Liberty Japan Unit Selling Bond Fund

Liberty Financial Cos. has created a subsidiary to market the company's investment products and services in Japan.

Liberty Financial Japan, created late this summer, is an arm of Newport Pacific Management, which is a unit of Boston-based Liberty. The first product being distributed in Japan is a new share class of the $1.6 billion-asset Colonial Strategic Income Fund, a multisector bond fund.

Distribution of the J shares began last week through a consortium of Japanese brokerages led by the firm Tokai Maruman.

Liberty decided to kick off its participation in the Japanese market with the bond fund, which invests in three types of fixed-income investments to minimize risk, because it fits the conservative outlook of most Japanese investors.

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