TORONTO, April 13, 2013 /CNW/ - Scotia Asset Management L.P. (Scotia Asset Management), has made the decision to no longer accept additional investments in certain of its corporate class funds, effective April 12, 2013. The March 21, 2013 federal budget included a proposal to eliminate certain tax benefits in mutual funds that use forward contracts to convert interest income to capital gains for tax purposes.  The budget describes this structure as "character conversion transactions." The proposal affects the following Scotia Corporate Class Funds and Scotia Private Corporate Class Pools that employ these transactions as part of their investment strategies:

• Scotia Conservative Government Bond Capital Yield Class
• Scotia INNOVA Income Portfolio Class
• Scotia Fixed Income Blend Class
• Scotia Canadian Corporate Bond Capital Yield Class

It is important to note that the proposal does not directly impact the corporate class structure. The fundamental benefits of Scotia Corporate Class Funds remain, including tax deferred switching between classes and the ability to potentially reduce taxable distributions.

Existing investors are encouraged to speak with their financial advisor about their specific investment options.

About Scotia Asset Management

Scotia Asset Management L.P. is wholly-owned, directly and indirectly, by The Bank of Nova Scotia and is a manager of mutual funds and investment solutions for private clients, institutional clients and managed asset programs.

Under the ScotiaFunds name, Scotia Asset Management L.P. provides a broad range of 46 mutual funds and 28 professionally managed portfolios. ScotiaFunds are available from Scotia Securities Inc. (through Canadian Scotiabank branches), Scotia iTRADE, ScotiaMcLeod, as well as leading investment dealers, independent brokers, advisors and financial planners.

Scotia Private Pools are a family of investment pools offered and managed by Scotia Asset Management L.P. and are selectively available through Scotia Private Client Group.  Scotia Private Client Group consists of private client services from Scotiabank, The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company, Scotia Asset Management L.P., Scotia Asset Management U.S. Inc., Scotia McLeod Financial Services Inc., WaterStreet Family Capital Counsel Inc., and ScotiaMcLeod. Scotia iTrade and ScotiaMcLeod are divisions of Scotia Capital Inc., a member of the Canadian Investor Protection.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the simplified prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed or insured, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is a leading multinational financial services provider and Canada's most international bank. With more than 82,000 employees, Scotiabank and its affiliates serve some 19 million customers in more than 55 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. In December 2012, Scotiabank became the first Canadian bank to be named Global Bank of the Year and Bank of the Year in the Americas by The Banker magazine, a Financial Times publication. With assets of $736 billion (as at January 31, 2013), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com

SOURCE: Scotiabank