Charles T. Bauer: Co-Founder and Retired Chairman AIM Management Group.

HOUSTON -- Houston business leader and major educational benefactor Charles T. "Ted" Bauer, whose vision and personal work ethic set a standard for the entire mutual fund industry, died Monday at The Methodist Hospital following a lengthy illness. He was 85.

Mr. Bauer co-founded AIM Management Group in 1976, when he was 57 years old, and through strategic acquisitions and marketing saw it grow to become the seventh-largest mutual fund company in the world. He served as chairman of AIM Funds until September 2000, chairman of AIM Management until January 2001, and president of the AIM Foundation until his death.

As a U.S. naval aviator during World War II with a rank of Lieutenant Senior Grade, Mr. Bauer flew missions in South America, Africa and England. He first came to Texas in 1942 for naval cadet flight training in Corpus Christi. It was an introduction that would lead to the native New Englander's life-long relationship with the state.

Following secondary education at Boston's prestigious Roxbury Latin School, Mr. Bauer was graduated from Harvard College, class of 1942, and earned his MBA from New York University in 1954. He was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from the University of Houston. He demonstrated a deep respect for education throughout his lifetime. Remarkable success in the mutual fund industry ultimately afforded him the opportunity to further the goals of the schools he loved through major gifts and endowed scholarships.

Because of his generosity, the University of Houston's business school was renamed The Charles T. Bauer College of Business in 2001. "I wanted to give a gift to the city of Houston that would assure the steady growth of its business community," he said. His own company has hired more than 400 graduates of the University of Houston in the past 25 years.

Harvard University's Bauer Laboratory and Bauer Center for Genomics Research were dedicated in the spring of 2002 to empower Harvard fellows in their cutting-edge research into the study of the human genome. "It was important to me that innovative genomics research be done at Harvard," he said, "because this university has all the other disciplines to complement it."

The Bauer Science Center at Roxbury Latin School also was realized through a major gift from Mr. Bauer. A strong athlete while a student there, he was fiercely competitive against other New England prep schools. "When I heard that RLS was not competing in the science arena because of outdated facilities, I knew I had to do something." The "something" is a state-of-the-art science facility, one of the finest in the nation. A new refectory was made possible through a second major gift from Mr. Bauer at RLS. He also endowed a science chair and was a life member of Roxbury Latin's Board of Trustees.

Mr. Bauer began his long business career on Wall Street and moved to Baltimore in 1954. He was a founder and first president of the Baltimore Security Analysts Society, a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research. He also served on the initiating committee to establish the Chartered Financial Analyst professional designation (CFA) in Washington, D.C.

Ted Bauer was invited to come to Houston in 1969 by Gus Wortham, renowned chairman and founder of American General Insurance Company. At AGI/Houston, Mr. Bauer greatly expanded the company's mutual fund investments. He drew on that mutual fund experience in 1976 when he co-founded AIM Management Group with partners Robert H. Graham and Gary T. Crum. AIM has more than $148 billion in net assets under management and more than 2,300 employees. AIM is a subsidiary of AMVESCAP PLC, a leading independent global investment manager, dedicated to helping people worldwide build their financial security.

A source of great personal pride, The Ruth and Ted Bauer Family Foundation has made significant contributions to education throughout the United States. Both through financial contributions and volunteer efforts, The Ruth and Ted Bauer Family Foundation has worked tirelessly along side AIM Foundation and AIM employees to advance the education of Hispanic children and their parents in various schools in Houston.

Charles Theodore Bauer was born in Boston on March 3, 1919, to parents Helena Meredith Bauer, a social worker with the Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Louis Hopewell Bauer, one-time president and chairman of the American Medical Association, leader of the World Medical Association and major contributor to civil aviation medicine and safety standards. Mr. Bauer summered in Rockport, Mass., all his adult life and maintained a family home there until his death. He considered Rockport's Steel Derrick Quarry to be "the greatest swimming hole in the world" and was still stroking across it as late as last summer.

He is survived by his three children, Janet Bauer Hartman and Theodore Wingate Bauer of Baltimore and Charles Douglas Bauer of Houston; grandchildren Meredith Greenaway Hartman, Matthew Jameson Hartman and Charles Douglas Bauer II; wife, Ruth Brouse Bauer; plus scores of friends who knew him as "Bones" and cherished his spirit, his wry wit and his unwavering devotion to all of them.

Funeral services are pending.

About AIM Investments

Houston-based AIM Investments represents one of the nation's leading investment management companies. It is dedicated to building solutions for its clients with exceptional products and services through multiple investment management styles and a broad range of investment portfolios under the AIM and INVESCO brand names--mutual funds, retirement products, separately managed accounts for high-net-worth and institutional investors, annuities, cash management, college savings plans, alternative investments and offshore products. Founded in 1976, AIM Investments had $148 billion in assets under management and approximately 11 million shareholders as of March 31, 2004. AIM Investments is a service mark of A I M Management Group Inc. and is the subject of a pending application for trademark registration. A I M Advisors, Inc., A I M Capital Management, Inc., AIM Private Asset Management, Inc., and AIM Alternative Asset Management Company, Inc. are the investment advisors for the products and services represented by AIM Investments. A I M Distributors, Inc. is the distributor for the retail mutual funds and Fund Management Company is the distributor for the institutional money market funds represented by AIM Investments.

About AMVESCAP

A I M Management Group Inc. is a subsidiary of AMVESCAP PLC, a leading independent global investment manager, dedicated to helping people worldwide build their financial security. Operating under the AIM, INVESCO, and Atlantic Trust brands, AMVESCAP strives to deliver outstanding investment performance and service through a comprehensive array of retail and institutional products for clients around the world. The Company is listed on the London, New York, Paris, and Toronto stock exchanges with the symbol "AVZ." AMVESCAP had $381 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2004. Additional information is available at www.amvescap.com.