A couple of years ago, OSMAX raised its fees and the fund was closed. Since then, its manager (and analysts) left suddenly. Here's the thread on the former:
https://mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/75482The fund continues to perform admirably, and the replacement manager is excellent. Nevertheless, he is 70, there's no succession plan, and there's still that matter of fees on what is for the space, a jumbo fund. With that in mind, I came up with some alternatives, and thought I'd just toss them out for comments.
Interestingly, a couple of Fidelity funds popped up, and I'm especially curious what people think about them. The management seems stable (Fidelity seems to be improving here).
GISOX (Grandeur Peak seems to be a favorite at MFO), MIDAX (I mentioned in that older post), PRIDX (another seeming favorite here, though closed to new investors), QUSIX (a value fund, unlike the others), and the two Fidelity funds FISMX (blend) and FSCOX (growth). Finally, there is ARTJX, which is where OSMAX's manager Kanovich landed, along with even higher fees.
Comments
@msf,
Too bad FKSCX is closed to new investors. Previously, it was able to be bought for low minimums at one of your favorite under the radar brokerages.
I agree (with slick) that it usually takes some time for a new manager to put his own imprint on a fund. Not infrequently the old fund does at least as well as the new fund even after that. A too easy example is PIMCO/Bill Gross. Sometimes, both funds do well (TCW/Gundlach). Wait and see sounds reasonable.
It looks like DRIOX is open (though it is closed at some brokerages, e.g. Vanguard). It's TF at Schwab and Fidelity, and NTF at Merrill Edge. A quick glance shows performance, asset mix (small, growth oriented; fair smattering of EM), and cost 1.23% all adding up to a reasonable candidate. But what is going on with 143% turnover? I haven't looked closely into this yet. The other funds you (shadow) have are closer to 25% turnover.
I do have access to the other two funds (maintaining a small toehold for just such a use), so that's not a concern for me. Though I checked with T. Rowe Price and they will not move a holding in kind from an IRA to a taxable account. So if one is planning to gain access that way, be forewarned.
Out of curiosity, what's your thinking in holding a few different funds in the same space? Personally, I find that if there are two (I try to keep it down to that number) or three that I really can't decide between, I'll put money into all of them. After a few years, either I feel more comfortable with one of them and stick with that one, or still don't find much difference. In that case, I'll say what the heck and just pick one since the choice among them doesn't seem to make a difference.
Owning DRIOX, PRIDX and GPIIX has allowed me to feel comfortable in the ISC sector as each have performed well at different times with different fund ideologies and different managers. For me, the benefits of owning one will compliment the downside of the other(s).
The turnover in DRIOX is synonymous with Driehaus. Had I not invested in the three, I probably would have lost out on some decent performing ISC funds. Today, I just realized that Driehaus reopened DRIOX unbeknownst to me.
? Can you elaborate? Looks like marked, overlay-level correlation, for all periods from 7y on in. They do trade leads; is that what you are referring to?
I also owned ARTJX which did well in the very beginning when it was first offered in 2002 with AUM nearing $1B at its peak; however, over the last several years, ARTJX started to perform mediocre. I started to look at other options; hence, PRIDX, DRIOX, and GPIIX. I recently sold my ARTJX due to the fund change as well as the large CG paid. We all know the recent change involving ARTJX.
Not really being familiar with Driehaus, I did a little research. Momentum shop. Not my cup of tea - I've invested in a few and found they run hot and cold. Which goes toward explaining their poorer correlation with other funds investing in the same space.
DRIOX has had turnover above 300% (I only looked back five years). While Dick Strong still put that to shame, that turnover rate is still way up there. M* shows, not surprisingly, that this is not a tax efficient fund. So I'd be inclined to use it, if at all, in tax sheltered accounts.
There are various strategies that work. You've obviously found one that works for you. I'm at a point where I'm trying to keep my main funds (i.e. ones other than placeholders) down to a reasonable number, say 20 or so. (Like everything else, "reasonable" is in the eye of the beholder.)
Some people like this - the concentration, obviously not the fees - but the risk concerns me. On the other hand, throw together three concentrated (and non-overlapping) funds, and I could see building a portfolio like that.
There is VINEX also as an option.
Regarding BCSVX, maybe the fund was quite new to the scene so you wanted to see how the fund performed since it commenced during 2016?
I was aware (at least implicitly) about GISOX's bias away from small/micro caps, because until recently M* had classified it as a large cap fund.
Something I've been meaning to do is run X-ray over international funds alone (those I own and those I'm thinking about). Looking at a complete portfolio without separating domestic from foreign can give a misleading impression. More homework, I guess.