Northwest Mutual Funds responds to investor demand with the payment of monthly distributions for the Northwest Balanced Fund

Northwest Mutual Funds Inc. today announced that due to investor demand, it intends to provide consistent monthly distributions in the Northwest Balanced Fund.

The fund will seek to pay a distribution equal to 10¢ per unit, monthly, and will distribute any excess income and capital gains annually in December. This distribution practice may be revised in the future, depending on future market conditions.

Investors are only taxed on the portion of the 10¢ that represents interest, dividends, and capital gains realized by the fund. Any distributions in excess of this amount would represent a return of capital, which would not be currently taxable but would reduce the cost base of the units, resulting in a higher gain at the time the units are sold.

The first such monthly distribution is planned for April 30. As is presently the case, investors will have the option to receive distributions in cash or to have their distributions reinvested in additional units.

“This decision was an easy one,” said Michael Butler, President and CEO of Northwest. “Interest rates are at levels we haven’t seen in 40 years and conservative investors have limited investment choices in the marketplace that provide both a respectable cash flow and taxation benefits. Northwest’s core investment strategy, which focuses on maximizing returns and managing downside risk, combined with the unparalleled track record of our fund manager Kingwest and Company, make the Northwest Balanced Fund an ideal fund to accomplish the goal of consistent distributions to our unitholders.”

The lead manager of the fund is Richard Fogler, managing director and chief investment officer of Kingwest and Company. Fogler also manages the highly successful Northwest Growth Fund. As at December 31, 2001 COMSTAT Capital ranked Kingwest in the first percentile for volatility-adjusted returns over the past eight years within the Canadian balanced portfolio managers’ universe.

The Northwest Balanced Fund was recently ranked by Maclean’s magazine as one of the top 10 risk-adjusted Canadian Balanced funds in the market today. As of February 28, 2002, the fund has returned 1.0%, 9.9%, and 6.8% for the one, three, five-year periods respectively. The fund has a return since inception of 9%.