Integrity Mutual Funds is taking over the $14 million CNB Funds from Canandaigua National Bank and Trust Company. The $13 million Canandaigua Equity Fund and $1 million Canandaigua Bond Fund became available after the bank decided to get out of the day-to-day retail mutual fund business. The funds will be rebranded as the Integrity Equity Fund and the Integrity Income Fund, according to a source at Canandaigua.

"Although Canandaigua National Bank has made a business decision to leave the retail mutual fund business, we wanted to see the funds continue with good fund management, and we feel confident that Integrity Mutual Funds, Inc. will be able to fulfill this goal," said Scott B. Trumbower, vice president, Wealth Strategies Group of the Canandaigua National Bank and Trust Company.

Technically, the management contract for the funds will be transferred to Integrity once the fund shareholders provide their approval of the arrangement. Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

The deal marks Integrity's initial foray into offering equity and fixed income funds outside of the Midwest. The firm currently offers a number of municipal bond funds covering Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma and two equity fund of funds that invest in stock mutual funds managed by other firms. Robert Walstad, president of Integrity, said that the pickup will allow the firm to provide a broader, diversified family of funds with an opportunity to increase the equity side of its business.

This is not the first deal struck by Integrity to build its business. It acquired more than one of the municipal bond funds in transactions, according to a spokesperson. It also purchased two broker-dealers -- ARM Securities and Capital Financial Services.

Ranson Capital Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Integrity Mutual Funds, will manage the funds. 

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