http://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-archive/Stock Market Update, IPO profiles, Earnings Call Transcripts, Economic news, company news, Mutual funds profile,Earnings News, Mutual Fund Managers,Industry sectors, Oil and Natural Gas stocks - 123Jumphttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-archive/http://www.123jump.com/images/logo_home.jpg16066Stock Market Update, IPO profiles, Earnings Call Transcripts, Economic news, company news, Mutual funds profile,Earnings News, Mutual Fund Managers,Industry sectors, Oil and Natural Gas stocks - 123Jump1999-2007 123jump.com, Inc. All rights reservedThu, 03 Jul 2008 01:00:00 -0400http://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Enhanced Dividend Strategy/489/Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:45:00 -0400Performance is all about the investor perception of the stock, according to Harvey Neiman, the manager of the Neiman Large Cap Value Fund. The fund focuses on dividend paying companies, as the market tends to supports them, and enhances that dividend through writing call options. He relies on a number of fundamental screens to build a portfolio of stable companies that can not only perform, but also can help protect.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Mid-Cap Leaders/488/Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:04:00 -0400Geneva Growth Fund invests in US based companies with consistent records of performance, experienced management, solid earnings history, superior growth potential and market values within the cap range of the Russell Midcap Index. About 70% of the investment team's new ideas come from conferences and company visits. This bottom-up approach is supplemented with “top-down“ considerations-reviewing general economic conditions and analyzing their effect on various industries.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Understanding Market Drivers/487/Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:59:00 -0400Rock Canyon Top Flight Long-Short Fund is built on the premise that in any given investment environment there is a unique set of factors that cause investors to prefer one investment style over another. Fund manager Jonathan Ferrell is trying to identify style trends that will persist for some time and create a return stream that has the ability to outperform in any market environment and has a low level of correlation with the market itself and with other traditional strategies.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/SMID Selection/486/Thu, 29 May 2008 13:47:00 -0400Paradigm Select Fund focuses on exploiting inefficiencies in the small to mid-cap markets by a bottom-up fundamental stock selection process. Fund manager Jason Ronovech has found that conservatively managed companies, if purchased at a discount to intrinsic value, can provide consistent returns. The portfolio is distributed among a variety of industries with holdings in undervalued companies with solid long-term growth prospects.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Environmental Social Governance/485/Mon, 19 May 2008 12:35:00 -0400A balanced and socially responsible approach does not mean sacrificing performance, at least not in the case of the Pax World Balanced Fund. Christopher H. Brown, the long time manager of the fund, builds a large-cap equity portfolio focused on global growth themes, and utilizes conservative fixed income investments as a buffer for volatility.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Sustained Values/484/Fri, 16 May 2008 11:53:00 -0400Many businesses can grow, but few can sustain their growth over a long period of time through both good and bad economic environments. The Wasatch Core Growth Fund seeks to purchase long-term growth stocks at reasonable valuations relative to the fund manager's projection of companies' five-year earnings growth rates. JB Taylor, fund manager, focuses on the competitive positioning of the business versus other comparable companies in the market.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Diversified in Managers/483/Thu, 08 May 2008 11:18:00 -0400Multi-manager funds normally offer investors a greater level of diversification than could be achieved with a single manager fund. Fund manager Kirk Brown and the four sub-advisors at American Beacon International Equity Fund select securities based upon the security's valuation and investment growth rate relative to its country and industry. The sub-advisors each have a core value philosophy but each looks at things a little differently.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Capture Upside Protect Downside/482/Wed, 07 May 2008 08:32:00 -0400The investment philosophy of Davis Appreciation & Income Fund is premised on the belief that equities are a relevant part of an investment portfolio over the long term. The Fund combines the growth potential of stocks with the income of bonds. Portfolio Managers Andrew Davis and Keith Sabol seek durable businesses at value prices to structure a portfolio with which to participate in the stocks' upside potential while providing a degree of protection against downside risk.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Global Dividends/481/Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:45:00 -0400Portfolio diversification can help ensure stable returns, even in uncertain times. That's why the Alpine Dynamic Dividend Fund invests across industries with stocks ranging from small to large capitalizations with the objective to achieve a high level of qualified dividend income and capital appreciation for total return. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Successful Backyard Investing/480/Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:58:00 -0400If you look at a smaller list of stocks, you are more focused and it is easier to find out when opportunities arise. That is the premise behind the Bullfinch Greater Western New York Fund. As a native Western New Yorker, fund manager Chris Carosa uses a traditional value investment approach with a behavioral twist to identify companies across a broad range of industries and market capitalization that have a major presence in the Buffalo and Rochester areas.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Diversified for Long-Term Growth/479/Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:04:00 -0400CSI Equity Fund is built on the premise that the investment process is more predictable over a longer period of time than over shorter periods of time. Fund manager Leland Faust seeks to achieve his investment objective of long-term growth of capital by investing in a diversified portfolio of well-established companies throughout the world and utilizing both value and growth oriented investment strategies in the security selection process.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Unemotional Search for Steady Growth/478/Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:40:00 -0400James McCarthy, the manager of the Seascape Focus Growth Fund, believes that his fund has the process and the discipline to early identify companies that will grow faster than the market. Objectivity, or the lack of bias and emotions, is a key feature of the strategy that aims to pinpoint the best 30 growth stocks to own. Based on previous experience with private accounts, the fund aims to expand Seascape’s reach beyond the high net worth investors.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Follow the Rising Earnings/477/Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:58:00 -0400Passive investing is nothing but a way to lock in mediocrity, says Robert C. Auer, portfolio manager of the Auer Growth Fund. He believes that the market is highly inefficient and there are tremendous opportunities that can be exploited. The fund employs a time-tested bottom-up investment approach to construct a diversified portfolio of domestic stocks of all the market capitalization tiers with favorable potential for capital appreciation.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Navigating for High Yields/476/Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:24:00 -0400Navigating through the high-yield sea of opportunities can be rough, as one has to be mindful of the high risk of defaults. That is why Paul Scanlon, the manager of the Putnam High Yield Advantage Fund, believes that it all comes down to sufficient expertise, resources, and a rigorous and risk-controlled process. The fund also relies on diversification and granularity to capture the opportunities and minimize the risks.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Steady Returns in High Yields/475/Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:16:00 -0400Investing in high yield bonds can be a rewarding experience if one takes the right approach. Aquila Three Peaks High Income Fund manager Sandy Rufenacht and his team believe that, if one does thorough research of every credit and limits the volatility, then the high yield asset class can generate superior total return in the longer term.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Small Risks to Consistent Gains/474/Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:03:00 -0400The threat of recession looming over credit markets where even fixed income risk sectors faced the worst period in history, is a very tough scenario. Yet the managers of Vintage Limited Term Bond Fund, Jeffrey D. Lorenzen and Kevin W. Croft seem to have succeeded by following an active risk budgeting investment process that gave them a yield advantage versus the benchmark and a portfolio of high credit quality holdings.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Secular Tailwinds/473/Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:38:00 -0400The Parnassus Equity Income Fund looks for companies that not only generate income, but are also socially responsible. Portfolio manager Todd Ahlsten and his team of six analysts are trying to identify the best businesses whose goods and services will be more relevant in the long haul than they are today. The fund’s philosophy lies on the premise that these businesses combined with secular tailwinds and reasonable prices can give investors appropriate returns.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Russian Domestic Growth Curve/472/Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:56:00 -0400One of the most dynamic markets in the world, Russia may be difficult to understand for outsiders, but is extremely rewarding for those who know it well. Ticker revisits John Connor, the manager of the Third Millennium Russia Fund, to find out that he still finds Russia an exciting market with improving governance. This year, however, the focus is on the domestic growth story, rather than on the traditional oil exports.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Global Growth/459/Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:31:00 -0500Not too many growth investors feel comfortable with investing in emerging markets. Employing a judicious strategy in order to understand sector and earnings dynamics, Ivy International Growth Fund manager Thomas Mengel and his team face this challenge. The fund focuses on selecting companies domiciled in developed markets which have been successful on a regional basis and which have the potential to replicate this success.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Dividend Search/452/Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:52:00 -0500Investors are always surprised to learn how much of the return, even in the low-yielding U.S. market, comes from dividends. Taken on a global level, the dividend story becomes even more appealing, especially if you have the skill and the experience to benefit from it. The Henderson Global Equity Income Fund employs a rare dividend capture strategy, which allows it to hunt the globe for income opportunities, while remaining a value investor.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Rising Values in Eastern Europe/451/Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:51:00 -0500Pro-market economic reforms, rising political stability and large-scale foreign investments in Eastern Europe resulted in booming economies, growing purchasing power and rising profits of companies related to the local consumer. Thomas Neuhold, co-manager of the Eastern European Equity Fund, believes that Eastern Europe will continue to grow faster than Western Europe and the U.S. and is playing the theme of the long-term structural growth.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/A Large Cap Growth Investor/437/Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:11:00 -0500Identifying and buying companies that are achieving growth at the right price is quite a formidable task. Johnson Growth Fund manager Jeff Cornell and his research team succeed in it by having a long-term focus on just 30-40 holdings at a time and trying to buy companies that they think are leaders or have the ability to be leaders within the industry over time.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Riding the Sentiment/421/Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:13:00 -0500Investors generally look for underperforming stocks that will improve in performance over time and reward them with attractive returns. The strategy adopted by Cookson Peirce Core Equity Fund manager Bruce W. Miller is just the reverse. He follows a proprietary investment process that relies on a judicious and consistent sell discipline, and invests in strong stocks that are outperforming the market and continue to do so.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Tracking Global Trends/420/Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:27:00 -0500Many important academic studies have shown that a globally diversified portfolio is safer, less risky and more diversified than just investing in the U.S. In the long-run, it is more important to get the long-term global market and industry trends right rather than individual company fundamentals. Shepherd Large Cap Growth Fund manager Paul Dietrich subscribes to these findings and tracks “Global Super-Cycle” trends by using a specialized relative strength tracking methodology.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/In Quest of Core and Catalysts/416/Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:23:00 -0500Identifying high return companies in the relatively volatile small-cap and mid-cap space requires considerable experience and expertise. Ryan Crane, portfolio manager of the Stephens Mid Cap Growth Fund and the Stephens Small Cap Growth Fund, and his research team employ a judicious combination of fundamental and quantitative analyses in their unique dual-approach strategy to make money from growth investments for their two funds.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Macro Trends Macro Gains/415/Fri, 25 Jan 2008 05:50:00 -0500Global investing with all its inherent sector, country-specific and currency risks requires broader perspective and a disciplined approach. Sentinel International Equity Fund manager Kate Schapiro and her team follow a unique strategy that tracks country, global, sector and even style trends, to pick stocks that will provide above average returns over the long term with a moderate level of volatility.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Looking for Superior Businesses/414/Wed, 16 Jan 2008 07:46:00 -0500Identifying superior businesses with sustained high returns on capital in a universe of small to mid-cap stocks is easier said than done. FPA Perennial Fund manager Eric S. Ende endeavors to do exactly that by adopting a judicious strategy of a company-oriented approach, scrutinizing past track records, and analyzing the businesses to confirm that the company’s past superior performance will most likely continue into the future.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Value Through Earnings/413/Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:57:00 -0500Investing in growth stocks restricted to U.S.-located and traded businesses is quite a challenging task today, when the US economy is clearly not the growth engine of the world. Edgewood Growth Retail Fund manager Alan W. Breed and his team of portfolio managers face this challenge and look to invest in high-quality, large-cap growth companies when they are trading at very attractive valuation.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Covering the Globe in an Efficient Way/411/Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:18:00 -0500For some investors, global diversification means buying a couple of foreign stocks, but for David Basten, it means leaving no market segment or geography uncovered. With the ambitious goal to provide a complete and efficient portfolio, the company runs five separate funds that, when combined, provide a balanced whole. One of those five funds, the Capital Income Fund, invests in dividend or interest paying securities of all sizes and locations. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Bottom-Up Discipline/410/Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:00:00 -0500Investing in large cap stocks with a view to achieving higher long-term values requires a great deal of company, sector and industry insight. The portfolio construction team along with the 25-member team of analysts of the US Large Cap Value Equity strategy rely on intense research to reach fair values of companies in their universe and identify investments that will bring increased total returns in the long term.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Dividend Paying Culture in High Growth Asia/409/Fri, 14 Dec 2007 09:48:00 -0500The Asian markets may provide an exciting long-term growth story, but not too many investors feel comfortable to invest in the foreign environment. The Asia Pacific Dividend Fund was set with the idea to provide exposure to this high-growth environment but in a more conservative way and with less volatility. The fund focuses on selecting stable and cash generating businesses that pay out higher than average dividends.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Exploiting Negative Emotions/408/Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:27:00 -0500Focusing on the little-known arena of international small and mid-cap companies requires substantial enterprise and research. Joe Joseph and Randy Farina, portfolio managers of the Putnam International Capital Opportunities Fund, have built a portfolio comprising of the bottom 20% of international small cap companies, from developed markets by adopting a unique investment strategy of exploiting people’s emotions arising from stock price fluctuations.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Disciplined Yet Adaptable/407/Fri, 07 Dec 2007 09:37:00 -0500With the premise that investors’ focus changes over time, Harindra de Silva, the manager of the Old Mutual Analytic U.S. Long/Short Fund, believes that the challenge for modern managers is adapting to changes in a systematic way. Quantitative in nature, the fund’s core competence is weighting the various data factors to provide meaningful rankings. Then it utilizes its research both to hold the attractive stocks and to short the unattractive ones.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Searching for Operating Leverage/405/Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:26:00 -0500Investing in Asian markets requires a great deal of research involving the study of several country-specific constraints. T. Rowe Price New Asia Fund portfolio manager Frances Dydasco and her research team search for all-cap size companies with a lot of undiscounted operating leverage in the diverse Asian markets including India and China by following a unique research method of visiting, talking to companies, assessing industry trends, and comparing valuations in different markets.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/testing/404/Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:15:00 -0500requesting more informationTicker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Looking for Total Return/403/Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:41:00 -0500Getting the best long-term total return from stocks that appear to be currently underpriced is a difficult task. Quaker Core Value Fund manager John Geewax has quantitative investment approach that involves a blend of value and growth concepts. His team looks at yield, growth, valuation and an acceptable discount rate to get the best total returns from their stocks with a view to outperform the S&P 500 Index.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Undervalued Market Leaders/402/Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:52:00 -0400A focused model driven fund portfolio can be quite a risky proposition. However, Mark Hillman, portfolio manager of Hillman Focused Advantage Fund, surmounts such risk by investing in companies that are market leaders, possessing a sustainable competitive advantage in their industries, but which are currently trading at a discount to their intrinsic value and believes that in the long run, they will outperform their competitors.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Mid-Cap Quant Strategy/401/Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:11:00 -0400Small-cap stocks offer great opportunities for capital appreciation, but tend to be vulnerable to competitive challenges and bad economic news. Viking Small-Cap Value fund employs a strategy designed to give downside protection in the search of long-term total return and capital preservation. For Gregory Greene, portfolio manager, buying high-quality companies trading at a discount to the market leads to a better performance over the long term with less risk.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Seeking Broken Angles/400/Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:02:00 -0400Most research shows that it is very difficult to beat the market, but Meridian Value Fund has discovered one area that over time has done that. That is investing in temporarily broken growth companies because the market tends to discount those at an extreme level. Fund managers Rick Aster and James England tr y to capitalize on that opportunity using a value investing strategy with a focus on the long-term earnings growth potential of companies.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Selecting Stocks Globally/399/Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:51:00 -0400Identifying the right stocks in a vast global universe of over 2,500 stocks is both cumbersome and difficult. Shigeki Makino and Brad Greenleaf, portfolio managers for Putnam Global Equity Fund, and their global team of experts carry out this task by utilizing a process that blends quantitative and fundamental analysis, which they believe will deliver consistent returns and outperform their global benchmark.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Focused on the Best Ideas/397/Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:13:00 -0400Joshua Shaskan, one of three Portfolio Managers of the Transamerica Premier Focus Fund, believes that a concentrated fund may be less risky than a diversified one because of the attention and the thorough research each stock in the portfolio receives. With a long-term focus on highquality growth, the fund invests in 25 to 40 companies that it expects to be future winners. A team approach and a focus on catalysts are among the key aspects of the fund’s management.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Mid-Cap Quant Strategy/396/Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:33:00 -0400A quantitative process, if well-constructed and disciplined, may eliminate the bias, the emotions, and the behavioral pitfalls from the investment decisions. That’s why the Johnson Disciplined Mid-Cap Fund, formerly known as the Johnson Opportunity Fund, changed its approach in 2003. Today the fund relies on a multi-factor quantitative model and focuses on stock selection because that’s where the alpha is added.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Yielding to Dividends/395/Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:48:00 -0400Finding dividend-paying companies with the added ability to create equity value is an uphill task. RS Equity Dividend Fund manager Ray Anello and his team of eight sector-specific fundamental analysts and two quantitative analysts employ a well-disciplined investment strategy to identify those individual companies that not only can maintain their current dividends, but grow them over time.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Embracing the Right Level of Risk/394/Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:41:00 -0400As a globally diversified core equity fund invested in companies of all sizes and market segments, Empiric Core Equity Fund is trying to rotate its multiple structured investment strategies in order to stay consistent with the current market. Portfolio manager Mark Allen Coffelt evaluates securities in the fund every day, comparing each to the opportunities currently available in the global market.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Structural Diversity/392/Fri, 28 Sep 2007 07:36:00 -0400Globalization demands that businesses compete internationally, prompting governments to seek to fund infrastructure projects as a means of driving economic growth. The Kensington Global Infrastructure Fund is designed to take advantage of these trends. Portfolio manager Aaron Visse seeks total return from both capital appreciation and current income through investing in a portfolio of global infrastructure-related securities.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Margin of Safety/391/Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:10:00 -0400In today’s markets, forward-looking business analysis can reward an equity investor. The investment approach of Westport fund manager Edmund H. Nicklin, Jr. depends on the dynamics of an event-driven, earnings-focused strategy to identify companies that are selling at an attractive discount relative to their potential within a two-year investment horizon. The “event” is responsible for creating either the valuation discount or the catalyst to remove an existing discount.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Pricing the Value/390/Wed, 26 Sep 2007 08:11:00 -0400ICON believes the news, the theories, and all the noise in the market can lead only to emotions and beliefs that distort the true worth of a company or an industry. That’s why Todd Burchett, the manager of the ICON Long/Short Fund, focuses on the results of the fund’s quantitative system in an effort to spot market opportunities presented by investors’ emotional responses to news and current events.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Looking For Consistency/389/Fri, 21 Sep 2007 07:51:00 -0400What can be a simpler yet more powerful strategy than to invest in 50 of the “best of breed” S&P 500 Index stocks that have had both consistent historical earnings and consistently outperformed the index? Everest America Fund manager Curt Van Hill and his team have been following this elegant strategy successfully, where consistency is the keyword. This strategy also helps to ensure low operating costs.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Quality in Quotients/388/Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:49:00 -0400While many global funds scour the world to find the best companies in their countries, the Harding Loevner Global Equity Fund has quite a different strategy. In an increasingly global economy, the fund looks for companies with competitive advantage across global sectors. A well-defined research process and a long-term investment horizon help the fund keep its focus on quality names with durable growth.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Economically Independent/387/Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:13:00 -0400According to the investment philosophy of the Vice Fund there are four major sectors that tend to be defensive in nature and immune to macro economic events and they are Tobacco, Alcoholic Beverages, Gaming and Aerospace Defense. Taking advantage of this fact, portfolio manager Charles Norton is looking for the best opportunities within both domestic and international companies in these sectors to diversify away from the U.S. economy.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Investing Without Borders/386/Thu, 06 Sep 2007 08:58:00 -0400In the dynamic world of stock market investing the Utopia Funds take an active approach and look for opportunities everywhere. The four funds, Growth, Core, Core Conservative and Yield Income, invest globally in a combination of stocks and bonds seeking long-term positive total return, independent of the market environment. The Growth Fund is designed for the investor with the most comfort with volatility and the longest time horizon.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Basic and Classic/385/Wed, 05 Sep 2007 07:48:00 -0400No one knows where the winners of tomorrow are likely to come from. However, Michael Willis, lead portfolio manager of Giant 5 Funds’ Total Investment System believes there are five essential themes on which people, the world over, will spend irrespective of market conditions and therefore, a diversified investment strategy and asset allocation that encompasses wider asset classes beyond stocks and bonds, are the keys to performanceTicker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Patient Values/384/Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:34:00 -0400It takes a great deal of ingenuity and patience to pick contrarian stocks with the belief that they will offer potential high returns over time. Croft Value Fund managers Russell and Kent Croft, and their staff of 5 analysts believe in such a commitment and follow a disciplined, multi-step process to get the best ideas for picking shunned or beaten down stocks for their portfolio.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Knowing Your Risk Target/383/Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:00:00 -0400Starting with the premise that different investors have different resources, risk tolerances and objectives, the Hennion & Walsh SmartGrowth Lipper Funds represent portfolios in which the risk levels are differentiated across each of the Funds. Based on the recently released Lipper ETF indices, the funds provide exposure to various market sectors, geographies, and asset classes, modeled to respond to the need for growth-oriented portfolios with balanced risk.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Fundamental Morals/382/Mon, 27 Aug 2007 11:09:00 -0400Aware of the risks connected with stocks investing, Integrity Growth & Income Fund uses a blended strategy to balance its investments between growth and dividend-paying stocks, depending on where value is in the stock market. Portfolio manager Robert Loest looks within his ethical universe to identify well-managed companies that generate reliable cash flows and consistent returns on investment and that sell below their estimated fair market value.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/ETFs for Frontier Investors/380/Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:13:00 -0400Innovation can lead you to interesting places, and in the case of Van Eck Global, it led us to global-growth related ETFs in previously undercovered investment areas of the ETF market. Our ETFs are designed to be effective building blocks for a diversified portfolio and to provide investors with pure exposure to specific sectors or countries, including companies not trading in the U.S.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Trade Bonds Like ETFs/379/Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:57:00 -0400With not too many fixed-income ETFs on the market, Ameristock’s new products aim to bring competition and choice for investors. The concept behind the ETFs, which track a different index, includes the ability to play the yield curve, pure style, and limited expenses. The move is the next logical step for a company that already has products tracking the prices of oil and natural gas as reflected in their futures.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Largest Cap Values/378/Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:33:00 -0400Back in 1995 the idea was to design a value fund that is suitable even for the most risk-averse investor. The result is the Ameristock Mutual Fund, which invests in 39 largest-cap stocks and household names that are profitable, pay dividends, and have solid business fundamentals. The manager Nicholas Gerber relies on a bottom-up selection process and fundamental analysis to hand-pick the right companies in the right industry dynamics.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Stable and Risk Averse/377/Fri, 10 Aug 2007 10:10:00 -0400It would hardly be a surprise that the Summit Short-Term Government Fund invests the majority of its assets in government and agency bonds. Targeted for risk-averse investors who seek stable income, the fund eliminates the credit risk from the portfolio and manages the interest rate risk with different strategies. In addition, Mike Schultz, the manager of the fund, aims to add alpha through investments in the agency mortgage-backed area.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The Probability to Outperform/376/Wed, 08 Aug 2007 11:53:00 -0400Scouring a large universe of international stocks to find the ones with best chances to outperform, is indeed a difficult task. Joshua Byrne, the manager of the Putnam International Equity Fund, relies on a long-term view, a disciplined process, a team of 20 sector analysts, and a blend between quantitative and fundamental analysis to find multiple points of confirmation that the stocks in his portfolio have all it takes to outperform.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Steady Returns/375/Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:41:00 -0400The Archer Balanced Fund aims at maintaining an asset allocation model by investing in stocks and bonds at different levels depending on market conditions while keeping the risk below that of the S&P 500. Portfolio manager Troy Patton uses a top-down approach to evaluate industries and sectors that have fallen out of favor and within them to identify companies with financial strength and strong management that are selling below their intrinsic value.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Enhancing Index Returns/374/Fri, 03 Aug 2007 10:25:00 -0400Index funds have been praised for providing low-cost exposure and have gained popularity due to the dismal performance of actively managed funds. The Payden Market Return Fund is neither of the above as it falls right in the middle. It aims for the return of the S&P 500 plus alpha, but with low volatility and tracking error. The interesting strategy of this fund is that it includes futures and bonds, although it remains an equity fund.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Fundamental Value in ETFs/372/Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:41:00 -0400WisdomTree is the first company that manages ETFs based on indexes it creates and owns. Luciano Siracusano believes that the standard capitalization-weighted indexes are flawed in their tendency to overweight the overvalued stock, sectors, and regions. That’s why the company developed fundamentally weighted indexes to target better returns with lower volatility.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Mid-Cap Contrarian/371/Wed, 25 Jul 2007 10:00:00 -0400One of our core investment beliefs of Advance Capital I Equity Growth Fund is not to try to time the direction of the market and spread our investments across several companies. The portfolio manager Donald Peters uses a combination of quantitative models and fundamental bottom-up research to identify medium-sized growth companies with good businesses trading at reasonable valuations and own them for a long time.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/In All Market Environments/370/Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:16:00 -0400The goal of the Hartford Capital Appreciation II Fund is not to be boxed into one aspect of the market but to be opportunistic and flexible. The Fund’s five managers, who have separate and distinct investment styles, aim to create a fund that can operate in all market environments. Michael Carmen, manager of the opportunistic growth sleeve, looks for companies with potential to deliver stronger-than-expected earnings or free cash flow growth.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Sustainable Returns Through Leaders/369/Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:29:00 -0400To appear on the radar of the Thompson Plumb Growth Fund, a company has to display consistent growth, solid fundamentals, and attractive valuation. Above all, it has to be well established in an industry with sustainable -- not cyclical -- trends, and high barriers to entry. Despite the underperformance of his style in recent years, the manager John C. Thompson sticks to the quality large-cap growth stocks in expectation of an inflection point.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Investing in Niche Creators/366/Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:19:00 -0400Instead of trying to predict when the market may rise or fall, Daniel F. Dent, portfolio manager at the DF Dent Premier Growth Fund, relies on selecting stocks with superior long-term growth characteristics, strong and sustainable earnings prospects, high quality management teams and reasonable stock prices. For him, the solid financial characteristics such as a high return on equity, good profit margins and a strong balance sheet are more important than the absolute size of the company.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Internet Returns/365/Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:15:00 -0400Aiming at the unique investment opportunities offered by the Internet, the Jacob Internet Fund seeks to achieve long-term growth of capital by investing in companies that derive their revenue from Internet-related businesses. The portfolio manager Ryan Jacob is looking for companies with good management teams with experience, a barrier to entry in their business and companies trading at reasonable valuations relative to their growth.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Going Anywhere to Find Value/364/Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:43:00 -0400Wendy Trevisani, the co-manager of the Thornburg International Value Fund together with Bill Fries and Lei Wang, runs a focused and, yet, diversified portfolio. With no constraints on industries, capitalization sizes, or geographies, the fund looks anywhere to find value and growth potential, including the emerging markets. Its long-term bias and a global approach allow the fund to spot opportunities that others may neglect and play them in a variety of ways.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Merger Profits/363/Fri, 22 Jun 2007 11:06:00 -0400In a category that is relatively inaccessible to individual investors, such as the booming mergers and acquisitions market, the AXA Enterprise Mergers & Acquisitions Fund emerges as a viable investment option. Focusing both on announced and potential deals in the U.S. and abroad, the fund is generally diversified across approximately 250 companies in order to capture low-risk returns when the deal is secure or large movements that result from potential takeovers.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Riding Stewards of Capital/362/Fri, 15 Jun 2007 10:36:00 -0400Not too many funds dare to combine mutual funds and individual stocks in one portfolio, but the holdings of Rogé Partners Fund are bind together by the idea of investing in great managers and businesses. Utilizing a flexible strategy for exploiting valuation anomalies globally and across all market capitalizations, the manager Steve Rogé selects only about 50 holdings, and yet achieves the global allocation necessary to limit the risks.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Seeking Advantage in Asia/361/Thu, 14 Jun 2007 08:41:00 -0400While most investors tend to go with the flow when exploring the Asian markets, the Wells Fargo Advantage Asia Pacific Fund is using every tool at its disposal to get in early on new investment ideas. In order to take advantage of all the opportunities in developed and emerging Asian countries, portfolio manager Anthony Cragg seeks both growth and value situations, as well as larger- and smaller-cap stocks.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/A Diversified World of Income Strategies/360/Wed, 06 Jun 2007 08:33:00 -0400Using the complexity in the contemporary global fixed income landscape, Putnam Diversified Income Trust looks to build a dynamic pool of income earning strategies. Portfolio manager Bill Kohli and his team of specialists aim at identifying interesting investment strategies and finding a way to reduce the risk of overexposure to any one sector.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/A Unique Approach to Value Investing/359/Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:35:00 -0400Stock selection is the key to successful investing in the small cap arena where the majority of stocks under-perform the market. Dunham Small Cap Value Fund has a team of six analysts whose job is to identify small cap stocks using a bottom-up fundamental stock selection process that have positive cash flow and are using excess cash flow to benefit shareholders.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Adapt and Prosper/358/Wed, 30 May 2007 08:40:00 -0400Many investors try to follow market leadership but few have a long-term, unbiased, and quantitatively derived strategy to do it. Jason Browne, manager of the FundX Upgrader Fund, doesn’t find any value in trying to predict future leadership. Instead, he relies on an internally developed ranking system to capture broad trends and to select the funds with the most appropriate strategy and risk level in the current environment.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Real Estate In Focus/357/Thu, 24 May 2007 14:14:00 -0400Although John Wenker manages a portfolio that invests only in real estate, his goal is to build a balanced portfolio diversified across property types and driven mainly by stock selection. He believes that the long-term success in the REIT space is driven by industry expertise, a bottom-up approach that requires hard work on each name, and a focus on quality.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Sophisticated Strategies In A Simple Way/356/Thu, 17 May 2007 09:53:00 -0400A major challenge for financial professionals is satisfying the expectations of a more educated and demanding client base. Advisors want to employ more sophisticated strategies but need to execute them in a simple way. That’s the big picture behind the success of ProShares ETFs. They enable investors to easily hedge or magnify their exposure to broad indexes, sectors, asset classes, or styles.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Capturing Performance Shifts/355/Wed, 09 May 2007 10:07:00 -0400Over time active managers have a very difficult time beating the benchmark as they do poor cash timing, they have poor sector bets and they overweight the stocks too much. What the PathMaster Domestic Equity Fund manager Rich O’Hara is trying to do is capture the size and the style shifts of the market and not individual stocks. The Fund maintains a well-diversified portfolio primarily of ETFs which helps reduce the risk of picking the wrong stocks.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Gold for Growth/354/Tue, 08 May 2007 08:38:00 -0400Through its 5,000-year history of being money gold hasn’t lost its purchasing power. That is why the OCM Gold Fund is predominately looking for un-hedged gold producers in order to give its investors exposure to rising gold prices in a rising gold price environment. Using an active tiered approach, the fund manager Gregory M. Orrell is looking for companies that are growing production and making discoveries in order to be able to replace reserves.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/More Than Income/353/Mon, 07 May 2007 14:30:00 -0400Providing income is no longer enough if you want to address the long-term retirement needs, according to Mark Simenstad, manager of the Thrivent Diversified Income Plus Fund. The fund invests in a mix of asset classes to provide income, downside protection, and capital appreciation. Employing a multi-manager strategy, the fund relies mainly on quantitative methods to assess the relative value between the various asset classes and to make allocations.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Mining Returns/352/Fri, 04 May 2007 10:19:00 -0400Midas Fund benefits through investment in companies with attractive fundamentals. Thomas B. Winmill, fund manager, looks at three pieces of data about any company — People, Projects and Pricing — to find quality companies with unique combinations of strength in operations, products, and finances. He believes that People — quality in management — is the most important, with the strongest indicator of quality found in their track record.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Global Small Cap Search/351/Thu, 03 May 2007 09:46:00 -0400Growth portfolios are associated with more risk but Joseph Axtell, the manager of the DWS Global Opportunities Fund, believes that if you have the flexibility to look for growth anywhere, you can control your risks better. He manages the fund with maximum choices not only in terms of locations, but also in terms of market cap and growth type. A crucial aspect for finding opportunities is the input from Deutsche Bank’s local analysts all over the world.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Dividends for Stable Growth/350/Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:45:00 -0400Dividends are a key part of the return of an equity portfolio, according to the managers of the ING Global Equity Dividend, as they provide smoother and more sustainable growth. But finding the right companies remains crucial as running a high-conviction portfolio, where every stock has equal weight. Constrained only by the yield and its sustainability, the fund can invest in any part of the world and any sector to achieve growth with lower risk.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The Patient Investor/349/Mon, 23 Apr 2007 12:50:00 -0400Taking advantage of Wall Street’s focus on the short term, Ariel Appreciation Fund seeks stocks that are temporarily out of favor but whose long-term potential and predictable business models offer shareholders great value over time. Portfolio Manager Matt Sauer invests in quality companies in industries where Ariel has expertise, and only buys when these businesses are selling at a significant discount to their private market value.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Diversified Large Caps/348/Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:09:00 -0400Jerome Heppelmann manages both the Old Mutual Large Cap (“Large Cap Fund”) and the Old Mutual Focused Fund (“Focused”) with a similar philosophy and process that are based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis to find the right balance between valuation, near-term dynamics, and long-term growth. But the Large Cap Fund is more diversified - it is designed for investors who may not want the large individual weights of a concentrated fund.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Active for Alpha/347/Fri, 13 Apr 2007 11:20:00 -0400Jerome Heppelmann, the manager of the Old Mutual Focused Fund, believes that there is ample opportunity in the large-cap space because most of his peers strictly follow the benchmark. Contrary to them, the fund invests in no more than 30 companies. Cognizant of the inherent risk in a focused portfolio, the manager grounds his selection on the trade-off between valuation and growth and looks for companies that offer downside protection.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/A Global View on Technology/346/Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:02:00 -0400To invest successfully in technology one has to have a global perspective. The technology sector is perhaps the most global in terms of both supply and demand. That’s why Ian Warmerdam, the manager of the Henderson Global Technology Fund, believes that the analysis of technology stocks cannot be done from a purely domestic perspective if you want to have the entire picture. The Fund stresses rigorous analysis, valuation and behavioral finance techniques in its bottom-up selection process.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Mid-Cap Gems/345/Tue, 10 Apr 2007 08:55:00 -0400The true business owner perspective means a truly long-term view when buying and selling stocks. That in itself provides an advantage over the competition, according to Jim Norris the manager of the Wells Fargo Advantage C&B Mid Cap Value Fund. The long-term view and the relatively small number of holdings enable him to capitalize on the short-term problems and respective price dips of otherwise quality businesses.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Small-Cap Values/344/Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:45:00 -0400Small-cap investing requires a hands on approach and to do this internationally demands an investment process that is scalable. Epoch International Small Cap Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing at least 80% of its assets in small-cap companies outside of the U.S. Incorporating a top-down thematic approach with fundamental bottom-up stock analysis, Daniel Geber, portfolio manager, aims to offer a differentiated investment process in small-cap investing.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Active in Large Caps/343/Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:30:00 -0400It is a general belief that you cannot have an advantage in the well researched large-cap space. Yet, Bob Markman, the manager of the Markman Core Growth Fund, believes that his style of large-caps investing provides ample opportunities for outperformance. Running a focused portfolio of 35 stocks, Markman has shown an ability to create value by selecting the companies ‘at the top of the food chain’ and trading around those positions when opportunities arise.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Quantitative Growth Search/342/Thu, 15 Mar 2007 10:31:00 -0400The combination of expected growth and attractive price is lucrative to any investor. Bjurman Barry Associates has developed a quantitative model to screen stocks that reflect this investment profile. Patrick Bradford, portfolio manager of the Bjurman Barry Mid Cap Growth fund, relies on fundamental judgement to construct a diversified portfolio of 70 mid-cap growth stocks. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Seeking Value through a Disciplined System/341/Mon, 12 Mar 2007 13:21:00 -0400With the premise that the market can misprice stocks, Todd Burchett, the manager of the ICON Telecommunication & Utilities Fund, relies on a quantitative system to value stocks. The non-emotional system calculates value-to-price ratios and points to the industries that the system identifies as being on sale and can potentially lead the market.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Truly and Comprehensively Diversified/340/Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:25:00 -0500For Jeffrey Knight, portfolio leader of the Putnam Global Asset Allocation Growth Fund, active management means top-down allocation across asset classes, countries, sizes, and sectors, as well as a bottom-up approach within each category. With more than 2,000 holdings, the fund’s goal is to achieve the right balance of the diversified holdings. Emphasizing the collective characteristics of the holdings, the fund relies on quantitative research for all the decisions.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Before the Street Does/339/Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:17:00 -0500The negative consensus among investors and analysts on troubled companies only provokes the interest of Sergio Marcheli, one of the portfolio managers of the Van Kampen American Value Fund. But the final ‘buy’ decisions are taken based on in-depth fundamental analysis, assessment of the management and its chances to turn the company around, and the mandatory presence of a positive catalyst. That strategy aims to discover the success stories before everyone else on the Street.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Getting the Big Picture Right/338/Fri, 02 Mar 2007 10:02:00 -0500The ThomasLloyd OPTI-flex Fund is a fund of funds that utilizes an opportunistic approach by investing in mutual funds in various asset classes, investment styles, market capitalizations, and in funds that leverage or short the markets. As a result, Portfolio Manager Jeff Unterreiner believes that the fund is adequately diversified to be a life-time investment that should outperform through a full market cycle.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Getting the Big Picture Right/337/Fri, 02 Mar 2007 09:59:00 -0500The ThomasLloyd OPTI-flex Fund is a fund of funds that utilizes an opportunistic approach by investing in mutual funds in various asset classes, investment styles, market capitalizations, and in funds that leverage or short the markets. As a result, Portfolio Manager Jeff Unterreiner believes that the fund is adequately diversified to be a life-time investment that should outperform through a full market cycle.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Russia in the Post-Emerging Era/336/Thu, 01 Mar 2007 11:52:00 -0500The emerging markets are dynamic places that require the double effort of getting to know them and staying on top of the fast changing societies. John Connor, the manager of the Third Millennium Russia Fund, believes that the Russian market no longer offers cheap stocks associated with high risk. Rather, he sees opportunities for participating in the high growth and domestically financed growth of a relatively stable market.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Developing Strength in Developing Markets/335/Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:08:00 -0500AIM Developing Markets Fund managers Steve Cao and Borge Endresen believe emerging markets fundamentals have dramatically improved. That’s why they are comfortable with a growth-style investment process that emphasizes bottom-up stock selection. Volatility is not a thing of the past, but long-term investors may be amply rewarded for enduring that volatility. With low correlation to the U.S. market, the fund may provide a diversification benefit to the U.S. investor.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Private vs. Public Value/334/Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:40:00 -0500Wall Street and the private market may differ substantially in their valuations of a business, and that’s an opportunity for the Boyar Value Fund. The fund aims to buy businesses at a significant discount to their intrinsic value with the idea that, over time, the market will value them appropriately, or they will be acquired. Relying on in-depth fundamental research, the manager Mark Boyar runs a concentrated portfolio with very low turnover.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Consistent and Less Volatile/333/Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:02:00 -0500Quite different from its peers, the Ave Maria Growth fund invests in a relatively small number of domestic stocks that it selects through a systematic ranking system. The manager, James Bashaw, is free to invest in companies of any size as long they fit with the requirements of long-term risk-adjusted expected returns. But regardless of their attractiveness, the fund does not invest in companies that offend Catholic values.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Manager Performance/332/Fri, 09 Feb 2007 11:35:00 -0500Starting with the premise that the mutual fund industry does something wrong in searching for talent, the Marketocracy Masters 100 fund has decided to cast a broader net to find the people who can consistently beat the market. Reaching out to places not traditional for the mutual fund world, the company has built the technology platform to track members on the site who excel at trading and utilize the insights of the best ones. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/A Broad View on Utilities/331/Wed, 31 Jan 2007 12:57:00 -0500Specialty or sector funds aren’t famous for the diversification they provide, but the Eaton Vance Utilities Fund has found a way to avoid concentration. With a very broad view on what the utility sector is, the manager Judith A. Saryan also invests in telecom and renewable energy companies when the macro environment is favorable. A significant international exposure further reduces the sector risk and provides a larger investable universe.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Net Green/330/Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:07:00 -0500Portfolio 21 is a global growth equity fund that seeks long-term capital growth. Employing a bottom-up approach to stock selection, portfolio manager Tony Tursich, along with the portfolio management team, focuses on companies that have positioned themselves to steer through the increased demand for diminishing natural resources, coupled with the deteriorating environmental situation.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The Importance of Asset Allocation/329/Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:50:00 -0500For the managers of the AdvisorOne Amerigo Fund, it is much more important to be in the right part of the market than in the right security. Designed as a fund of funds that can be used as a core holding by advisors, the fund invests primarily in ETFs spread across multiple sectors, styles, and countries. Its risk budgeting strategy allows it to be well diversified and, at the same time, to take enough risk for bringing additional return.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Relative Value in High Yield/328/Fri, 19 Jan 2007 10:03:00 -0500Any bond is a potential candidate for the Summit High Yield Bond Fund, as long as it meets the selection criteria for the right price, asset coverage, free cash flow, and economics. The strategies employed by the high yield team include investing in upgrade candidates, special situations, or pure yield plays, with the idea of building a diversified portfolio with stable performance.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Sector by Sector/326/Fri, 12 Jan 2007 09:55:00 -0500Rydex Sector Rotation Fund is built on the premise that industries that have performed well in the past will continue to perform well in the future. The management uses two measures of momentum - a 3-month and a 12-month look back on the industry performance. The fund ranks all of the 62 industries in its universe and is buying the top 10% in either measure of momentum.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Emerging Europe Convergence/325/Thu, 11 Jan 2007 09:59:00 -0500Starting with the premise that Eastern Europe will continue to display faster growth rates than Western Europe in the convergence process, the Metzler/Payden European Emerging Markets Fund is set to benefit from this trend. While the fund manager, Markus Brück, believes that the greatest opportunities and efforts should be in the small-cap area, he also doesn’t ignore large caps in order to build a stable, diversified, and less risky portfolio.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Focus and Discipline in the Value World/324/Wed, 10 Jan 2007 07:35:00 -0500Every investor tries to buy great businesses at attractive prices, but very few of them have a clearly defined way to do this. Larry Coats, and David Carr co-managers of Oak Value Fund, believe in valuing equities as businesses and in building a thorough understanding of the key drivers of each company in the portfolio. Restricted only by the firm’s investment principles and discipline, the Fund’s managers may invest even at unusual value places like technology.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Better Returns from Better Businesses/321/Thu, 28 Dec 2006 13:42:00 -0500Using the principles of value investing, the Matrix Advisors Value Fund aims at identifying better businesses in better industries across the entire economic spectrum, and at buying them below their intrinsic value. Investing in both dividend and non-dividend paying companies that are financially strong and meet specific valuation criteria, the portfolio manager David Katz seeks a total rate of return comprised of capital appreciation and current income.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Confidence in Fundamentals/320/Fri, 22 Dec 2006 08:04:00 -0500The Paradigm Value Fund takes advantage of inefficiencies in the small-cap market to develop a deeper understanding of target companies and, as a result, gain advantage in the marketplace. Seeking capital appreciation, portfolio manager John Walthausen is looking for stocks with strong fundamentals and long-term potential.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Searching for Undiscovered Value/319/Thu, 21 Dec 2006 15:12:00 -0500The fact that expectations are usually priced in a stock is a simple truth that most investors tend to neglect. That helps Warren Koontz, the manager of the Loomis Sayles Value Fund, to find undiscovered value in areas not typical for value managers. With a portfolio that’s constructed on the basis of individual ideas, and a time horizon of two to three years, the fund benefits from the volatility created by the short-term mentality of the market.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Value Puzzle/318/Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:21:00 -0500Investing isn’t a mechanical or scientific process driven by strict rules, according to Marc Heilweil, the manager of Marathon Value Portfolio. It is the experience, the judgments based on that experience, the research and the intuition that drive his process. Constructed with the idea to be an all-weather fund that is not too dependent on economic or market conditions, the fund provides diversified exposure to equities with a long-term perspective.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Quality Growth and Valuation/316/Mon, 18 Dec 2006 14:34:00 -0500With a global mandate for seeking small-cap growth opportunities and with global resources to draw upon, the Allianz RCM Global Small-Cap Fund feels free to invest anywhere in the world. Ideally, the fund would invest in growth companies in a growing industry. But since we don’t live in a perfect world, portfolio manager Tom Ross most often looks for the companies with consistent growth that outperform peers in their competitive environment.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Disciplined To Seek Alpha/315/Fri, 15 Dec 2006 11:06:00 -0500Oddly enough, investors repeat mistakes again and again. Through financial models, a quantitative approach makes behavior patterns of investors evident to these models whether it is in a sector or in a stock. James Johnson exploits arbitrage opportunities through disciplined, quantitative fund management.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The Power of Rising Dividends/314/Thu, 14 Dec 2006 10:16:00 -0500Everyone is so focused on earnings that we seem to forget that only strong companies with positive future outlook and growing earnings can afford to raise dividends consistently for a 10-year period. That simple but golden idea, combined with a focus on food, energy, healthcare, and finance, enables the Rising Dividend Growth Fund to defy the cyclical nature of the market and to deliver growing income to its investors.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Risk Aware Small-Cap Growth Managers/313/Wed, 13 Dec 2006 12:30:00 -0500Most people would expect small-cap growth funds to be always looking for the next big thing and to invest in hundreds of stocks to find the next Google. This one is different. Managed with an institutional approach, the fund focuses on the high-quality businesses and invests for the long term. Always aware of the risks, the fund has fewer names than its peers as it poseses a higher level of confidence in each name. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Small Wonders /312/Tue, 12 Dec 2006 11:48:00 -0500Investing for the BB&T Small Cap Fund is similar to going to the mall – people look for high quality products and prefer to pay less. With his focus on valuation, portfolio manager John Kvantas is willing to wait for companies with a quality business to go on sale. It is one of the Fund’s core beliefs that the strong and conservative balance sheet gives these undervalued companies the capability to ride out difficulties on the operational side. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Condition-Based Investing /311/Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:46:00 -0500Manning & Napier Advisors has full confidence in its strategies as the firm has applied them for over 30 years across all investment products. Its small-cap fund relies on three separate frameworks to select stocks that can provide growth, deep value, or cyclical value. According to one of its managers, Jeff Tyburski, the key is the bottom-up approach, the consistency, and the risk control embedded in every step of the process, even in the analysts’ incentives. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Digital Investing/310/Fri, 08 Dec 2006 10:48:00 -0500Stock movements are driven by many fundamental factors but by only one technical reason – because investors are buying or selling them. Ralph Parks, the manager of the Ralph Parks Cyclical Equity Fund (RPCEX), has developed a digital model for discerning the trading patterns and benefiting from the cyclicality of the market. His goal – You have limited money & time – attempt to be in the strongest investment patterns you can find. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Think and Invest Globally /309/Thu, 07 Dec 2006 11:01:00 -0500The high yield world does not sound that risky when you talk to Greg Hopper, the manager of the Julius Baer Global High Income Fund. Spreading out of the traditional definition of the high yield category, the fund achieves diversification through investing in allied asset classes as long as they are senior to equity. A key feature of its strategy is the global approach and the equity-like analysis of the high-yield bond segment.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Seeking Returns Globally /308/Fri, 01 Dec 2006 10:44:00 -0500Yields on bonds may vary from country to country reflecting local economic growth and macro economic fundamentals of the country or the region. Investing globally in bonds requires an understanding of global economic currents, fund flows and currency dynamics. Don Quigley, co-portfolio manager of the Julius Baer Total Return Bond Fund, leverages these factors to enhance returns. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Beating the Expectations /307/Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:04:00 -0500The well-researched large-cap blend area of the market is difficult to take advantage of, but Waddell & Reed Advisors Core Investment Fund does exactly that. The core belief of the fund is that earnings and cash flow generation drives stock prices. Using both a top-down and bottom-up approach the portfolio managers Eric Becker and Gus Zinn look for companies with earnings and cash flow that they believe will surpass expectations, and therefore, exhibit stronger stock performance. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Systematic and Emotionless Analysis/306/Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:28:00 -0500The Bishop Street Strategic Growth Fund acknowledges the fact that one can easily get lost in the flood of market information. That’s why the fund based its philosophy on building a reliable system for analyzing data, a mix of quantitative and fundamental approach, which aims to remove all emotions from the process. A crucial element is the back-testing that goes decades into the past to ensure that all possible environments are observed. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Anchored in Balance Sheet /305/Tue, 21 Nov 2006 13:22:00 -0500Following a time-tested three-pronged investment philosophy Jay Kaplan, portfolio manager at The Royce Value Fund, seeks to generate higher returns by identifying companies with strong balance sheets, high return businesses and discount valuations. Using a contrarian approach, the manager believes that rock solid balance sheets offer brick wall protection against temporary operating problems at a company. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Two Streams of Returns/304/Mon, 20 Nov 2006 11:32:00 -0500When developing its strategy, the Osterweis Strategic Income Fund, started with the premise of managing money with no restraints. It identified two consecutive cycles, and to capitalize on both of them, the fund emphasized the ability to switch between investment grade and high yield bonds – two asset classes that are usually considered mutually exclusive. The manager Carl Kaufman also believes in equity-like analysis and in going beyond the charts and the quotes. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Wide International Value Horizons/303/Tue, 14 Nov 2006 13:39:00 -0500With approximately 220 stocks from around the globe, Vanguard International Value represents a broadly diversified international investment. The fund’s investable universe consists of 10,000 stocks from anywhere but the U.S., and as if this diversification wasn’t enough, Vanguard has chosen to work with three separate managers. But both of the managers share the belief that international value investing requires a thorough understanding of the handpicked companies.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Discoveries in Micro Caps/302/Mon, 13 Nov 2006 12:31:00 -0500Investing in small and micro-cap stocks requires a special focus. A fund manager not only has to watch for business fundamentals but also look for investor sentiment. These thinly traded stocks can deliver outsized gains when very few analysts and investors are following the companies. The fund managers at the Perkins Discovery Fund combine fundamental valuation analysis with investor sentiment by following technical patterns on price charts to stay ahead of other investors. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Undiscovered Earnings Growth/301/Fri, 10 Nov 2006 08:01:00 -0500Although First Focus Growth Opportunities is a growth fund, it doesn’t limit itself only to the growth industries. Instead, portfolio manager Kurt Spieler spreads the exposure across various industries looking for the companies with above-average growth in each group. The bottom-up research process is complemented by a risk control overlay whose final goal is a portfolio of 50 to 60 growth stocks with low correlations. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Classic Core Value/298/Thu, 09 Nov 2006 07:46:00 -0500If you buy companies at appropriate valuations, you should do better than the market over time while taking less risk. This philosophy may sound simple to understand but is hard to execute. For Richard Earnest, co-manager of the HighMark Value Momentum Fund, it means conservative five-year forecasts on 700 companies, various estimates of their worth, a thorough understanding of the key issues, awareness of the downside risk, and a top-down view on the world.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Screening for Global Opportunities/297/Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:09:00 -0500Scouring the world for value plays is not an easy job, but the Quant Foreign Value Fund has found a way to narrow down a universe of 24,000 companies down to 400 in just two days. The remaining 28 days of the month are for scrutinizing financial statements and for traveling around the world for a first-hand experience with the companies on the short list. An emphasis on cash flow enables comparisons and helps to control the risk.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Green Returns/296/Fri, 03 Nov 2006 10:22:00 -0500Combining growth investing with environmentally responsible practices does not seem that difficult when you talk to the manager of the Winslow Green Growth Fund. Not limited only to renewable energy or organic food industries, the fund finds many opportunities among young technology, science, or consumer companies that are established with a bias towards responsible practices. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/All About the Dollar/294/Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:40:00 -0500The bigger picture for clearer decisions. John Lekas runs The Leader Short-Term Bond Fund with a top-down approach, a macro view which determines the direction of the portfolio. Opportunistic in nature, the fund aims to buy at the right moment and the right price. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Growth at Value Price/293/Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:26:00 -0500Since growth comes in various flavors, John Enlund, the manager of Country Growth Fund, emphasizes the growth in fundamentals that is reasonably priced in the stock. This low-turnover large-cap growth fund utilizes both the top-down approach to identify sectors and bottom-up analysis to pinpoint companies. Involving other portfolio managers as analysts, the fund benefits from the differentiated perspectives on stock picking. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Searching for Value in Stocks and Bonds/292/Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:11:00 -0400With a focus on capital preservation, Greenspring Fund aims at steady, non-volatile performance, regardless of what the markets are doing. This broad mandate, which enables the Fund to look for value in any capitalization range, is crucial for achieving its goal. Chip Carlson, the manager of the Fund, believes in knowing your boundaries and investing within areas you understand well.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Independent and Focused/291/Thu, 26 Oct 2006 13:00:00 -0400A small but experienced and loyal team is one of the greatest assets of Becker Capital Management. The privately held advisor to the Becker Value Equity Fund is committed to remain independent with all of its shareholders being employees of the firm. Opportunistic in nature, the fund invests primarily in large undervalued companies with stable to improving fundamentals.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Rising Return on Capital/290/Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:11:00 -0400Investing is as much art as science. Short-term investors reward fast-growing companies with high multiple valuation but invariably this growth slows down, taking down the high-flying stocks with it. Finding companies with stable growth, strong market positions and rising return on capital takes analysis and conviction beyond reading financial statements. The team managing the FMI Large Cap Fund thrives in researching companies and stocks for these metrics. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Lifestyle Investing/289/Tue, 24 Oct 2006 09:41:00 -0400Russell’s LifePoints Funds – available in two series: Target Portfolio Funds and Target Date Funds – are primarily geared towards investors planning their retirement. The Target Date Series is designed for investors who prefer to base their investment decision on their expected retirement date and the Target Portfolio Series is aimed at those investors who want to base their decision on risk tolerance.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Power of Basics/288/Mon, 23 Oct 2006 10:46:00 -0400Many fund managers target stable growth but few base their investing on the most stable human needs existing from the beginning of time. Gerald Sparrow, the manager of the Sparrow Growth Fund, invests in companies that serve necessities such as housing, utilities, food, and certain services. Otherwise, the fund is free to invest in any market cap range and any geographic market as long as the stocks satisfy its growth criteria.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Healthy Returns/286/Thu, 12 Oct 2006 13:21:00 -0400Investing in healthcare requires special understanding of drugs, diseases and the business of healthcare delivery. With the population ageing and cost of delivery of healthcare spiraling there are opportunities to make and lose money. At T. Rowe Price Health Science Fund, Kris Jenner devotes his time to separating the winners from the losers and is willing to pay a reasonable price for growing companies. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Real Value/285/Mon, 09 Oct 2006 10:05:00 -0400Investors have long believed that investing in individual real estate properties or private real estate partnerships is more lucrative than investing in publicly traded REITs. However, publicly traded REITs can offer opportunities to an investor who researches the underlying property portfolios and identifies those REITs that are trading at a discount to the market values of their net asset value. At Adelante, Michael Torres rigorously researches and values each company to identify discounts. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Chasing Growth in a Disciplined Way/284/Wed, 04 Oct 2006 10:05:00 -0400The Chase Growth Fund is not a typical growth fund. With a fairly concentrated portfolio, it relies on a disciplined quantitative and qualitative process to build a high level of confidence in each idea. David Scott, manager of the fund, believes that the in-house research team and the extra step it takes in analysis are major assets. Building its own universe of growth companies, the fund often benefits from spotting stocks before they are included in the index.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/One Size Doesn't Fit the Globe/282/Thu, 28 Sep 2006 09:50:00 -0400A major differentiator for the Julius Baer Global Equity Fund lies in its stock-selection approach which varies across sectors and regions. A uniform, “one size fits all”, strategy would be too confining, as would adhering to a strict growth or a value discipline, according to the manager Brett Gallagher. He needs the flexibility to analyze what’s important to the market at a given time and an organization able to quickly process that information.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Trust in Positive Surprises/281/Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:53:00 -0400Diversified Mid-Cap Growth Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of medium sized companies. Portfolio manager Clifford Fox seeks to generate better returns by identifying companies with positive earnings momentum before the market. The manager believes in the power of positive momentum and positive surprise. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Only the Best Ideas/280/Fri, 22 Sep 2006 12:21:00 -0400Security Select 25 is a concentrated growth fund, but it isn’t interested in just any type of growth. Valuation is a crucial part of its philosophy as well as the competitive advantage of the underlying companies and their ability to improve pre-tax returns on invested capital. With a longer time horizon, the fund invests only in its best ideas and gives them enough time to produce results.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Micro Cap with Macro Returns/279/Thu, 21 Sep 2006 08:32:00 -0400The Brazos Micro Cap Fund digs into the micro-cap arena looking for companies with potential for rapid growth in earnings and revenue under reliable management. The key to this strategy is spotting opportunities before the market does and, hopefully, enjoying the ride from market cap in the range of $100 to $600 million to $1 billion.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The Worldly Investor/276/Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:59:00 -0400Investing abroad requires an understanding of companies, countries and economic cycles. Using quantitative metrics, the Principal Investors Diversified International Fund finds companies at the early stage of earnings growth and not yet on investors’ radar. The fund spreads its bets across 25 countries. A team of global researchers discover small and large companies in the developed and emerging markets. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Fund With Initial Offers/275/Fri, 15 Sep 2006 16:03:00 -0400It will be a rare chance for an individual investor to get allocation of a hot IPO. A fund for an investor with a bigger buying power and a commitment to ferret out a young company is the next best way to participate in the success of growth companies. The IPO Plus Fund aims to invest in companies when they go public, track them in the aftermarket and seek out dynamic companies with organic growth ahead of them. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Gauging Economic Performance/274/Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:49:00 -0400At HGK fund managers separate the drivers of economic performance from the reported accounting performance. Portfolio manager Michael Pendergast analyzes operating cash flow before he selects companies to add to his portfolio. Fundamental and bottom-up analysis underline the stock selection process of the HGK Equity Value Fund. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Concentrated and Confident in Value/273/Wed, 13 Sep 2006 10:56:00 -0400The Security Large Cap Value Fund aims at long-term growth of capital, investing the majority of its assets in large-cap companies with total market value of $10 billion and above. The management thinks about investment opportunities over a three- to five-year time horizon. They try to make fewer but better decisions based on the concept of owning businesses rather than stocks.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Lead by Acceleration and Price Momentum/272/Tue, 12 Sep 2006 10:39:00 -0400The great thing about growth stocks is that they can tremendously outperform the market for a period of time. The problem is that this window of opportunity, when the earnings grow recognized and appreciated by the market, is usually rather brief. That’s why the American Century Heritage Fund stresses the effectiveness of monitoring and identifying the areas of the market where fundamental acceleration and relative strength in pricing occur together.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Dividend Growth vs. Absolute Yield/271/Mon, 11 Sep 2006 08:25:00 -0400Despite its name, Cohen & Steers Dividend Value is not a traditional value fund. Its differentiated approach enables it to invest in areas typically avoided by value managers, such as biotech or technology. The key aspects of the fund’s strategy are the focus on dividend growth, the long-term outlook, and the emphasis on high quality vs. valuation.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Disciplined and Seeking Alpha/270/Fri, 08 Sep 2006 11:44:00 -0400Few mutual fund managers have a strategy and ability to profit during rising and falling markets. The TFS Market Neutral Fund uses a quantitative approach in identifying variables that act as leading indicators to profit from market anomalies. These indicators guide the manager in the stock selection process. Falling markets and stock prices provide equal opportunity to generate excess return for the disciplined investor.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Profit from Patterns/269/Thu, 07 Sep 2006 09:07:00 -0400Investors can profit from a manager who keeps tabs on other managers’ investment styles and performance. Now there is a fund that does that. As managers and styles rotate with market sentiment and economic cycles, investors can benefit from a systematic way to monitor and track those cycles of change. Curtis A. Teberg at The Teberg Fund works hard to analyze these cycles for his investors. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Wealthy Over a Lifetime/268/Wed, 06 Sep 2006 08:04:00 -0400A long-term perspective and experience definitely help Roland Manarin, the manager of Lifetime Achievement Fund, in his search of ‘the best of the best.’ He builds a diversified portfolio of equity funds with the idea that it is ownership that protects and grows wealth. Investment decisions are based either on understanding the impact of fiscal and monetary policies, or simply on defying mainstream logic.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Dividends Matter/267/Tue, 05 Sep 2006 10:00:00 -0400Slow and steady wins the race. Most fund managers know that well but few of them really put the philosophy into practice. In a world of growth investing, dividends fell out of style for a long time, but the reality is that dividends, reinvested, have provided over 40% of equity market returns over time. George Shipp and his team at the helm of the BB&T Equity Income Fund look for rising income and dividends to generate 8% or better return for the investors. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Balanced at Core/266/Fri, 01 Sep 2006 10:15:00 -0400With a multi-discipline and multi-manager strategy, the New Covenant Growth Fund aims to outperform the broad market over long periods of time. It has entrusted its assets to five sub-advisors but closely monitors their performance. The sub-advisors not only have to beat their respective benchmarks, but also to comply with the social responsibility aspect of the fund, which prohibits investing in certain companies. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Buying the Whole International Race/265/Wed, 30 Aug 2006 10:52:00 -0400Since international exposure usually represents only a small part of investors’ assets, it is most often concentrated only in the style that has recently outperformed as advisors rarely have the capacity to offer more diversification. Recognizing that demand for style-specific non-US investing will grow, MFS has bundled together its five flagship international products to provide an easy and cost-effective access to truly global markets.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Asian Values/264/Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:24:00 -0400Investing in Asian Pacific stocks is a daunting task. With more than fifteen exchanges, currencies and economic cycles, investment managers need a specific focus and well-honed quantitative discipline. The ICON Asia-Pacific Region Fund invests in sectors and industries rather than companies to mitigate country and currency risks. The sectors and industries across the region may be a better way to exploit investment arbitrage than to build a country-specific fund. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Five International Managers in One Fund/263/Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:22:00 -0400Jeffrey Mortimer’s job isn’t stock picking. Instead, he picks managers, and more importantly, he picks how much capital is allocated to each manager. The goal is to achieve a broadly diversified international fund that can have a value tilt or a growth tilt depending on the macroeconomic environment. A key aspect of the fund’s strategy is the focus on future, not past performance, and that is achieved through a proprietary mean reversion model.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Diversified Real Estate/262/Thu, 24 Aug 2006 09:16:00 -0400Investing in stocks and bonds has been accepted as a diversification strategy and now increasingly real estate has been regarded as a way to diversify investment portfolios. Investing in real estate companies requires understanding of management, hard assets and cash flows at the property and company levels. Joel Beam at Kensington Real Estate Securities Fund looks for high quality real estate and management teams that have demonstrated track records. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/An Open-Minded Large-Cap Value Search/261/Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:03:00 -0400Sophia Collier, who has been at the helm of the Citizens Value Fund for the last three years, has an unusual background for portfolio management. As a successful entrepreneur, she brings not only the business perspective, but also the understanding that the world is a dynamic place and you need the open mindedness and the courage to adjust your views frequently. The fund is looking for the industry underdogs that, under the right circumstances, can benefit both from the earnings growth...Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The Fast Flowing Energy Stream/260/Fri, 18 Aug 2006 09:42:00 -0400In a world where oil supply is tight, demand is rising, and OPEC plays a big role in pricing, it’s hardly surprising that investors are benefiting from the strong surge in energy prices. Tim Guinness, the manager of the Guinness Atkinson global energy fund, believes that the big picture makes this trend durable for the years to come. He manages a portfolio of 28 equally weighted stocks with strong discipline and a belief that the run up is not over yet.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The More The Better/259/Thu, 17 Aug 2006 10:53:00 -0400Investing with many fund managers can be better than sticking with one manager. Every fund manager has tough periods and managers go in and out of favor. How about investing in a fund that puts managers with consistent records who are stable hands at investing together during volatile markets? This is what the Vantagepoint Aggressive Opportunities Fund does. The fund provides an opportunity to invest with some of the best growth stock investors around.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Growth in the Middle/258/Tue, 15 Aug 2006 09:21:00 -0400Growth stocks may bring great returns, but they usually come with more volatility and risks. With that in mind, AIM Capital Development Fund looks for sustainable growth at a reasonable price in the mid-cap space. The fund places a strong emphasis on cash flow reinvestment, balance sheet metrics, return on capital, and overall shareholder profitability.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Buy Pessimism and Sell Optimism /257/Mon, 14 Aug 2006 09:17:00 -0400The value search of the Fifth Third Multi-Cap Value Fund is not confined to a specific sector or market cap range. With a contrarian approach and a long-term outlook, the fund relies on an experienced research team to find those gems, ignored by Wall Street, that have stopped shining only temporarily.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Contrarian In Search of Value/256/Wed, 09 Aug 2006 08:56:00 -0400The Fifth Third Disciplined Large-Cap Value Fund exploits the tendency of the market to price stocks based on an extrapolation of recent results. In fact, growth rates exhibit little persistence over time, so that buying out-of-favor, low expectation stocks with low P/E’s, low price to book ratios and above average yields is a winning strategy.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The Smallest Companies Out There/255/Mon, 07 Aug 2006 07:37:00 -0400Perritt Emerging Opportunities Fund was created with the idea to invest in the smallest companies to be discovered, smaller even than the companies in Perritt MicroCap Opportunities Fund. The philosophy behind microcap investing is simple – the smaller the companies, the better the potential long-term return. But because of the specific risks of this micro space, it’s the research effort that makes the difference.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The Smallest Companies Out There/254/Mon, 07 Aug 2006 07:30:00 -0400Perritt Emerging Opportunities Fund was created with the idea to invest in the smallest companies to be discovered, smaller even than the companies in Perritt MicroCap Opportunities Fund. The philosophy behind microcap investing is simple – the smaller the companies, the better the potential long-term return. But because of the specific risks of this micro space, it’s the research effort that makes the difference.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The Smallest Companies Out There/253/Mon, 07 Aug 2006 07:27:00 -0400Perritt Emerging Opportunities Fund was created with the idea to invest in the smallest companies to be discovered, smaller even than the companies in Perritt MicroCap Opportunities Fund. The philosophy behind microcap investing is simple – the smaller the companies, the better the potential long-term return. But because of the specific risks of this micro space, it’s the research effort that makes the difference.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Multiple Perspectives on Real Estate/252/Fri, 04 Aug 2006 09:27:00 -0400The Oppenheimer Real Estate Fund is managed using a fundamental, research-driven approach which combines traditional equity securities analysis with access to the resources of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, the real estate investment advisory company that sub-advises the Fund. Fund Manager Scott Westphal believes this gives the fund a unique perspective on the marketplace as well as the ability to identify current and long-term trends. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Consistent Manager Selection/251/Wed, 02 Aug 2006 10:19:00 -0400Selecting the right mutual fund manager for the right environment requires deeper understanding of market dynamics and longe term views. The Pearl Funds, both Total Return Fund and Aggressive Growth Fund, seek managers who have a steady hand in the up and down market. Pearl Funds’ performance depends on our decisions on global market trends, which categories are likely to outperform, and careful selection of our portfolio funds.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Unlike the U.S./250/Tue, 01 Aug 2006 06:49:00 -0400It probably comes as a surprise to many Americans, but the U.S. accounts for only 45% of the world market capitalization. More importantly, it presents investment opportunities that cannot be found domestically. Leonardo Vila, portfolio manager of the Federated International Small Company Fund, would dig through the entire supply chain to find the right small company of an investment theme. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Real Companies - Not Pieces of Paper/249/Wed, 26 Jul 2006 14:02:00 -0400At Fort Pitt Capital Total Return Fund, manager Charles Smith looks for companies that have both a history of profitability and reasonable share prices. He looks for stocks that can deliver total returns that outpace inflation. Mr. Smith is a contrarian. He recognizes the risk in being different, but he is willing to take this risk in order to outperform the S&P 500 index by one to two percentage points per annum net of fees.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Biotech Focus/248/Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:18:00 -0400Scientific breakthroughs in healthcare may spark enthusiasm among investors, but it is estimated that only one out of 5,000 drug candidates actually makes it to the market. That's why investing in biotech requires specialization, in-depth fundamental research, and understanding the complicated drug development process, according to Stephan Patten, co-manager of the Quaker Biotech Pharma-Healthcare Fund. The fund invests in only 25 to 35 best ideas sifted through a careful selection process.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Pure Small Cap Growth/247/Thu, 29 Jun 2006 14:23:00 -0400Small-cap growth investing poses specific challenges to investors, such as higher volatility, lower liquidity, and less readily available information. Ken Korngiebel, the manager of Columbia Small Cap Growth Fund I, believes that the crucial factors for success include a longer-term horizon, a research team with diversified perspectives, valuation of both upside and downside potential, and risk management in which every bet is intentional.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Valuable Inefficiencies/246/Fri, 23 Jun 2006 07:34:00 -0400For Michael J. Chren, team leader for the Allegiant Asset Management Large Cap Value equity styles, value investing is a superior strategy because though markets tend to be efficient over the long term, it is critical to take advantage of short term pricing inefficiencies. His strategy does just that. Value stocks are not necessarily those with low P/Es, but those trading at least 25% below their intrinsic value. The critical variable is how to measure intrinsic value.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Participate and Protect/245/Fri, 16 Jun 2006 12:02:00 -0400Seeking long-term capital appreciation through investments in mid-sized growth companies is part of the philosophy of the Mosaic Mid-Cap Fund. Richard Eisinger, co-manager of the fund, believes that businesses with sustainable competitive advantages and predictable cash flow prove to be less risky in the long run. The fund prides itself on avoiding the herd mentality and thus limiting risk.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Hedge Fund of Funds in the Mutual Space/244/Wed, 07 Jun 2006 14:24:00 -0400A pioneer in the area, Alpha Hedged Strategies (ALPHX) defies easy comparisons. The fund employs real hedge fund managers with various strategies to create a risk-return profile suitable for mass affluent mutual fund investors. Through tight control over sub- managers and compliance with mutual fund requirements, Alpha eliminates many of the hurdles between these two worlds. Financial intermediaries are crucial to educating investors on this complex product.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Different Styles for Different Times/243/Fri, 26 May 2006 08:45:00 -0400Texas Capital Value & Growth can easily turn from a micro-cap growth fund to a blue-chip value fund within a year. The manager Eric Barden believes that life is too short to fight the market, so he’d rather evaluate the relevance of 50 strategies to the current environment. In essence, the fund aims to develop the optimal company profile for the current market and then looks for the securities reflecting that profile.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Fundamentally Justified Growth/242/Mon, 15 May 2006 12:31:00 -0400When looking for growth, the Jordan Opportunity Fund explores macro trends and dislocations in the fundamental supply-demand story that go unrecognized by the market. It focuses on four to six investment themes where the firm builds analysis advantage. A crucial part of Jordan's strategy is avoiding high-multiple stocks and the risks that go with them.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Fundamentally Rooted/241/Thu, 11 May 2006 12:56:00 -0400The Phoenix Small-Cap Growth Fund digs into the small-cap universe in search of the next Wal-Mart. The fund uses a fundamental process and clearly defined criteria, looking for companies with high EPS growth foreseeable for the next five years, high return on invested capital (ROIC), and sustainability. Portfolio managers Yossi Lipsker and Lou Holtz consider the long-term outlook crucial for success in the small-cap area and keep turnover low.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Challenging Wall Street's Assumptions/240/Fri, 05 May 2006 08:44:00 -0400It’s very difficult to have a competitive advantage in the large-cap area, where there is plenty of information available and everyone knows the companies well. AIM Large Cap Growth Fund, however, is trying to outperform its peers by better risk management. Relying on a balanced, unemotional, objective, bottom-up process, the fund uses hard facts to find investment opportunities and to identify stocks where Wall Street consensus may be wrong.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/At the Core of the Market/239/Tue, 02 May 2006 11:26:00 -0400When you have two managers, one with value and one with growth perspective, you'd be less dependent on the type of stocks the market favors at the moment. The Thrivent Mid Cap Stock Fund combines not only growth and value, but also targets “the best of both worlds” by investing in mid-cap stocks. According to the managers, the mid-cap universe combines the strong growth prospects of small-caps with the stability of large-caps.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Independent at the Core/238/Wed, 26 Apr 2006 11:23:00 -0400Independence and teamwork are key words at Turner, the investment company managing Turner Core Growth portfolio. Analysts are also owners, portfolio managers act as analysts and compensation depends on team results, all with the idea of putting the client first. Very much growth oriented, this large-cap portfolio has an above average focus on mid-cap stocks as it aims to participate in their run towards becoming large-cap names.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/The Absolute Mix/237/Mon, 24 Apr 2006 11:33:00 -0400Quite unusual for the mutual fund marketplace, the Absolute Strategies fund doesn’t choose the investments, but seeks the perfect mix of asset classes, strategies, and managers. The goal is absolute return with low volatility and low correlation with the market so that investors would not have to take losses every time the market takes a downturn. As a fringe benefit, it brings institutional approach in money management to the retail investor.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Style Rotation/236/Wed, 19 Apr 2006 10:32:00 -0400Most managers analyze tons of fundamental data in order to get a competitive edge. Very few others, like Jonathan Ferrell, manager of Rock Canyon Top Flight fund, analyze the reactions of investors to specific market conditions. With as little constraints as possible, the fund uses multiple styles and shorts stocks when appropriate. What matters are the trends made visible and exploitable by the multi-factor quantitative model. Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/A Single Strategy for Long and Short/235/Wed, 29 Mar 2006 12:01:00 -0500Diamond Hill's long-short strategy differs from similar strategies in a couple of key ways. It intentionally has a long bias and doesn't use the shorts as a hedge of long positions. More importantly, the managers keep their long-term investment perspective and stick to the core of their philosophy – estimating the intrinsic value of businesses and looking for opportunities to buy below that estimated value or short above it.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Real Values in Real Estates/234/Sat, 25 Mar 2006 07:48:00 -0500The Third Avenue Real Estate Value Fund is not a typical real estate portfolio. It seeks value and long-term capital appreciation outside the conventional way of simply investing in REITs. As long as the investments remain safe and cheap, portfolio manager Michael Winer would seek value in any property type or geographic location.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Exploiting Human Emotions/233/Fri, 17 Mar 2006 10:57:00 -0500At Summit Investment Partners, the Everest portfolio team finds value in large cap, primarily domestic, stocks. Contrary to popular belief, the market at times is inefficient in pricing large cap stocks. This is the kind of opportunity which the fund seeks to profit from. The portfolio manager James McGlynn keeps a close tab on more than 400 stocks and follows a quantitative discipline to buy and sell stocks in the fund.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Avoiding Mistakes in a Risky Field/232/Mon, 13 Mar 2006 14:05:00 -0500Risk taking is a way of life for high yield bond managers who operate at the least secure part of the market. John Addeo manages the MFS High Yield Opportunities fund with the understanding that bond investors usually don't have the chance to find home runs that offset mistakes. The fund's way of outperformance is avoiding mistakes through diversification, bottom-up credit selection, and rigorous research effort.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Focused on Long-Term Returns/231/Wed, 08 Mar 2006 13:22:00 -0500Flexible, concentrated and disciplined are the unique features of the Yacktman Focused Fund, according to manager Donald Yacktman. As implied by the name, the fund focuses only on its best ideas because overdiversification can be an excuse for ignorance. The crucial part of this strategy is to invest in solid businesses that sell at prices below their worth and to know the investments thoroughly.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Looking for Global Low-Risk Opportunities/230/Fri, 03 Mar 2006 12:16:00 -0500Nick Calamos, manager of Calamos International Growth Fund, believes that if you manage risk properly, the returns will take care of themselves. And there are plenty of risks in the international growth space, from macroeconomic policy risks to accounting or company-specific risks. That's why the fund sticks to a cash flow perspective and to investing in high-return businesses able to sustain market and credit cycles.Ticker Magazinehttp://www.123jump.com/Mutual-fund-update/Localized Global Approach/229/Wed, 01 Mar 2006 13:53:00 -0500Henderson Global Investors is well-known internationally but less so in the U.S. Its International Opportunities fund is set to bring the company's expertise in world markets to US investors. With a multi-manager structure, the fund has five teams that focus on specific geographic area or sector and gives them as much freedom as possible in their approach and decision-making. Ultimately, it is the stock picking that mat