Aviva Investors is preparing to launch its first mutual fund in the US. The Aviva Investors MAP 2015 Fund will make its debut on August 30.

Mark Cernicky Aviva Investors Product Development Manager

"The product is designed to provide investors market participation and capital preservation wrapped up in a mutual fund format," said product development manager Mark Cernicky in an interview.

"We decided to launch the fund because our largest client wanted to deliver a product that has a capital preservation component," Cernicky said, referring to Aviva Investors' affiliate, Aviva USA. (Both are owned by London-based Aviva plc).

Aviva tapped SEI Investments Distribution Co. as distributor, DST Systems as transfer agent, Union Bank as custodian, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP as legal counsel and Ernst & Young LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm.

The institutional share class carries net expenses of 76 basis points.

The fund will employ a proprietary, rules-based institutional asset allocation strategy developed by Aviva Investors and offer a redemption feature designed to pay shareholders a distribution from the fund in November 2015.

The fund became effective during the second week of May and since then, Aviva has been working on getting the word out and together with SEI, working to get the fund on platforms such as Schwab, Fidelity and Pershing.

"By the time August 30 hits, we hope we've built enough momentum," he said.

To drum up interest among RIAs, WealthStar Alliance, a practice management program of Aviva USA, has organized a four-city roadshow that will kick off Tuesday in Chicago. This will be followed by events scheduled for July 27 in San Francisco, July 29 in Edina, Minnesota, and August 3 in New York. 

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