More than a year after closing Northwest Specialty Equity Fund, Toronto-based Northwest Mutual Funds Inc. has announced the fund will reopen, effective Feb. 24. The small-cap fund hit $250 million in assets last year, resulting in “too much money,” the company says. “We didn’t want to be forced to buy things we didn’t like, which would have affected returns,” says Michael Butler, Northwest’s president and CEO. Part of the assets will be managed by Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc., which also manages Northwest Specialty Growth Fund. This will reduce the workload of lead portfolio advisor Deans Knights Capital Management Ltd., which will eventually manage about one-third of the portfolio. Northwest intends to cap the fund when assets hit $500 million. The addition of Montrusco will allow the fund to take a broader investment approach and seek small-cap names in the U.S. as well as in Canada, Butler says. The firm says there are no plans to reopen Northwest Specialty Bond Fund.