IA Clarington Investments Inc. has announced an early maturity date for IA Clarington Target Click 2010 fund of Sept. 18 on Tuesday. As such, IA Clarington is prepared to pay out on the fund’s guarantee to investors in advance of the fund’s original maturity date of June 30, 2010.

“Over the past year, investors have benefited from the conservative nature of the fund,” said David Scandiffio, president, IA Clarington Investments Inc. “In 2008, while global markets suffered an extreme downturn, IA Clarington Target Click 2010 fund returned 1.9%, leading the Target Date 2010 category that year. Now, given the fund’s allocation and the overall economic environment, we believe accelerating the maturity date is the right thing to do. We’re pleased that we were the first to bring guaranteed Target Date funds to market in Canada, and on Sept. 18 we will celebrate another milestone by being the first company to have one of these products successfully mature and reach its objective.”

IA Clarington Target Click funds are global balanced funds that guarantee the highest month-end value achieved over their life at maturity. As each Target Click fund approaches its respective maturity date, its allocation to fixed income is increased and its allocation to equities is reduced.

As the IA Clarington Target Click 2010 fund is nearing its original maturity date, it is predominantly invested in fixed-income securities. Given that the current low interest rate environment offers limited return prospects for the fund’s fixed-income component, IA Clarington believes investors in the fund are best served by wrapping up the fund early at its full guaranteed amount.

On Sept. 18, fund investors will be entitled to receive the higher of the NAV per unit that day and the present value of the guaranteed amount per unit. The current NAV per unit of the fund is equal to the full guaranteed amount, and IA Clarington will waive its management fees on the fund and absorb fund expenses in order to help ensure that the NAV per unit equals the full guaranteed amount on the accelerated maturity date.

Effective July 10, the fund will be closed to new sales except for those being made through pre-existing systematic investment plans. Investors in the fund will not incur redemption charges for redeeming or transferring their investment on or prior to the accelerated maturity date.

The other funds in the IA Clarington Target Click family of funds continue to their respective maturity dates, 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030. These funds provide investors with the security of knowing their investments are protected, provided they hold the funds to maturity, while at the same time offering exposure to leading international equity markets.