AIC Ltd. says that International Financial Income and Growth Trust has filed a final prospectus dated July 15, for the initial public offering of up to a maximum of 8 million units of the trust at a price of $10 per unit. The $80 million offering is expected to close on July 29.

The trust has been created to provide investors with an opportunity to invest in some of the world’s leading retail bank, life insurance and investment management financial service companies based outside North America and that AIC Investment Services Inc., the fund’s manager, believes have both attractive dividend yields and strong earnings growth momentum.

The closed-end trust aims to provide unitholders with monthly cash distributions targeted to be 5.833¢ per unit or 70¢ per unit per year, representing a yield of 7.0% on the offering price.

The fund proposes to return at least the offering price to unitholders upon termination of the trust on Aug. 31, 2012.

As at July, 2005, the AIC Investment’s assets under management totalled approximately $9.3 billion of which approximately $4.2 billion was invested in the global financial services industry.

A syndicate of agents is being co-led by CIBC World Markets Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., and Scotia Capital Inc. and includes TD Securities Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., Berkshire Securities Inc., HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., Canaccord Capital Corp., Desjardins Securities Inc., Bieber Securities Inc., Dundee Securities Corp., First Associates Investments Inc., Raymond James Ltd., Richardson
Partners Financial Ltd. and Wellington West Capital Inc.