"So . . . how are you doing?"
That quiet question, heard so often after funerals, divorces and break-ups, is never easy to answer. For investors, at least, that question used to be provoke a pretty straightforward response: "doin’ okay, up about 4%" or "suckin’, I’m up about 4%" or something like it. Lately, the answer has had to be "it’s complicated. Very, very complicated. And confusing. Had I mentioned scary?"
Perhaps some combination of perspective and fun(d) facts to know and tell might help?
Where was the safest place to hide during September’s financial turmoil?
In the midst of sky-high volatility, the implosion of Wall Street and the subsequent days of panic and euphoria, and substantial losses – Vanguard’s Total Stock Market fund dropped by about 5% (through 9/27), about a third of its year-to-date loss – there was one oasis of calm and hope. One place to go and recoup some of your losses.
Financials.
Yep . . . who would have guessed, but the best performing stock or bond sector in September were the financials. Funds in the group rose an average of 3.5% (again, through 9/27) while the most conservative "balanced" funds actually declined by that same amount. Nine funds posted double-digit gains, led by a leveraged sector fund and followed by JHancock Regional Bank (FRBAX).
Weirder still, they’ve been the fourth best-performing slice of the market over the past quarter, bested only by health care, real estate and long-term government bond funds.
One wonders if it has anything to do with that whole "blood in the streets" adage. About the scariest place to be has been financials. (Had I mentioned that Warren Buffett just invested $5 billion there and sold reinsurance protection on another $4.5 billion?) And about the worst place to be – in terms of one-month and three-month returns – has been energy and natural resources. (Had I mentioned that Warren Buffett just invested $3.5 billion there?) Had I mentioned that Mr. Buffett’s Berkshire-Hathaway stock is up 17.5% in the past month? Do you think there might be a pattern here?
Where was the scariest place to be during September’s financial turmoil?
It’s rare to hear "money market mutual funds" and "hedge funds" as the answer to the same question, but there you go.
The woes of money market investors were small, but terrifying in their implications. For the first time, a major money market mutual fund – the Primary Reserve Fund – "broke the buck" and posted a net asset value below $1.00. This wasn’t the first time that a money market fund lost money; whenever short-term interest rates are lower than a fund’s expense ratio, the fund loses money. That was reasonably frequent back when Mr. Greenspan flooded the market with liquidity, but then the funds’ sponsors sucked it up and underwrote the funds’ losses in order to avoid breaking the buck. In June of 2003, for example, some 200 money market funds were yielding less than 0.25%. Those were mostly high expense funds that maintained a $1.00 NAV only because of their sponsors’ largesse.
This wasn’t even the first time that a money market broke the buck – that happened to the Community Bankers Mutual Fund in late September, 1994. That fund immediately liquidated, though two other money market funds run by the same adviser stayed afloat when the adviser chose to absorb the funds’ losses.
The Primary Reserve case was different because the fund was large ($67 billion), prominent (it was run by the inventor of the money market fund), and unexpected. Nervous investors began wondering who might be next and pulled $200 billion from money market funds in third week of September alone ("Money market funds suffer huge outflows," FT.com, 9/22/08). Putnam announced the closing of its institutional money market fund while the Colorado Surplus Asset Fund Trust, a money fund for local governments there, restricted redemptions. In response, the feds hastily extended insurance guarantees to the sector.
The losses suffered by hedge funds were far more spectacular, but oddly less interesting, than those of the lowly money markets. There are supposedly about 10,200 hedge funds in the market today, managing almost $2 trillion dollars. But not for long. One site now sponsors a "hedge fund implode-o-meter." Pensions & Investments just headlined "Boodbath ahead" (9/29/08). The Wall Street Journal foresees the prospect that the volatility, for which hedge funds bear substantial blame, could "decimate hundreds of players" (9/30/08 – it’s nice to know that they’re just playing). One of their sources prophesies: "There's going to be a death spiral for a number of these funds."
All of this over losses which average 10% year-to-date which was enough because, as hedge fund manager John Rigas, "It’s difficult with hedge funds because they are very fragile. By their nature they’re fragile instruments because investors can ask for their money" ("Hedge Funds Are Bracing for Investors to Cash Out," NYTimes.com, 9/28/08). Oh, no! "Investors can ask for their money"! Who could have designed a system which would expose these poor delicate flowers to such abuse?
Sigh.
777 used to be just the designation of a Boeing jet
On September 29th, the number entered stock market history as the largest point drop ever recorded for the Dow Industrials. There are two possible explanations for the size of the drop: one rational, one likely. As we look at the possibilities, you need to remember that economics often distinguish between two entities: (1) the real world a.k.a. "Main Street" and (2) the financial world a.k.a. "Wall Street."
The rational possibility: the real world is coming to an end. You know, Depression, despair, dustbowl. All that stuff that the Colorful Crowd likes to write about: The Great Depression of 2010-2012, America’s Financial Apocalypse, Financial Armageddon, How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse. Governor Palin agrees (see her comments on 9/24), but relatively few economists share her insight.
The likely possibility: the financial world is getting squeezed, badly. President Truman offered this bit of economic insight: "It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose yours" (4/13/1958). The folks on Wall Street are a cool and calculating about money. They know the market is risky and that investing entails the risk of losing money. And they’re well experienced in coolly losing your money without panicking. But I suspect that no one told them they were going to be losing their money this time. A few nuggets from the New York State Controller, which may be keeping Wall Streeters awake at night:
The drop in Wall Street's bonuses "could rival" the 50 percent fall seen in 2003, with the current market crisis cutting the total amount paid by banks and brokerages to $16 billion, the state comptroller said on Monday.
New York's securities industry could lose even more jobs than first estimated as the 13-month old global credit crunch grinds on. Some 40,000 bankers and brokers could be laid off, which would be 15,000 more than initially forecast, Democratic Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement. ("Wall Street bonuses may fall 50 percent," Reuters, 9/29/08)
And that would be on top of 30,000 layoffs at brokerage firms in 2007. And even the bonuses that were so well-deserved (for example, Barclays and Nomura budgeted $3.5 billion in bonuses for the New York staff of Lehman Bros., whose collapse precipitated last week’s panic) are subject to retribution from a mean-spirited Congress.
Could you blame them for a panicked response? After all, would life even be worth living if your bonus was trimmed to $90,000 this year?
Is there anything you could do about it?
More importantly, is there anything you should do about it? There are some funds which are making money steadily through the mess. In the face of the 777 drop, Hussman Strategic Growth (HSGFX), Nakoma Absolute Return (NARFX) and Hussman Strategic Total Return (HSTRX) all made money. And long-term Treasuries continue to be an exercise in futility: so many people have flocked there because they won’t lose money that they’re no longer capable of making money.
For folks still in the accumulation phase of their investments, I guess I’d offer two possibilities:
Fidelity’s Market Analysis, Research and Education group identified the best five-year periods for investment returns in the 20th century. They started:
The most horrendous losses have come in the emerging markets. Fidelity Latin America (FLATX) dropped 14% on 9/29/08 and the travails of the group-as-a-whole are described below. All of which is leading really smart and grouchy people – Jeremy Grantham and Ben Inker of GMO and Mohamed El-Erian of PIMCO – to conclude that there’s now a case for moving money into those markets which are, by some estimates, growing at 15% and selling for P/Es in the single digits ("It’s Time to Revisit Emerging Markets," Barron’s, 9/29/08).
If you seriously believe that the world will be a poorer place in five years than it is now – the emerging markets and the U.S. alike will have sunk remorselessly into a Stygian abyss – then selling stocks and buying gold, guns and canned goods makes all the sense in the world. If you believe that today’s messes will have been relegated to the same painful memories as October 1987 and 2001 were – that is, intensely horrifying but short-lived – then money in stocks now will produce a handsome return over the next five years. Certainly not this year. Maybe not next year. But, with time, you’ll earn your profits.
And where were the bright spots?
Oddly enough, we’re it. The Economic Times of India reaches a conclusion that sounds odd, but here ‘tis: "The United States remains, for many investors, the safest option in an uncertain world" ("US still the safest," Economictimes.IndiaTimes.com, 9/28/2008).
A quick review of the top performing funds this year in a variety of domestic and international categories bears the ET’s judgment out. What follows is a quick review of the top fund and the performance of the top ten funds in each of Morningstar’s diversified domestic fund categories for this year. That’s followed by highlights from the international categories. All data reflects returns through September 27, 2008.
Large Value: one fund, Forester Value (FVALX) is in the black with a 12.8% YTD return. And don’t even think about it. FVALX has only two speeds: "fast" and "crash." As a result, it alternates between finishing at the top tier of its peer group (2001, 02, 04, 08) or the bottom tier (2003, 05, 06. 07) with no time spent in-between. The rest of the top ten average a 5.5% loss.
Large core: one fund, Marketfield (MFLDX) is in the black with a 2.1% gain. The rest of the top ten average a 5% loss. One small encouragement is that some funds that ought to be on a top-ten list are there, including Mairs & Power Growth, Fairholme and Sequoia.
Large growth: no one is above water. Between them, the ten best funds have posted losses of 6.4%.
Midcap value: one fund, Symons Alpha Value Institutional (SAVIX – with a $5000 "institutional" minimum investment, I’d be curious to see what they came up with for a retail minimum), is up by less than half a percent. The rest of the top ten, including Appleseed (APPLX) and Bread and Butter (BABFX), average a 2.8% loss.
Midcap core: one fund, FMI Common (FMIMX), is above water while the rest of the top ten are down by 5.9% although the group does have a fair number of familiar names (a couple Royce funds, Susan Byrne’s WHG SMidcap and FBR Midcap).
Midcap growth: things are getting uglier here, with the best fund (Parnassus Midcap PARMX) down 4.8% and the rest of the best about 9% underwater.
Small value: hooray! A glimmer: five of the top ten funds are in the black! The best is Heartland Value Plus (HRVIX) up 9.8% followed by Artisan Small Value (ARTVX) up 3.4%. The group as a whole is in the black by a couple percentage points and none has lost more than a fraction of one percent.
Small blend: much the same story as small value with five of the top 10 funds in the black. Parnassus Small Cap (PARSX) leads with a 9.1% gain and the rest of the group (including Royce, Fido and T. Rowe funds) lost about 1%.
Small growth: one fund in the black (Champlain Small Company CIPSX) with the remainder down by 4.9%.
If you were a pessimist, you might point out that our survey of the top 90 diversified domestic funds looks pretty grim: only four of the best 60 mid- to large-cap funds are in the black and 11 of the top 30 small cap funds. If you owned a portfolio of the best mid- to large cap funds, you’d be down a bit more than 5%. If you were an optimist, you’d crank the latest release by Obama Girl or the McCainiacs and be glad you were in America.
The best diversified international fund, First Eagle Overseas (SGOVX) is down 13.2%.
The best global fund, Artisan Global Value (ARTGX,
The best European fund, Royce European Smaller Companies (RICSX) is down 20% while the group as a whole is down 28%.
The best Latin America fund, BlackRock Latin America (MDLTX) is down 25%.
The best Japan fund, DFA Japanese Small Company (DFJSX) is down 14.5%.
The best Asian funds, depending on whether you want funds that include or exclude Japan, are Matthews Asia Pacific Equity Income (MAPIX,
FundAlarm profile) down 14.5% and Matthews Asian Growth & Income (MACSX, FundAlarm profile) is down 18.7%. Asia ex-Japan is the currently the world’s ugliest collection of funds, with an average loss of 40.1%.The best emerging markets fund, Aberdeen E.M. (ABEMX) is down 19.7%. As a group, emerging markets are down 33% YTD.
Which is to say, if you were long U.S. equities you’ve had a durn small chance of making money this year. If you were invested anywhere else, you had a zero chance of making money.
If I were running a hedge fund, I’d think long and hard about this
At then I’d think about throwing up.
It’s widely reported that Ken Heebner, "the mad bomber" and manager of the CGM funds, has decided to launch a hedge fund under the Wayfarer Capital LP banner. Janine Hermsdorf, a long-time associate noted, "He has wanted to do this for a long time." ("Heebner Hedge Fund Targets $5 Billion with Lure of Top Returns," Bloomberg.com, 9/10/08). Given Heebner’s aggressiveness in and success with the CGM funds (long and short, concentrated, high turnover, #1 in total return for . . . pretty much forever) you might wonder why on earth he’d need to add a hedge fund.
Two possibilities: (1) to become rich beyond the dreams of avarice and (2) the play the game with fewer rules. Many fewer rules. Which means he could do nasty and outrageous things that the boring ol’ 1940 Act investments don’t permit. What sorts of things might be crossing the madman’s mind? Here’s an interesting excerpt from an interview Heebner had 18 months ago with Fred Frailey:
"The subprime mortgage disaster is much bigger than anyone can imagine," Heebner begins. Subprime mortgages are those made to borrowers who would otherwise not be given credit, and are largely unsecured in the event of default. Officially they come to almost $1 trillion, but Heebner is convinced that the amount of mortgage money in the hands of wobbly borrowers is even greater. He forecasts massive foreclosures -- a 30% default rate on subprimes -- as homeowners walk away and mail back their keys to lenders.
"I wish I could find a way to double my money" on the subprime debacle, says Heebner. "What I'd like to do is short the hedge funds, which I know own this stuff. They're buying mortgage-backed securities with an 8% yield and leveraging 10-to-1 or 20-to-1. They're going to be gone." ("Ken Heebner's World View," Kiplingers.com, 2/28/2007)
There is, of course, no way for a mutual fund to short a hedge fund. Pity. I wonder if there’s a way for a hedge fund to, but I wonder . . . hey!
Bad news and other news for Janus Capital
Janus lost its 16th fund manager in the past couple years with the departure of Julian Pick who managed two international funds (Janus Institutional International Equity and Janus Adviser International Equity) with a quarter billion in assets. Janus declined to issue a press release noting Mr. Pick’s departure which, reportedly, centered on his disagreement with management about "development of a future product" (we don’t know whether he wanted one or they wanted one). ("Janus manager heads for exit," Rocky Mountain News, 9/8/08)
In March Janus lost nine-year employee Daniel Kozlowski, one of three portfolio managers serving on the Janus Adviser Long/Short Fund (JALSX). After a great 2007, JALSX has gotten pummeled this year in part because of the SEC’s recent restriction of short-selling on 799 firms. One of which, ironically, was Janus itself. According to ShortSqueeze.com, about 17 millions shares of Janus Capital Group (JNS) stock are being sold short.
Briefly Noted
:One more thing for frontier investors to regret: Chris Alderson is stepping down as manager of T. Rowe Price Africa and Middle East (TRAMX) to become president of T. Rowe Price International. The fund will be managed by Joseph Rohm, who is identified in the media as a London-based analyst or a vice president of T. Rowe Price International or both. Price rarely bungles fund manager changes, but the loss of Alderson’s 18 years of experience warrants some concern.
One slightly-painful note: TRAMX’s 28% YTD loss places it in the top 1% of all emerging market funds. Sigh.
On September 29, Lehman Brothers sold its Neuberger Berman funds to Bain Capital LLC and Hellman & Friedman LLC. It’s not yet clear what effect this will have on investors, since these firms have had equity stakes in both loaded (e.g., Franklin Templeton) and no-load (e.g., Artisan) fund families.
As of September 15, the formerly-no-load Spectra funds, managed by Alger Capital Management, became the load-bearing Alger II funds. Investors now have the choice of a 5.25% front load or expenses of 2.0% or more. While Alger does good work, there’s no reason for individual investors to pay the sudden upcharge.
Matthews Asia Small Companies Fund (MSMLX) launched on September 15th, with manager Lydia So and co-manager Noor Kamruddin. So has been a Matthews’ analyst for several years while Kamruddin managed Wasatch Global Science and Technology (WAGTX) until May 2008. I’ve got considerable admiration for Matthews and considerable sympathy for anyone launching a fund right now. Expenses are capped at a regrettably high 2.00%.
“Coming Attractions” turn out to be surprisingly attractive!"I’m shocked, shocked to find gambling going on here!" (Casablanca, 1942)
I briefly channeled the shocked Captain Renault on a recent trip that my son and I took to our local home improvement center, Menard’s. As I wandered in search of compact fluorescent bulbs, I stumbled into the store’s full-blown Winter Wonderland: twenty fully decorated Christmas trees and artificial snow tastefully festooning the shelves. It used to be that Christmas started, well, around Christmas. Then it launched the day after Thanksgiving. Lately, it’s been fighting the day-after-Halloween candy for shelf space. But now, apparently, the autumnal equinox is the official start of the Fourth Quarter Holiday Retail Season.
There is some economic sense to begin stockpiling year-end gifts early. Smaller purchases spread out over a period of months decreases the traditional January Horror that accompanies arrival of your credit card bill. And while holiday sales are enticing, you need to remember that holiday sales are enticing; that is, the fact that "they’re practically giving the stuff away" often leads to the disastrous corollary, "and so I need to buy it all."
This leads, logically, to a reminder that the most sensible use of the money you’ve nervously yanked from your money market account might be a small, sensible purchase from Amazon.com. In addition to avoiding both overspending and ugly retail crowds, every purchase has the potential to help support FundAlarm when you use our quick-and-easy, no-cost-to-you
link to Amazon (or, if you’re boycotting commercial exploitation of religious festivals this year, you could divert of some of cash to one of the other ways to support FundAlarm).Folks have, from time to time, expressed concern that FundAlarm is invisible when you make a purchase through its link at Amazon -- that is, you don't get any kind of confirmation that FundAlarm has been credited for your purchase. Roy’s been frustrated for a while by the problem, and he's noted that it's an unusual lapse for a company that is otherwise so meticulous about making its customers comfortable on its site. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way around this issue for now. Roy does note, however, that the Amazon link has been tested many times, it does work reliably, and it has become FundAlarm’s most significant source of support.
Keep those cards and letters coming. Roy and I are always fascinated to read your insights, suggestions and criticisms. Here’s the
link.As ever,
David
| NEW Discussed this month: | ||
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| Parnassus Small Cap (PARSX): You might conclude that PARSX’s 9% YTD return (the third-best record of all diversified domestic funds, through 9/27) is a fluke. It’s harder to dismiss manager Jerome Dodson’s overall record: four funds, all socially-screened, all in the top 10% of their peer groups over the past month, quarter, three quarters, year, and three years. It might actually be that there’s a pattern here. | ||
Clear River Fund seeks long-term capital growth on a tax-efficient basis while providing moderate current income. The adviser will buy a relatively small, focused group of securities representing each of six distinct and complementary investment strategies. Four of the strategies are explicitly linked to equities (Growth, Income, Small Cap, International) while the other two (Real Estate and Special Situations) are not. This has many of the hallmarks of a future "star in the shadows," which is to say it’s got a clear, non-gimmicky strategy, low expenses and a team practiced in the art of making rich people richer. The Fund is advised by Lowry Hill Investment Advisers, the private wealth management arm of Wells Fargo. Typically they require a $10 million minimum and will accept no more than 30 clients per manager. They manage about $5 billion for 300 families. The fund is managed by a team headed by James Steiner and Thomas Hull. Lowry Hill provides whimsical bios for their team members ("Nothing satisfies Tom more than wading in the tranquil beauty of a stream, fly-fishing" – nuts, I was sort of hoping it was "than obsessing over how to maximize Snowball’s pitiful little account"), but the bottom line seems to be that they have decades of investment management experience, though not with mutual fund management. Expense ratio capped at 1.20%, minimum investment is $5000. Likely to launch in mid-November. | |
FascianoFunds Small Cap: With the launch of this fund, Michael Fasciano joins the ranks of managers who found that selling your wonderfully successful little fund to a big company isn’t nearly as much fun as it looks. The Fasciano Fund was founded by Mr. Fasciano in 1988, bought by Neuberger Berman in 2001 and merged out of existence in March, 2008. As an independent fund, Morningstar consistently praised its consistency, low turnover (always under 50% and sometimes in the single digits) and risk-consciousness. As an NB fund, it saw a substantial inflow of assets (and Mr. Fasciano picked up $1 billion in private account management) just as it got badly out of step with the market. Folks interested in a GARP-y small cap fund might want to follow Fasciano’s performance with this new fund, since the investment minimum ($1000) is the same as it was at Fasciano 10 years ago and the expense ratio (capped at 1.3%) is lower. A likely launch date is October 22. | |
IQ Alpha Hedge Strategy Fund launched at the end of June, but somehow I missed the event so I thought I’d mention it now. The fund is looking to replicate the performance of a hedge fund index. The idea is that they should be able to outperform the S&P500 with lower volatility and a low correlation. The Fund will primarily take long and short positions in exchange-traded funds, exchange-traded notes and exchange-traded vehicles (though I’m not sure how rental cars are going to help performance) but they can also invest in pretty much any d**ned thing they want to: foreign stocks, short-term government bonds, TIPs, corporate bonds, foreign sovereign bonds and currencies, total return swaps and futures on securities, indexes, commodities and currencies. It’s sub-advised by Mellon Capital Management and managed by Denise Krisko. Ms. Krisko is a Managing Director, Co-Head of the Equity Index Management for Mellon and has an impressive pedigree which includes management positions at the Bank of New York, Deutsche Asset Management, Northern Trust, and Vanguard. Expenses capped at 1.64% and the minimum initial investment is $2,500. | |
Markman Global Build-Out Fund will invest in the common stock of U.S. companies and foreign companies in the "global infrastructure build-out sector." The fund will normally hold 30 - 40 securities with at least 40% outside the U.S. The fund will be managed by Robert J. Markman (please, don’t tell Roy that Mr. Markman is on the prowl again, it’s bad for his blood pressure), Chairman and President of Markman Capital. The minimum initial investment is $500 and the projected expense ratio is 0.95%. | |
Marshall Core Plus Bond Fund wants to maximize total return consistent with current income by investing in corporate, asset-backed, mortgage-backed and U.S. government bonds, including up to 25% junk. The "Plus" in "Core Plus" reflects the fund’s ability to invest in high-yield stocks and emerging market debt. It’s managed by a team Trilogy Global Advisors, an institutional investment manager with $14 billion in assets. The investment minimum is $1000 and the expense ratio has not been announced. | |
Marshall Corporate Income Fund wants to maximize total return consistent with current income by investing primarily in corporate (US and foreign) bonds, though it may also own asset-backed, mortgage-backed, high-yield and US government bonds. It’s managed by a team Trilogy Global Advisors, an institutional investment manager with $14 billion in assets. The investment minimum is $1000 and the expense ratio has not been announced. | |
Marshall Emerging Markets Equity Fund seeks capital appreciation by investing in stocks of companies located in emerging markets or whose primary business activities are in emerging markets. Pablo Salas, William Sterling and Robert Beckwitt of Trilogy Global Advisors co-manage the fund. Their credentials are substantial. Mr. Salas is a Managing Director at Trilogy and has been an emerging markets manager for SunTrust, Lazard Freres and Principal Financial. Mr. Sterling is Chief Investment Officer and was Global Head of Equities at Credit Suisse Asset Management, Managing Director of International Equities at BEA Associates, and First Vice President at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Beckwitt is Trilogy’s Co-Head of Emerging Markets and was an emerging markets portfolio manager for Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The initial minimum is just $1000. The expense ratio is not yet announced. | |
Northern Multi-Manager Emerging Markets Equity Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in " equity securities of issuers domiciled in emerging and frontier markets." This is Northern’s fifth multi-manager fund and the format has been solid. Northern screens successful institutional managers on the basis of their investment style and then assembles a team of 3-5 sub-advisers, each of whom is given a specific percentage of the portfolio. None of the other four funds has a long track record but results to date have been consistently respectable. Expenses of 1.5% after waivers and a minimum initial investment of $2,500, $500 for IRAs and $250 for accounts with an Automatic Investment Plan. | |
Sit Global Dividend Growth Fund seeks to provide current income that exceeds the dividend yield of a composite index (comprised of 60% S&P 500 Index and 40% MSCI EAFE Index) and that grows over a period of years. Secondarily the Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve its objectives by investing in dividend-paying US and foreign stocks. It can also hold some preferred stocks, convertible bonds, and U.S. Treasury securities. It will be managed by a team led by Roger Sit. Sit’s other two international funds have pretty weak long-term records. 1.5% expense ratio an a $5,000 minimum for regular accounts, $2000 for IRAs. The fund launched September 30, 2008 | |
Turner International Core Growth Fund (TICFX – Investor Class shares) invests primarily in the stock of non-U.S. companies with market capitalizations greater than $2 billion that Turner believes have strong earnings growth potential. The International Core Growth Fund is managed by a team led by Mark Turner with co-managers Chris McHugh, Robert Turner, Don Smith and Heather McMeekin. The fund launched as an institutional fund in January 2007; the current move makes it available to retail investors for a slightly higher fee (1.35%). The fund’s minimum initial investment is $2,500, $2000 for IRAs and $1000 for accounts with automatic investing provisions. | |
Turner Quantitative Large Cap Value (TLVEX) invests in the stock of large U.S. companies that "Turner believes, based on its quantitative model, are undervalued relative to the market or to their historic valuation." The fund launched as an institutional fund in October 2005, the current move makes it available to retail investors. The fund will post a three year record at the end of October 2008, which will help folks begin to get perspective on its performance. Depending on the measurement period, it’s either consistently top notch (it’s above average for all trailing periods except trailing three months, as of 9/27/08) or kinda streaky (one year a bit below average, one year a bit above average and one year well above average). It is managed by David Kovacs, lead manager, and Jennifer Clark, co-manager. 0.94% expense ratio, the minimum initial investment is $2,500, $2000 for IRAs and $1000 for accounts with automatic investing provisions. |
| NEW Discussed this month: | ||
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| 1st Source Monogram Income Equity (FMIEX): Here’s the rarest of rare birds – the case where a brilliant, little-known fund gets gobbled up by a larger fund company and the investors actually benefit! (Brilliant? Well, the one and only domestic large cap manager with a consistently better record over the past decade has a name that rhymes with "Beebner".) There is, nonetheless, good reason for small investors to act now, ahead of the sale of the fund to the Wasatch funds. | ||