TORONTO, ON, August 1, 2003 - ClaringtonFunds Inc. today
announced a change in the structure of the Clarington Canadian Bond
Fund that will provide a reduced MER for investors. The fund will
be changed so that its sales charge options will be divided into
two separate series.
The Front End option will be introduced as a separate class
(Series A units) and will offer a reduced MER. There will be no
change to the MER of the DSC and Low Load options that will be
available through another class (Series B units). The commission
structure of all sales charge options will remain intact.
The Fund's current MER is 1.85% which is about the average for
all bond funds. Clarington will initially cap the MER of the Front
End option (Series A units) at 0.98%.
"Although the Fund has performed relatively well, its MER has a
significant impact on its relative performance given the narrow
range of returns for fixed income funds," says Eric Frape,
Clarington's Vice President of Product Management. "We are
committed to lowering MERs where possible and believe this change
will significantly improve the long-term performance of the Fund's
Series A units."
Managed by SEAMARK Asset Management of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the
Clarington Canadian Bond Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of
primarily Canadian government and corporate bonds.
ClaringtonFunds Inc., founded in 1995, currently has over $3
billion in assets in 34 mutual funds, with offices in Vancouver,
Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. All of Clarington's mutual
funds are sub-advised by well-known Canadian and international
investment managers.