LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- City National Rochdale has launched a new open-end mutual fund that is designed to generate high levels of tax-exempt income primarily from a diversified portfolio of sub-investment grade and unrated municipal bonds. Securities will be selected by the fund's sub-advisor, Waddell & Reed Investment Management Co., a specialist in this area of municipal finance. The fund is a new addition to the firm's investment strategies and adds to the growing family of nearly 20 mutual funds that City National Rochdale currently provides.

The City National Rochdale Municipal High Income Fund may be suitable for clients looking for higher levels of tax-exempt income than is typically available from traditional municipal bond portfolios. Specifically, the fund may:

  • Identify inefficiently priced, credit-worthy municipal securities within a risk-managed framework.
  • Employ a research-intensive investment process, investing primarily in sub-investment grade and unrated bonds.
  • Provide a portfolio diversified across individual securities, geographies and sectors.

"City National Rochdale is committed to portfolio management services and this new fund was created in that tradition - with a strategy that seeks to invest in a diverse selection of high-yield municipal bonds with a long-term approach," said Garrett D'Alessandro, chief executive officer of City National Rochdale. "Our clients who are looking for diversification in fixed income and seeking a potentially higher level of tax-exempt income could be interested in this fund. Higher yielding municipal bonds have historically had lower default rates than similarly rated corporate bonds and may offer high levels of income with an exemption from federal taxes."

The City National Rochdale Municipal High Income Fund is benchmarked to the Barclays High Yield Municipal Bond Index. City National Rochdale is the advisor to the fund and Waddell & Reed Investment Management Co., with more than $2 billion in high-yield municipal bond strategies, will sub-advise the fund.

If you are interested in the fund, or would like more information, please call City National Rochdale at 800-245-9888.

About City National Rochdale

City National Rochdale is an investment management firm specializing in personalized portfolio management for high-net worth individuals, families, and foundations, and provides clients with service that relates all investment decisions to each client's personal benchmark. City National Rochdale manages more than $20 billion as a registered investment advisory firm headquartered in LA and NYC. City National Rochdale is a wholly-owned subsidiary of City National Bank, which is backed by $29.1 billion in total assets, and provides banking, investment and trust services through 77 offices. City National Bank and its investment affiliates manage or administer $61.5 billion in client investment assets. City National has been recognized as a top wealth manager from Barron's for 13 years in a row. For more information, visit www.cnr.com.

An investor should consider carefully the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. The Fund's summary and full prospectus contains this and other important information about the investment company, and it may be obtained by calling 800-245-9888. Please read it carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk including loss of principal. Bonds and bond funds are subject to interest rate risks and will decline in value as interest rates rise. Investing in securities that are not investment grade offers a higher yield but also carries a greater degree of risk of default or downgrade and are more volatile than investment grade securities, due to the speculative nature of their investments. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values. There is no guarantee that the Fund's income will be exempt from federal or state income taxes. Capital gains, if any, are subject to capital gains tax. Income from municipal bonds may be subject to the alternative minimum tax. Diversification does not protect against market loss.

The City National Rochdale Municipal High Income Fund is distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co., which is not affiliated with City National Company, or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries or the sub-advisors.

CONTACT: Media Contact:
         Debora Vrana, City National Bank
         Debora.vrana@cnb.com

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