Northern Rivers Capital Management Inc. is giving wider distribution to a fund initially offered to high net worth investors.

Northern Rivers Monthly Income and Capital Appreciation Fund has been offered to clients of Northern Rivers. since September, and is now available to the public through major brokerage firms.

The fund is designed to provide investors with a tax efficient stream of monthly cash distributions, and to preserve and enhance the net asset value of the fund against inflation through capital appreciation. The fund’s returns are linked to investments in a diversified pool of global large capitalization dividend-yielding equity securities, royalty trusts and fixed income securities. The fund’s product structure is designed to recharacterize income as return of capital and capital gains for tax purposes.

“This is a very effective structure for a monthly income mutual fund, and we think it will be very well received,” said Rob Cassels, president and CIO of Cassels Investment Management Inc., which will manage the portfolio for Northern Rivers. “It’s a medium-risk investment, managed by a highly respectable firm and will truly make your money work for you. The fund will appeal to thousands of investors who want some return of capital, without having to pay the punishing taxes that usually come with income… retirees, especially.”

In addition to strategic direction from Cassels Investment, the fund will also benefit from the expertise of Brookfield Investment Funds Management Inc., which will manage the fixed income portion of the portfolio.

“We are very excited to have Brookfield as a strategic partner in the management of this fund,” said Cassels. “This fund provides one of the very first opportunities for the investing public to tap into Brookfield’s tremendous expertise through a mutual fund investment.”

The fund is the fifth offering from Northern Rivers, which was founded in 2001. Northern Rivers Innovation Fund LP has been one of Canada’s most successful funds over the five and a half years since its launch in 2001. Northern Rivers quietly launched two additional funds just over a year ago – Northern Rivers Conservative Growth Fund LP and Northern Rivers Global Energy Fund LP, both of which have delivered strong performance in the year since their launch November 2005.

Investors in the fund will need to have a minimum of $25,000 to participate. This is a significantly lower minimum threshold than with the other four Northern Rivers funds; but the company realized that the benefits would be especially attractive for people whose needs are somewhat different from the usual high net workth client.

The fund can be purchased directly through Northern Rivers or through major investment dealers.