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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.

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our May update is posted

David_Snowball
edited May 2012 in Fund Discussions
Just as a reminder.

Four profiles, three of them updates. I'm going to try to update all of the old profiles in rotation, as well as add some new funds. My recent flu goofed the plan slightly (Osterweis and Huber got moved to June), but I've done a pretty thorough rereading of Amana Developing World, Artisan Global Value, and LKCM Balanced. We've also added (at your request!) FMI International.

A new "best of" column, featuring financial news aggregators. Junior identified two good human-curated sites. Many of your know, and work with, Abnormal Returns. David Sherman of Cohanzick, adviser to the RiverPark Short-Term High Yield fund, recommended Counterparties.com. It's a new site from Reuters and does good work.

Beyond that, a story about an old friend (remember the Technology Value Fund, titan of the 90s) that's morphed into a new form (publicly-traded venture capital fund, but with the same team). Through mid-April, they made either 3% or 175%, depending on when you got out. Also a small rant about the lackadaisical response by fund companies to dwindling public interest and a cheerful discovery: RiverNorth is partnering with Manning & Napier to launch an intriguing hybrid.

For what interest it holds,

David

Comments

  • Sven
    Thank you. Looking forward reading your monthly update. Excellent coverage on the FMI International fund.
  • AndyJ
    edited May 2012
    I don't know if you've noticed this or find it strange if you have, David, but the Fund Reveal page linked in the ARTGX update doesn't support your analysis; in fact, it's dead opposite your analysis.

    FR says it's "not a well managed fund" and exhibits "high risk behavior," for example in its 2008 performance. (That "high risk behavior" of course put it in the top 6% of global stock funds in 2008, so it's kind of hard to tell how FR comes to that conclusion - especially since the tables referenced in the piece are nowhere to be found on the page.)

    I guess I gave myself away with the parenthetical statement, but to be clear, I'm with you and not with FR. Their take, IMHO, is incomprehensible.

    Best,
    AJ

  • David_Snowball
    Reply to @AndyJ: Yuh, we are "in dialogue" about that. The short version is that FundReveal's default benchmark is the S&P500 and that almost all global funds - which have more exposure to the euro-zone crisis, the Fukushima fallout and so on - have been more volatile and less rewarding than more purely domestic ones. I've asked the FR folks to reconsider their analysis and consider using a custom benchmark (all global funds) to double-check their conclusion. I'll surely share whatever I hear back.

    David
  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    edited May 2012
    Hi David- You might find yourself on shaky ground with the concept of a "custom benchmark", at least in the eyes of some of our board-folk. There's been a bit of a discussion about that recently...

    Sorry to hear about your flu downer.

    Best / OJ
  • perpetual_Bull
    edited May 2012
    FundReveal: "ARTGX is not a well managed fund."

    What global mutual fund do they consider "well managed" then ? Are they questioning the intelligence of ARTGX shareholders? Many of us invest in Artisan funds because they're "well managed." Furthermore, shareholders of ARTKX ( same managers as ARTGX )have been greatly rewarded for believing such. My prediction is that FundReveal will run from their article in a few years.

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