TORONTO, July 12, 2011 /CNW/ - Scotia Asset Management L.P. announced today the launch of Scotia Income Advantage Fund and Scotia U.S. $ Balanced Fund (the "Funds"). The two new mutual funds build on the success of ScotiaFunds' popular balanced and U.S. dollar denominated funds and are sub-advised by Goodman & Company, Investment Counsel Ltd. ("GCICL").

"ScotiaFunds has a strong base of core solutions that we are excited to build upon.  These new Funds will offer additional choice to income-oriented investors and to those looking for higher growth potential for their U.S. dollar assets," said Glen Gowland, President and CEO, Scotia Asset Management.  "We are also pleased to expand our partnership with the world class investment managers at GCICL and are confident in the team's ability to deliver continued strong results for unitholders."

Scotia Income Advantage Fund seeks to produce regular income and long-term capital growth by investing in a diversified portfolio of fixed-income and income-oriented equity securities. Using a flexible approach to asset allocation that can shift in response to changing economic and market conditions, the fund aims to pay a monthly distribution. Scotia Income Advantage Fund rounds out ScotiaFunds' suite of income and growth-focused balanced funds that includes the highly successful Scotia Diversified Monthly Income Fund and Scotia Canadian Balanced Fund, which have more than $1.9 billion and $2.5 billion in asset under management, respectively.*

Oscar Belaiche will manage the fund's equity component and Michael McHugh will be responsible for the fixed-income portion. These two award-winning investment managers have more than 50 years combined of industry experience and are recognized for their expertise and conservative approach to the management of fixed income securities and income-oriented equities.

Scotia U.S. $ Balanced Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth and current income in U.S. dollars. It invests primarily in a combination of fixed income and equity securities that are denominated in U.S. dollars. ScotiaFunds has offered U.S. dollar investment options for more than 20 years and also includes Scotia U.S. $ Money Market Fund and Scotia U.S. $ Bond Fund in its suite of offerings. With the strong Canadian dollar and the current low interest rate environment, Scotia U.S. $ Balanced Fund is a timely solution for investors that are seeking higher growth potential from their U.S. dollar assets.

David L. Fingold will manage the fund's equity portion and Michael McHugh will run the fund's fixed-income component. Mr. Fingold has over 20 years of business, operational and investment experience and was recently honoured with the 2011 Lipper Award in the US Equity category (5 & 10 years) and the 2010 Canadian Investment Award for Best US Equity Fund for Dynamic American Value Fund.

About Scotia Asset Management L.P.

Under the ScotiaFunds name, Scotia Asset Management L.P. provides a broad range of mutual funds and professionally managed portfolios.  ScotiaFunds are available from Scotia Securities Inc., through Canadian Scotiabank branches, ScotiaMcLeod Direct Investing, ScotiaMcLeod, as well as leading investment dealers, independent brokers, advisors and financial planners.

Scotia Asset Management L.P. and Goodman & Company, Investment Counsel Ltd. are each, directly or indirectly, owned by The Bank of Nova Scotia. Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With more than 70,000 employees, Scotiabank Group and its affiliates serve some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With assets above $571 billion (as at April 30, 2011), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.

* As at June 29, 2011. Source: Scotia Asset Management L.P.