(SFGIX... over 8 months old, now. M* still has yet to post a YTD performance figure in percentage terms. Hmph!)

Grandeur Peak Global and International (GPGOX and GPOIX), Harding Loevner International Small Cap (HLMSX), and Seafarer (SFGIX) are being clocked by Aberdeen Global Small Cap (WVCCX). Aberdeen installed a new team at the fund in 2009 and the good results ensued. I hate to admit that I discovered WVCCX on Schwab's Select List. Fund assets remain low and expenses reasonable for the category. I own Aberdeen's FAX, but never checked out any of their OEFs.

Hey man, been waiting for you to weigh-in on my last post...HYLD.
Currently, holding steady with sweet six: RNSIX, AQRIX, WBMIX, SFGIX, FAAFX, DODBX and little bit of BAC.
Like the great one says: "Sometimes doing nothing is wise behavior." Steady as she goes.
Hope all is well.
Charles

I see SFGIX now available at TDAmeritrade

Reply to @msf: I agree. I'm sensitive to it also. SFGIX will need to prove itself over the longer run against top-notch funds like MACSX. But for now, I'm happy.

Reply to @Charles
I'm not going to criticize you for an apples-to-oranges comparison. On the contrary, let's go with the flow. You took a broad (global) fund and compared it with a fund having a narrower (international EM) fund. We can continue down that path and compare a broad EM fund (SFGIX) with an EM fund having a narrower (Asian) focus - Matthews Asian G&I MACSX.
It's a similar comparison to the one I did above - comparing the performance of a fund manager who left a fund company to start a higher cost fund, with the performance of the old family's fund. The result is similar - the lower cost, established fund did better. (In this case, the time frame is so short - under a year - as to call the comparison into question, though for reasons of time, not because the comparison is between different types of funds.)
Here's the M* chart. For those, like me, who prefer numbers, the bottom line is:
SFGIX: up 9.16%, MACSX: up 12.06%, same time frame as you used.

I know someone is going to squawk that I am not comparing apples-to-apples, but as a fund owner that switched from WGRNX to SFGIX at first opportunity, I could not help myself...please forgive me:

And, forgive me for this: I looked to see if J.R. BRANDSTRADER was a paid shill for WGRNX, but could find nothing implicating on internet.

With all the discussion that's taken place here regarding Seafarer (SFGIX), I thought I'd provide some very short-term performance statistics on Seafarer vs. Wasatch Frontier Emerging Small Countries(WAFMX). I invested identical small amounts in both on 8/27. Here are the results through 10/2:
Seafarer +4.84%
Wasatch + 7.52%
Nice action in just 36 days from both funds but Wasatch has outperformed so far by 55%. On a day by day basis, Wasatch seems to have better downside resistance.

I'll just register a vote for the conference call approach to digging into newer, interesting, and innovative funds-- that is, if it's worth David's time considering the number of participants. The board's had a number of mentions of funds like that recently, so there'd be a pretty good menu to draw from. I'm recalling Whitebox, ARLSX, BRTNX, and RWGFX, just off the top of the cabeza here.
If it turns out not to be worth the time to do the calls as a regular feature, the interview approach David used for SFGIX would be great too.

Hi again scott and others on this post.
Good to see more folks adding to SFGIX. It's doing quite well this year. But Max for the life of me I will never understand why you own three similar Matthews funds and SFGIX! But, if you're happy, I'm happy.
I recently doubled-up on AQRIX selling all of RPHYX. I love the way parity handles risk and while I think David Sherman's RPHYX strategy is superb, my investment horizon is longer than appropriate for this good fund.
I also sold off two thirds of FAAFX after its recent run up, wanting to tame volatility...my horizon is longer than two months, but not ten years! I purchased more RNSIX with the proceeds. Hard to find a higher return at such low volatility than this income fund.
Current portfolio then is 60/40 slanted toward fixed income: RNSIX, AQRIX, FAAFX, WBMIX, SFGIX and DODBX. I also have small equity holding in BAC. Four of the funds I first learned about on MFO. Will be looking to cut one maybe two funds in months ahead, since I can never shake Bogle's guidance to KIS.

Just came into some $$$ and:
1) ADDED to MAPOX (div. paid today, share price down unexpectedly on a rather good UP day for the BIG DAWGS. Normally, the div. per share is 45 cents, except the year-end distrib, which historically looks to be a bit higher.)
2) Finally took the opportunity to BUY into DLFNX. It's my only domestic bond fund holding. My one, single, zero-coupon bond holding will mature and be paid next July. Also, bond-wise, I'm in MAINX and PREMX. By far, my biggest holding is PREMX, though it has shrunk lately, in proportion to my others.
3) bought SFGIX. I am anticipating the day when it will be further diversified beyond Asia.
Portfolio:
a) DLFNX 2.7% of holdings
b) Zero-coupon foreign bond, owned now for 9 years, matures in 10 years at 5.68% (This is 5.38% of holdings)
c) MAPOX at 3.21% of holdings
d) MSCFX 2.54% of holdings (up 13% for me just since the Spring.)
e) MAPIX 33.62%
f) MAINX 2.84%
g) MACSX 3.53%
h) SFGIX 2.71%
i) TRAMX 2.72%
j) PREMX 40.75%
.....Ya, I know it's a train-wreck. But I like it the way it is, dammit.
MAPOX is balanced. Equities AND bonds. Apart from that, I have: 49.24% in bonds.
...I'm 58, retired early. Reduced pension, but nice to have. Housing, medical covered these days. If we move to Philippines, I'll have to buy scripts retail. But it's not awful. We've checked out prices. Hospitalization would be something else again. Maybe we WON'T move to Asia? No hurry right now to decide...

Good idea for a thread, Scott.
I've just been rearranging a bit over the past month or so: reduced municipals, beefed up my stake in Gross's BOND and Pimco's multisector PDIIX, reallocated some EM from MACSX to SFGIX, and added some to MAINX and DBLTX. All within "the margin of error" in portfolio terms ... no significant change to allocation.
DGS is looking good; I thought about buying but have decided to wait a bit, hopefully for a bit of a pullback. I'm liking the pairing of ARTKX and FMIJX for developed foreign stock, and will add to the latter at some point.
On risk parity funds, after some study, I realized the way my portfolio is set up, as a whole, is at least somewhat similar to an actively managed risk parity approach, so I probably won't be buying a fund of that variety, at least for now.
Cheers, AJ

RNSIX
AQRIX
FAAFX
WBMIX
SFGIX
DODBX
Highest to lowest portfolio holdings.
I tend to agree with HiYield...hard to ignore equity-like returns with bond funds right now, while it lasts.
I recently sold RPHYX, adding to AQRIX.
Never did follow-through with ARIVX, after broker delay...covered for now with FAAFX, but did I pare back on it after recent advance to reduce portfolio volatility, which is currently under 10%.
So, six sweet funds.
Would like to get down to five or less in months ahead, but we will see...some other constraints in play for me.
But Ted...hats-off to your selection. Superb.

TDA responded that their investment committee will consider SFGIX at their investment committee meeting in 2 weeks. Send more emails. They will ask you how much you want to invest. Assume it will be a transaction fee fund ($49 currently)

I voted "aggressive," but not by very much. I recently added SFGIX, took some from PREMX and put it into TRAMX and also bought DLFNX, all in the same dollar-amounts.

1. If I had a frog in my pocket, I'd say "we", and the frog would probably do better investing than I do.
2. The recession is much closer than 5 yr.
3. Since my Tweedy Brown unhedged, doubled the gain of the hedged TB today, it must mean something, but I'm no economist.
4. Catch's link on the 13th led to Asian sources predicting inflows there for the near future, so does that make SFGIX a buy, or am I buying into a bubble? I'm not a timer (certainly not a good one), but I think Foster might have coattails to ride.
5. How long should one wait to fight the Fed? S&P 1500 is about 2% away.

Just put in a request for SFGIX

Reply to @MaxBialystock: Ha. Sweet. I used to own proudly just 4 funds: RNSIX, FAAFX, SFGIX, and DODBX. Then scott came along, and I grew to 6: RNSIX, FAAFX, WBMIX, AQRIX, SFGIX, and DODBX. Unable to resist his enthusiam for Redleaf and Asness. Then David reiterated his praise of Cinnamond and the fund reopenned today, so now I own 7: RNSIX, FAAFX, WBMIX, AQRIX, ARIVX, SFGIX, and DODBX. All through the institutional side of Schwab, or direct with the fund house. I really wish the folks on this site would stop making investing so interesting.

Reply to @Shostakovich: I think that's a valid and relevant observation. Three quick notes:
1. MACSX was, is and likely will continue to be one of your two prime Asia options, along with MAPIX.
2. SFGIX is a very different creature. It currently is 80% Asia, 10% Latin America, 10% other stuff. Within Asia, it offers a balanced exposure between developed and developing markets. MACSX is 4:3 developed over developing. For the portfolio as a whole, SFGIX is 1:1 developed to developing, MACSX is 2:1, and most of their peers are about 3:2.
3. SFGIX has been very successful in its own right. I track it against a variety of indexes (represented by ETFs, mostly) and it has substantially outperformed emerging Asia, Latin America and diversified e.m. benchmarks since launch.
For what it's worth,
David

Reply to @msf: Can you really compare MACSX with SFGIX? I thought SFGIX had broader geographic mandate than MACSX.