10 Funds That Returned 50% Or More This Past Year

Comments

• bee

  August 2018 edited August 2018

  Close behind at 46.84% - FSRPX. No 2x strategy, low minimum, reasonable ER, steady long term results...
  
• Ted

  August 2018

  @MFO Members: Seven of these funds use leverage to get such high returns. Unless your a day trader, stay away from the them.
  Regards,
  Ted
• BrianW

  August 2018

  One lesson I did learn from Marty Whitman is, NEVER USE LEVERAGE!!!!!
• Old_Joe

  August 2018

  @Ted & @BrianW: Amen!
• PRESSmUP

  August 2018 edited August 2018

  I own ETIHX which I purchased at a bad time in 2015, right before the bio's dipped. I was going to sell, but didn't. Now I'm up 50%. With a relatively concentrated position of 70 or so stocks, they look to be good analysts in this space.
  
  No leverage, but it does go into small bio's and is definitely a "risk-on" trade. Paring this with a combination of VGHCX could make a reasonable barbell position in healthcare as relates to risk. When the overall market takes a dive in the next 2 years or so, I'll be adding to this fund to make it a full position. Not for the squeamish though.
  
  FWIW, I agree with the comments above on leverage. I make enough bad decisions without magnifying them.
• DavidV

  August 2018

  I do not see AOFAX - small growth fund I own. It performed better than other (except leveraged) funds in the list. 40% YTD.
• Old_Skeet

  August 2018

  Hi @ DavidV, I also own AOFAX and according to Morningstar has it's ytd at 40.51% and rolling 1 year at 55.21%. I'm thinking there are probally some other funds that got missed as well.
• bee

  August 2018

  @DavidV and @Old_Skeet actually impressive 3 year returns. Do you have a strategy to reallocate your out sized gains? This fund (I charted AOFIX) has out performed both mid-cap and small-cap growth indexes since it's most recent bottom starting around 2/12/2016. Do you see this continuing in the Small/Mid cap growth space?
  
• msf

  August 2018

  Old_Skeet said:

  Hi @ DavidV, I also own AOFAX and according to Morningstar has it's ytd at 40.51% and rolling 1 year at 55.21%. I'm thinking there are probally some other funds that got missed as well.

  It didn't get missed. "Here are 10 funds that have turned $100 into $150 or more in the last 12 months ending Aug. 17, 2018."
  
  According to this Morningstar chart, $10,000 in AOFAX on Aug. 17, 2017 grew to $14,640.26 as of Aug. 17, 2018. So $100 turned into $146.03, not quite the requisite $150. It didn't make the cut.
  
  While that's sufficient explanation, it's possible that the returns analyzed included the effect of loads. AOFAX carries a 5.25% load (though you can purchase it with the load waived). None of the ten tickers listed are load shares.
  
  For example LOGWX is class F-3, the cleanest, lowest cost share class you can get. The appropriate share class to check for Alger Small Cap Focus would be AGOZX, though that doesn't make the grade, either.
• Old_Skeet

  August 2018 edited August 2018

  Hi @bee, I open my position in AOFAX in the spring of this year by doing a nav exchange from some of my SPECX into it as SPECX had grown to a sizeable position within its sleeve and portfolio. This was done commission free. Currently, AOFAX is still under construction and will be capped at about a 25% weighting within it's sleeve. Since, I take all fund distributions to cash this in of itself helps keep funds like this with explosive growth in check thus limiting the need to often manually rebalance. Generally, no fund within the growth area is greater than two percent of the overall portfolio with the exception that SPECX is the largest fund in the growth area at about 3% of the overall portfolio while AOFAX currently less than 1%. So, there is room to do some more nav exchanges from SPECX into AOFAX and let AOFAX run. By the way the two largest sleeves in the growth area are my large/mid cap sleeve and my specialty & theme sleeve. Combined they account for about 60% of the growth area while the other two sleeves account for the remaining 40%. Currently, there is no spiff investment position.
  
  Below is my portfolio holdings of late.
  
  Last revised: 08/24/2018 Master Portfolio
  
  Here is how I have my asset allocation broken out in percent ranges, by area. My neutral allocation weighting are cash area 20%, income area 30%, growth & income area 35% and growth area & other assets 15%. I do an Instant Xray analysis of the portfolio quarterly and make asset weighting adjustments as I feel warranted based upon my assesment of the market, my risk tolerance, cash needs, etc. In addition, I have the portfolio set up in Morningstar's portfolio manager by sleeve and as a whole for easy monitoring plus I use brokerage account statements along with other Morningstar reports and the fund fact sheets to follow my investments.
  
  CASH AREA (Portfolio Weighting Range 15% to 25% with neutral being 20%)
  Demand Cash Sleeve ... (Cash Distribution Accrual & Future Investment Accrual)
  Investment Cash Sleeve ... (Savings & Time Deposits)
  
  INCOME AREA (Portfolio Weighting Range 25% to 35% with neutral being 30%)
  Fixed Income Sleeve: BAICX, CTFAX, GIFAX, LBNDX, NEFZX & TSIAX (CTFAX under review partial nav exch sell)
  Hybrid Income Sleeve: APIUX, AZNAX, DIFAX, FISCX, FKINX, ISFAX, JNBAX, PCGAX & PGBAX
  
  GROWTH & INCOME AREA (Portfolio Weighting Range 30% to 40% with neutral being 35%)
  Global Equity Sleeve: CWGIX, DEQAX & EADIX (DWGAX under review for nav exch buy)
  Global Hybrid Sleeve: CAIBX, PMAIX & TIBAX
  Domestic Equity Sleeve: ANCFX, FDSAX, SVAAX (INUTX under review for nav exch buy)
  Domestic Hybrid Sleeve: ABALX, AMECX, FBLAX, FRINX, HWIAX & LABFX
  
  GROWTH AREA (Portfolio Weighting Range 10% to 20% with neutral being 15%)
  Global Sleeve: ANWPX, FWAFX & SMCWX
  Large/Mid Cap Sleeve: AGTHX, AMCPX & SPECX
  Small/Mid Cap Sleeve: AOFAX, NDVAX & PMDAX
  Specialty & Theme Sleeve: LPEFX, NEWFX, PCLAX & PGUAX (NEWFX under review partial nav exch sell)
  Spiff Sleeve: No position engaged at this time.
  
• bee

  August 2018 edited August 2018

  @Old_Skeet, Thanks for sharing your most recent portfolio. I am always struck by your organization of sleeves. Again, an allocation question for you.
  
  Within your individual sleeves do you adjust allocation within the sleeve...say AOFAX has out performed your other two holdings in the sleeve...is there ever a reason to reallocate gains from one fund within the sleeve to the other funds?
  
  Also, I am personally trying to achieve a portfolio that holds funds that have at least a five percent (5%) overall weighting in my portfolio, but no more than a 20% weighting. So, this could mean as many as 20 funds (at 5% each) or no less than 5 funds (at 20% each). Your individual fund weightings must be part of you design as well. With so many funds how do you weight their importance in the overall portfolio?
  
  I mention this because some investors have a well diversified equity portfolio with one fund (VTI) and others have a very concentrated equity portfolio with 50 funds.
  
  Finally, have you explored correlation of your sleeves? Is one sleeve more correlated say to the equity market, the bond market, or alternatives? Do you have a recipe for the percentage of these non-correlated assets in your portfolio?
• Ted

  August 2018

  @MFO Members: Six funds with these percentages.
  Regards,
  Ted
  IVV=36.5%
  PONCX=20.9%
  QQQ=20.6%
  MSOPX=10.9%
  TRBCX=8.0%
  MVRXX=2.8%
  
  YTD Returns:
  QQQ-17.60%
  TRBCX= 16.70%
  MSOPX= 10.94%
  IVV= 8.69%
  PONCX= -(.78%)
  MVRXX=$1.00= Yield 1.83%
  
• Old_Skeet

  August 2018 edited August 2018

  Hi @bee, My portfolio is comprised through many years of investing and there are guidelines in place but no hard rules. For instance, the two largest fund holdings are also my oldest at about six percent each (FKINX & AMECX). I decided ... enough is enough ... and, I don't want to keep expanding these two funds so I split some off and open other funds with these being my seed funds for the others. With new money, some gift and inheritance transfers, and taking what the existing funds generated I built what you see. With this I'm thinking new positions to complement the core. Also, a good amount of what you see is also held in taxable accounts. So, I have to consider the tax angle as well.
  
  An exapmle. Currently, NEWFX is the largest position in it's sleeve so I'm thinking of splitting some of it into another fund (DWGAX) through a nav exchange process. This will rebalace NEWFX's sleeve while adding some diverfication to the sleeve that will hold DWGAX. As you can see I have another fund under review for a nav exchange buy (INUTX). So, this is an on going process and done when I felt warranted. Again, gudelines but no hard rules. Generally, no fund starts at less than 5% of its sleeve and becomes no more than 60%. For instance AOFAX is currently 15% of its sleeve, NDVAX 15% and PMDAX 70%. When AOFAX gets built AOFAX is tatgeted to become 20%, NDVAX 20% & PMDAX 60%. PMDAX is held in a taxable account and has been a long term position and through the years of growth become an outsized position within its sleeve. The strategy is not to sell any of PMDAX but to grow the other positions to balance the sleeve with some more buys and natural growth as they should grow faster than PMDAX.
  
  That is why it is important to Xray what you have before starting to tweak.
  
  The below outlines the process and was not posted with the portfolio. Again, no hard rules just guidelines about my sleeve management system.
  
  Old_Skeet's Sleeve Management System
  
  Now being in retirement here is a brief description of my sleeve management system which I organized to better help manage the investments held within mine and my wife's portfolios. The master portfolio is comprised of two taxable investment accounts, two self directed retirement accounts, a health savings account plus two bank accounts. With this, I came up with four investment areas. They are a cash area which consist of two sleeves ... an investment cash sleeve and a demand cash sleeve. The next area is the income area which consist of two sleeves ... a fixed income sleeve and a hybrid income sleeve. Then there is the growth & income area which has more risk associated with it than the income area and it consist of four sleeves ... a global equity sleeve, a global hybrid sleeve, a domestic equity sleeve and a domestic hybrid sleeve. And, there is the growth area where the most risk in the portfolio is found and it consist of five slleves ... a global sleeve, a large/mid cap sleeve, a small/mid cap sleeve, a specialty/theme sleeve plus a special investment (spiff) sleeve. Each sleeve (in most cases) consist of three to nine funds with the size and weight of each sleeve can easily be adjusted, from time-to-time, by adjusting the number of funds held along with their amounts. By using the sleeve system I can get a better picutre of my overall investment landscape. I have found it beneficial to Xray each fund, each sleeve, each investment area, and the portfolio as a whole quarterly. My positions and sleeves can be adjusted from time-to-time as to how I might be reading the markets through using my market barometer and equity weighting matrix. The matrix is driven by the barometer. All my funds with the exception of those in my health savings account pay their distributions to the cash area of the portfolio. This automatically builds cash in the cash area to meet the portfolio's disbursements (when necessary) with the residual being left for new investment opportunity. Generally, in any one year I take no more than a sum equal to one half of my portfolio's five year average return. In this way principal builds over time. In addition, most buy/sell transactions settle from, or to, the cash area with some net asset exchanges between funds taking place.
  
  See the portfolio for asset allocation ranges for each area. Sleeve and fund weightings are known but not listed.