ING’s US financial services operations announced today that its retail mutual fund unit, ING Funds, has launched the ING Principal Protection Fund V (IPPF V), a mutual fund with a five-year period of guarantee of principal. ING’s four most recent Principal Protection Funds have attracted more than $2.7 billion in assets.
“ING’s Principal Protection Funds continue to be an attractive investment option for investors focused on wealth preservation,” said Bob Boulware, president of ING Funds Distributor, LLC, distributor for the Fund. “The Funds have been particularly appealing to investors who are concerned with generating a stream of income from their retirement assets. For those investors, a precipitous drop in retirement principal can shake the foundation of even the most sound retirement plan. The ING Principal Protection Funds are intended to protect against that.”
The offering period of IPPF V begins Nov. 1, 2002, and runs through Jan. 15, 2003. The Fund is open to investors only during this two-and-a-half month offering period (for IRA transfers, the deadline is December 16, 2002). A quiet period follows the offering period, which runs from Jan. 16, 2003, through Jan. 22, 2003, during which no new deposits will be accepted. During the quiet period, assets will remain invested in short-term investments allowing time to permit settlement of funds. The guarantee of principal is backed by MBIA Insurance Corp., an AAA-rated monoline insurer.
The five-year guarantee period follows the quiet period and runs from Jan. 23, 2003, through Jan. 22, 2008. Throughout the guarantee period, the net asset value (NAV) of the Fund may rise and fall. At the end of the guarantee period, shareholder account values are guaranteed to be no less than their account value based on the NAV on the last day of the quiet period, less certain Fund expenses, provided shareholders made no transfers or redemptions, and reinvested all dividends and capital gains distributions during the guarantee period.
At the end of the guarantee period, investors may choose to keep their balances invested in IPPF V, exchange assets into the same share classes of other ING Funds, or receive their IPPF V account balances in cash. An exchange or redemption may trigger a taxable event or be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) schedule.
ING Investments, LLC, the Fund’s adviser, has engaged Aeltus Investment Management, Inc., to serve as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund’s portfolio. Aeltus is a wholly owned subsidiary of ING Groep N.V. and is an affiliate of ING Investments.
IPPF V is managed by a team of portfolio managers. Mary Ann Fernandez, Senior Vice President and portfolio strategist, is responsible for overall Fund strategy and optimal asset allocation based on a proprietary financial model. Portfolio managers Hugh T. Whelan and Douglas E. Cote’ co-manage the equity component of the Fund. The fixed income component is managed by a team of fixed income specialists from Aeltus. Minimum investment is $1,000. IPPF V launches with extensive educational and marketing support for investment professionals, with materials that can be tailored to include the broker/dealer’s contact information, including advertising templates, statement stuffers, 3-way mailers and prospecting letters.
As of Sept. 30, 2002, ING Investments, LLC manages a variety of assets including open-end mutual funds and closed-end funds, variable annuities, structured vehicles, and institutional and private accounts with total assets under management of $31.4 billion for clients including financial institutions, corporations and individual investors. ING Investments, LLC, and ING Funds Distributor, LLC, are subsidiaries of Amsterdam-based ING Groep N.V.