ROBERT D. VAN KAMPEN

Robert D. Van Kampen, a fixture in the municipal bond industry for three decades, died Friday morning at Loyola University Medical Center near Chicago after a three-year struggle with heart disease. He was 60.

In the early 1970s, Mr. Van Kampen founded the investment banking firm that became Van Kampen Merritt and is now known as Van Kampen Funds. The organization, which specializes in insured municipal bond funds, rolled out the first insured municipal trust, called First Trust, in 1974. The company was sold to Xerox Corp. in 1984.

In 1991, Mr. Van Kampen and five associates formed Nike Securities Capital Markets, a securities firm in Illinois, and purchased the First Trust product line from Clayton Brown & Associates. Since then, more than $20 billion has been invested in First Trust products. The firm is the largest independent sponsor of defined portfolios in the world.

Among various other business ventures, Mr. Van Kampen acquired a controlling interest in Fitch Investors Service in 1989 that he held until 1997. "Bob played a pivotal role in the re-capitalization, growth, and development of Fitch Investors Service," the company said in a statement released Friday.

Mr. Van Kampen is survived by his wife of 39 years, Judith M. Van Kampen; daughters Kimberly, Kristen, and Karla; two sons-in-law, and eleven grandchildren. A memorial service will be held today at 2 p.m., at Grace Church of West Ottawa, 15020 Stanton Road, West Olive, Mich. 49460. Flowers may be sent to that address.