PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 18, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- IMS Capital Management today announced that its no load IMS Strategic Income Fund (IMSIX) became available on Schwab's no transaction fee mutual fund trading platform, OneSource(r). The move is designed to satisfy demand from fee-only advisors looking to access the IMS Strategic Income Fund for their clients with no transaction fees.
NTF (no transaction fee) is appealing because advisors can invest in mutual funds at no cost. In addition to advisors, many individual investors, retirement plans and correspondent broker-dealers use Schwab OneSource(r) to access as many as 1,100 mutual funds. The advisor's flagship offering, IMS Capital Value Fund (IMSCX), has been available through Schwab OneSource(r) since late 2004.
Launched in 2002, the IMS Strategic Income Fund is extremely unique because it invests in a wide range of income-producing vehicles, both equity and fixed income, in an effort to pay a high monthly dividend and maintain stability of principal. The Fund's manager, Carl W. Marker, has the flexibility to actively allocate assets among such sectors as high yield bonds, Canadian income trusts and REITs, convertible and preferred convertible stocks, as well as investment-grade bonds, depending upon prevailing market and interest rate conditions. The Fund has an overall 4-star rating from Morningstar among 292 conservative allocation funds having a three year return as of 8/31/06.
Average Annual Total Returns as of 6/30/06
------------------------------------------
30-Day
SEC Since
Yield YTD Inception
(See Note) (See Note) 1 Year 3 Years (11/5/02)
---------- ---------- --------- ------- ---------
IMS Strategic
Income Fund 6.26% 10.64% 9.89% 5.89% 9.69%
Lipper Income
Category Avg. n/a n/a 4.76% 7.65% 8.68%
Note: As of August 31, 2006, not annualized. Performance data quoted
represents past performance and is no guarantee of future
results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate
so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than
original cost. Current and monthly fund performance may be
lower or higher than that quoted above and is available by
visiting www.imscapital.com. Figures include changes in
principal value, reinvested dividends and capital gain
distributions.
In total, the IMS Funds represent $250 million in assets, and are also available NTF at Fidelity FundsNetwork(r), TD Ameritrade and a number of other discount brokers. The adviser to the IMS Funds, IMS Capital Management, Inc., was founded by Carl W. Marker in 1988 and manages nearly $800 million in assets as of June 30, 2006. Privately-owned and operated, the firm is based in Portland, Oregon and has offices in Seattle, Washington.
The Fund invests a portion of its assets in lower-rated corporate bonds because of their relatively higher yields. Such bonds carry greater credit risk than investment-grade bonds. The Fund also invests in foreign securities, which involve currency fluctuation risk and political uncertainty. Share price and yield are affected by interest rate movements as bond prices are inversely related to interest rates and therefore may decline when rates rise. Investment trust risk involves the potential for the underlying business or real estate to fluctuate in value.
The Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges (including a 0.50% fee on redemptions made within 90 days of purchase) and ongoing expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information. The prospectus and current performance may be obtained at www.imscapital.com. Please read it carefully before investing. Unified Financial Securities, Inc., Distributor.
For funds with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating(tm) metric each month by subtracting the return on a 90-day U.S. T-Bill from the fund's return for the same period, and then adjusting the excess return for risk. The top 10% of funds in a category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.