in real estate, an asset class that has done very well the past few years since stocks have been weak.”
Kilpatrick, who is a bankruptcy attorney with Kilpatrick & Associates P.C. and the immediate past president of the American Bankruptcy Institute, was astute enough to make some of his portfolio adjustments based on the increasing number of bankruptcies nationwide, which was a sign the economy might be heading south. “In May 2000, I could see the danger signs, so my wife and I made a conscious decision to put money into our home rather than mutual funds,” he says.
After a two-year wait, he began investing in mutual funds again in August 2002. “This looks like a good time to buy,” he says. “Some of my money will be going into funds such as Oakmark Select I Fund (OAKLX) and Harbor Capital Appreciation Fund (HACAX), which have been good long-term holdings for me.” He has held Harbor Capital since February 1995 and Oakmark since February 1997 because the managers for the funds (Spiros Segalas and William Nygren, respectively) have delivered excellent returns and are among the most respected in the industry. Harbor Capital has a 10-year annualized return of 12.69% while Oakmark Select has a five-year annualized return of 15.81%.
In addition, Arvai suggests thatKilpatrick continue investing in Columbia Real Estate fund. “I’m also recommending more exposure to Royce Low-Priced Stock fund because the market seems to prefer value stocks now, as well as Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund (TBGVX) to increase his international exposure,” Arvai says.
Therefore, there’s a time for mutual fund investors to buy as well as a time to sell. “You should use judgment based on current market conditions,” says Spradley. “To get the best long-term results from your mutual funds, you need to be an active part of the process.”
|
B.E.’s Top Mutual Fund Performers |
|||||
| AVG. ANNUALIZED TOTAL RETURN* | |||||
|
FUND NAME |
SYMBOL |
3-YEAR |
5-YEAR |
MINIMUM INITIAL |
PHONE |
| Large Growth | |||||
| Enterprise Multi-cap Growth A |
EMCAX |
8.19 |
N/A |
$ 1,000 |
800-368-3527 |
| Jensen |
JENSX |
5.17 |
9.36 |
1,000 |
800-992-4144 |
| Potomac OTC Short |
POTSX |
2.26 |
N/A |
10,000 |
800-851-0511 |
| Smith Barney Aggressive Growth A |
SHRAX |
2.20 |
14.07 |
1,000 |
800-451-2010 |
| Chase Growth |
CHASX |
1.29 |
N/A |
2,000 |
888-861-7556 |
| Mid-cap Growth | |||||
| Calamos Growth A |
CVGRX |
18.69 |
22.94 |
500 |
800-823-7386 |
| Heritage Mid-cap Stock A |
HMCAX |
18.65 |
N/A |
1,000 |
800-421-4184 |
| Goldman Sachs Growth Opportunities A |
GGOAX |
15.09 |
N/A |
1,000 |
800-526-7384 |
| Regions Morgan Keegan Select Agg Gr B |
RAGRX |
14.64 |
N/A |
1,000 |
800-433-2829 |
| SSgA Aggressive Equity |
SSAEX |
14.51 |
N/A |
1,000 |
800-647-7327 |
| Small Growth | |||||
| Bjurman, Barry Micro-cap Growth |
BMCFX |
34.34 |
29.27 |
5,000 |
800-227-7264 |
| Buffalo Small-cap |
BUFSX |
23.84 |
N/A |
2,500 |
800-492-8332 |
| ARK Small-cap Equity A |
ARPAX |
20.24 |
ACROSS THE WEB
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