.
The portfolios will include lifecycle funds, which take a more conservative approach as the investor ages, and are tied to specific target dates such as 2015 and 2045. They will use a fund of funds strategy.
The image of Armstrong, who won the Tour de France, cycling’s biggest event, an unprecedented seven times, will appear in national daily newspapers and investment magazines starting on Friday.
'Put your Lance face on'
With the slogan “Put Your Lance Face On,” the ads will urge investors to question whether they are doing everything they can to prepare for their financial needs and goals.
Television ads using the same theme will start in May.
“With this new campaign of ’Put Your Lance Face On’ it’s my goal to motivate and inspire investors to make every financial decision count,” Armstrong said on a telephone conference call with reporters.
Armstrong said his general advice to cancer patients is to do every thing they possibly can to fight the disease, including seeking multiple opinions about treatment and asking hard questions.
Asked how Armstrong and the fund company got together, American Century Senior Vice President Mark Killen said the idea came about after publication of a magazine article about cancer that mentioned both Armstrong and James Stowers Jr., founder of American Century.
Stowers, 82, and his wife Virginia, are both cancer survivors. The couple founded the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in the 1990s.
The use of high profile celebrities in financial advertising appears to be a new development for the fund industry.
Fidelity Investments, the world’s largest mutual fund company, began using former Beatles band member Paul McCartney in 2005 ads urging people to save for their future.
American Century manages more than $100 billion in assets in mutual funds and other investment products. American Century is 45 percent-owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co.