James F. Laird, President of Diamond Hill Funds, announced today the launch of the Diamond Hill Strategic Income Fund, the Columbus investment management firm’s sixth mutual fund.

The new fund will be managed by Kent Rinker, Diamond Hill’s managing director of fixed incomes. It’s designed to provide investors with current income by investing in a variety of income-producing securities including corporate bonds, preferred stocks, real estate investment trusts, mortgage-backed securities and U.S. Government bonds. The fund will maintain an average credit quality of investment grade.

“With the continued volatility and negative returns in the stock market, many investors are realizing that fixed income must be a part of their investment portfolio,” said Rinker. “We believe this fund can serve as an important component of an investment plan, by investing in a variety of securities with a focus on generating income.”

Rinker joined Diamond Hill in 2001 after managing Rinker & Co. Investment Management & Consulting for more than 10 years. He was a founding partner and a manager of fixed income sales and trading with Meuse, Rinker, Chapman, Endres and Brooks.

Diamond Hill currently manages five mutual funds: Focus, Large Cap, Small Cap, Bank & Financial and Short Term Fixed Income, totaling approximately $40 million in assets.