Russell Investments Canada Ltd. is launching a new investment pool designed for Canadian investors who want to hold short-term fixed-income securities that offer the potential for lower volatility and less interest-rate risk than longer-duration fixed income funds.

The Russell Short Term Income Pool and Class will invest in domestic short-term corporate bonds, floating-rate notes, asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities, and other investment-grade credit products, with maturities of up to five years. It may also invest in foreign fixed income securities on a currency hedged basis. These securities offer the potential for capital appreciation, as well as interest income.

“The addition of this new pool to Russell’s suite of fixed-income products further broadens the choices we offer investors, as well as continues to enhance our multi-asset portfolio solutions,” said David Feather, president and CEO of Russell Investments Canada. “[It] is suitable for investors who are concerned about ongoing volatility and future interest-rate increases. We also believe this new pool offers a higher-yielding alternative to money market funds.”

The Russell Short Term Income Class offers investors tax efficiency in their non-registered investments.

For investors interested in a U.S. money market alternative, Russell will offer the U.S. Dollar Hedged Series option. It will provide investors with a return in U.S. dollars that will be highly correlated to the fund’s performance in Canadian-dollar terms, by reducing the effect of exchange rate fluctuations between the two currencies.

The pool will be sub-advised by three fixed-income managers: Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management (PH&N), AEGON Capital Management, and Canso Investment Counsel Ltd.

PH&N, founded in 1964, uses a diversified multi-strategy approach to generating alpha through duration, credit selection, sector allocation and yield curve management. It will manage 40% of the pool.

AEGON, based in Toronto, will also manage 40%, with a broad credit mandate that will include an allocation to high quality asset-backed securities and mortgage-backed securities.

Canso Investment Counsel, based in Richmond Hill, Ont., will manage 20% of the pool, with a specialized credit mandate focused on higher-yielding securities, including floating-rate notes and Maple bonds, among other securities. Canso uses a deep-value credit sector investment approach.

Investors can invest in the individual pool or class, or access them through a Russell multi-asset portfolio solution, in either the LifePoints or Sovereign Investment Programs.

The Russell Short Term Income Pool will be included in the Russell LifePoints Fixed Income Portfolio and Class with a 20% allocation, the Russell LifePoints Conservative Income Portfolio and Class with a 15% allocation, and the Russell LifePoints Balanced Income Portfolio and Class with a 10% allocation.

Within the Sovereign Investment Program, it will be included in the Russell Income Essentials Portfolio and Class with a 10% allocation. It will also be added to some of the Russell model portfolios.