AIC today announced the launch of the newest fund in the AIC lineup, AIC Global Focused Corporate Class. AIC says the new fund adheres to value investing philosophy, and offers a concentrated portfolio with the flexibility to invest in companies in any country, industry and market capitalization.

The sub-advisor of the fund is New York-based investment firm Third Avenue Management LLC. Third Avenue was founded in 1986 by Marty Whitman, a respected name in value investing in the United States.

The firm currently manages four highly-regarded retail mutual funds for U.S. investors — Third Avenue Value Fund, Small-Cap Value Fund, Real Estate Value Fund and International Value Fund. In total, Third Avenue manages more than US$13 billion of investors’ wealth.

“We are very pleased to be offering Canadians the Third Avenue value approach to investing, one that is very similar to the AIC philosophy. The Third Avenue value style has delivered consistently on behalf of U.S. investors and now AIC is giving Canadians a way to benefit too,” said Jonathan Wellum, chief investment officer at AIC.

AIC is Canada’s largest privately held mutual fund company with assets under management of approximately $10 billion.