Biotech is behaving like a retail venture capital fund because of barbell return characteristics of the products.
Technically, this is still within the 4-6% expected pull back from the last high as I had posted earlier and so not yet a concern. IBB should find support around 255 IF it declines further and could be a buying opportunity. My recommendation earlier was a stop limit about 7% from the highs which is about 252 for IBB.

Wintergreen 2013 Annual Report:

Dear Fellow Wintergreen Fund (Trades, Portfolio) Shareholder,
2013 seemed to be the year when the quality, valuations, and risks of businesses ceased to matter to most stock market participants. The Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Index ("S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX)") remarkable rise for the year was its best return since 1997 during the run-up of the technology bubble. The ten best performing names in the S&P 500 had extremely high returns, while carrying an average price-to-earnings multiple of 58. Among these top performers were a struggling retailer (Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)), a recently bankrupt airline (Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)), a brokerage still digging itself out from the finanacial crisis (E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC)), a biotechnology company (Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG)), and two poster children of a potential new internet bubble (Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)). We believe the extraordinary returns on securities we view as highly speculative names are a microcosm of the broader market in 2013 - market participants moving down the quality spectrum in search of returns, without regard for and understanding of risks and valuations. We believe overseas securities languished and emerging markets became the scapegoat of popular opinion.The widespread appetite for risk has been fueled in part by years of artificially low interest rates in most developed markets around the world. When safe high-quality assets yield a fraction of one percent, it isn't surprising to see many investors flock to high-risk, high-reward investments, be it junk bonds or speculative equities. This is exemplified by high-yield bond spreads approaching historical lows, sub-prime mortgages being bid up 17% in the past year, and speculative equities posting triple-digit gains. Classic fundamental analysis of business values, a keystone in true investing, was replaced with an insatiable desire for returns at any cost and often a failure to acknowledge the inherent risk of many investment vehicles.
There is a popular Wall Street notion that momentum trading (i.e., buying stocks that have recently risen in price solely because they have recently risen in price) allows someone to hop from trend to trend as if they are a surfer riding the crest of a wave, and that this will enable one to trade their way to wealth. This "quick and easy" approach to speculating, which has been sold to investors in a relentless media blitz accompanying the latest bull market, is seldom successful in the long-run. More often, people don't get just wet, but financially soaked.

http://www.wintergreenfund.com/downloads/wintergreen_fund_annual_report_20131231.pdf

Ted, I have owned the 10 funds marked with an asterisk for 15+ years. Yes, I suppose I could prove it if I had to. But I'm not trying to brag, just trying to understand.

Are you claiming that you only owned those 10 funds (in equities) the last 15+ years and no other fund you bought/sold during that time?
There are two different questions here, one whether a mutual fund can beat a relevant index over a long period of time and two if you were able to exactly pick only those funds that over performed and nothing else.
The answer to the first question is very simple and easy to verify. There are many funds that beat their indices especially over market cycles. This is from a combination of stock selection and reducing drawdowns. Indices that stay fully invested even during long bear markets have a disadvantage relative to a manager that is able to go defensive and also be aggressive in bull markets. Yactman is a good example of such a manager. However, since that kind of timing cannot be perfect, they will not beat the index every year which is what the indexing studies try to hold them to for their conclusions.
Bogle's statements always have to be taken with some understanding rather than as gospel by the cult. If you have a primarily bull market, it is very difficult for a manager to beat the index over a long period in such a market by stock picking alone. The higher the ER, more difficult. We have had many such periods and therefore when you average it over all such periods and so over representing bull markets, the indexes come out better with a few exceptions. This is a mathematical conclusion based on averages than on what might happen to you.
The second question is whether you or anyone can reliably pick the managers that over perform their indices.
Again, the studies which answer in the negative average over all funds or pick them at random or some such not real world criterion. I suspect that people here with the kind of analysis available to them to select funds will do much better than that but even then it won't be a perfect record. But it doesnt need to be perfect to cone out ahead over a period of time.
No one has studied what would happen if people selected funds based on some due diligence, so that is still an open question as to how different due diligence criterion (not some dumb criterion like recent performance) would portend a successful fund for the future. People who do these studies are usually vested in the indexing approach to ask questions that might potentially disturb that view.
My personal opinion is that this whole beating the index thing is moot. You buy an ndex fund to get full exposure to the market without any drag and is suitable for early years if investing because you can ride out market downturns. As you build up your portfolio and have less years to ride out potential bear markets, you gradually transition to managers that have proven records of capital preservation. I prefer this to traditional beta exposure changes by altering equity/bond mix which lag too much if there aren't significant bear markets.
Are you just posting these as link bait to your blog? There is nothing there that could not have been posted in its entirety as a post here.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-05/buffett-s-book-pick-guides-fuss-to-marks-beating-market.html
Buffett's Book Pick Guides Fuss to Marks Beating Market

Warren Buffett, in his annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) last week, said the best investment he ever made was buying a copy of "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham.
The billionaire isn't the only prominent investor who considers the 1949 book money well spent. Daniel Fuss of Loomis Sayles & Co., Oaktree Capital Group LLC's Howard Marks and David Herro of Harris Associates LP credit the text with shaping their thinking about how markets work and what it takes to succeed.

Both great funds. The differences aren't just in the equity sleeves, though. VWELX seeks capital growth with current income a secondary objective, so holds mega/large dividend payers and lots of treasuries in a set 60/40 split. PRWCX seeks capital growth through stock-market like returns with preservation a secondary objective, so holds value priced stocks with corporate and some junk bonds. PRWCX also offers a little more tactical breathing room to its manager, who can hold some foreign equities and change the equity/bond allocation as well. PRWCX is higher risk, higher reward, but still with less volatility than the market in general. Both make fine core holdings.
Both funds also have attracted large amounts of AUM because of their success ($80BB for VWELX, over $20BB for PRWCX), and recently the manager of PRWCX appears to have sold out of the fund, though there could be many reasons for that. So at the risk of complicating this again, let me suggest an alternative for each:
MAPOX is a fantastic traditional 60/40 income fund specializing in midwestern American stocks with a flexible bond sleeve. It holds some mid and small caps, and has very slightly better numbers than VWELX with a fraction of the AUM. It also costs twice as much, though is still relatively cheap, and has zero NTF brokerage availabilty. There are worse things, though, than a Roth held at Mairs and Power, and eventually your daughter could branch out into the excellent growth or small cap funds.
VILLX is a quirky fund based in New Orleans that holds growthier mid and small cap fare and corporate bonds, though not much junk right now. The managers still have an eye for value, though, and the fund has a small amount of turnover. Think of a Primecap balanced fund. I believe they can alter the allocation tactically, but am not sure. VILLX is definitely the youngest, most volatile and priciest of the four funds, but it has thebstrongest upside of any of the four (check out the results for the past five years).
All four are MFO "Great Owl" funds, for whatever that is worth, and any would make a fine core holding. In terms of risk/return they'd rank VILLX/PRWCX/MAPOX/VWELX. I think eventually you could even pair VWELX/MAPOX with PRWCX/VILLX with a catch all foreign fund for a decent enough, simple three fund port.

Charles, many thanks for these graphs. It reinforces my conclusion that I don't need HUSIX with the other two. I am just waiting for April so I can take LT cap gains instead of ST. I just hope the market doesn't crash before then.
I don't know if I would buy CIPSX today, but I'd take a small tax hit on selling it, and since over the life of the fund, as your graph shows, it has overperformed the S&P by an average of 4 p.p. a year while having a smaller maximum drawdown, there seems no rush to sell it despite its current 2 star rating from M*.
But at the next correction I will add to BRUSX.
Shadow, yes, that's how I got into BRUSX as well! I'd been waiting for such an opportunity for years. I previously had some other Bridgeway small cap funds as well as BRAGX, which I still hold.

FYI:
Regards,
Ted
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303704304579383224190021540#printMode
M* Snapshot Of HSGFX: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/fund/hsgfx

Yes, the same Moose that trounced the S&P over the past 7,8,9,10,11,12, and 13 years.
$100K invested in the S&P back in 2000 would be worth a little less than $163K today. If you retired back in 2000 counting on the S&P 500 to help you pay to keep your lights on...well,
"Bless your heart."
Conversely, a $100K invested in the "Moose calls" starting in 2000 is now worth $1.2M. That's what I call staying ahead of inflation.
I find it interesting and telling that the Moose has held SPY for a brief 3 months over the last 6 years that Junkster referenced. Possibly it's the author's inability to comprehend the magintude of the FEDs influence and support of Military / Industrial complex or maybe a desire to perserve capital. The Moose held cash and LT Treasuries quite often over the last 6 years a nod (I believe) for preservation of capital.
In shear numbers, the Moose's total portfolio value grew over the last 6 years by $300K (from $896K to $1.2M) which is close to double the total value of the entire 13 year of the S&P 500 portfolio. It wasn't hard to beat the S&P 500 between 2000 - 2008...cash woud have beaten it. When the sh*t hit the fan a second time in 5 years (Tech Bubble / Housing Bubble) lots of other things (contango, commodities, credit risk) lost their shine and the light returned to the real market (productive companies).
The author (William Dirlam) at Decision Moose is reviewed by CXO:
cxoadvisory.com/2663/economic-indicators/the-decision-moose-asset-allocation-framework/#more-2663
It's real value may be in it's beta to the market (SPY).

Consider RiverPark Strategic Income (RSIVX) - Same manager, slightly more 'adventurous', slightly better return :-) , and from what I've seen so far, not too badly subject bond volatility. The per/share price just goes up (due to Capital Gains?), with the exception of two mid-month penny dips and adjustments for its monthly dividend.
edit: I'd like to note that RSIIX, normally a $1Million minimum, is available at Schwab as a for-fee ($76/buy,$0/sell) fund with a $2,500 minimum ($1000 minimum in an IRA). And no short-term holding fees. The Institutional shares (RSIIX) have an expense ratio 0.25% less than RSIVX, making the one-year break even about $30,400.
For the MFO review, see http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2014/01/riverpark-strategic-income-fund-rsivx-january-2014
And this months commentary ( http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2014/03/march-1-2014 ) It's half-way down... Search (Ctl-F) for 'RSIVX'
For more info on David Snowball's take on it, see: http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/36261/#Comment_36261
[ Long both RPHYX (for my monthly/annual needs) and RSIVX/RSIIX for my near-out years. ]

Here is the SEC filing concerning the change:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/107606/000093247114004939/mergedwindsorii.htm
497 1 mergedwindsorii.htm SUPPLEMENTS
Vanguard WindsorTM II Fund
Supplement to the Prospectus and Summary Prospectus Dated February 26, 2014
Restructuring of the Investment Advisory Team
The board of trustees of Vanguard Windsor II Fund has restructured the Fund’s investment advisory team, removing Armstrong Shaw Associates Inc. (Armstrong Shaw) as an investment advisor and reallocating the assets managed by Armstrong Shaw to Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management, LLC (Hotchkis and Wiley), one of the Fund’s existing advisors. Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC (Barrow, Hanley), Lazard Asset Management LLC (Lazard), Sanders Capital, LLC (Sanders), and The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard), also remain as advisors to the Fund. All references to Armstrong Shaw and all other details and descriptions regarding its management of certain assets of the Fund in the Prospectus and Summary Prospectus are deleted in their entirety.
Barrow, Hanley; Lazard; Sanders; Hotchkis and Wiley; and Vanguard each independently select and maintain a portfolio of common stocks for the Fund. In addition, as with other Vanguard funds that use a multimanager structure, Vanguard will continue to invest a small portion of the Fund’s assets to facilitate cash flows to and from the Fund’s advisors.
The Fund’s investment objective, primary investment strategies, and primary risks are not expected to change.
© 2014 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. PS 73 032014

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/916488/000091648814000004/p-10314.htm
497 1 p-10314.htm 490 P-1 03-14
490 P-1 03/14
SUPPLEMENT DATED MARCH 3, 2014
TO THE CURRENTLY EFFECTIVE PROSPECTUS
OF
Templeton Asian Growth Fund
(Templeton Global Investment Trust)
The Prospectus is amended as follows:
The following paragraphs are added to the “Fund Summary” and “Fund Details” sections:
On February 25, 2014, the Board of Trustees of Templeton Global Investment Trust on behalf of Templeton Asian Growth Fund approved a proposal to terminate and liquidate the Fund.
Effective at the close of market on March 18, 2014, the Fund is closed to new investors. Existing investors who had an open and funded account on March 18, 2014 can continue to invest through exchanges and additional purchases. Effective at the close of market on May 13, 2014, the Fund will be closed to additional investments from existing shareholders, except for purchases made through reinvestment of dividends or capital gains distributions. Re-registration of accounts held by existing investors, if required for legal transfer or administrative reasons, will be allowed.
The liquidation is anticipated to occur on or about May 20, 2014 (Liquidation Date). Except for retirement plan accounts, shareholders with accounts in the Fund on the Liquidation Date will have their accounts liquidated and the proceeds will be delivered to them.
Shareholders may exchange their Fund shares for shares of other Franklin Templeton funds, consistent with the Fund’s prospectus, prior to the Liquidation Date. An exchange out of the Fund prior to the Liquidation Date, or liquidation, may be considered a taxable transaction for nonretirement plan accounts. Shareholders should consult their tax advisor regarding the effect of the Fund’s liquidation in light of their individual circumstances. Participants in retirement plan accounts will receive further information regarding the handling of the liquidation. In considering new purchases or exchanges, shareholders may want to consult with their financial advisors to consider their investment options.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fund reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.
Please keep this supplement for future reference.

Many thanks, all, for your thoughts and suggestions. Dryflower -- you were right, except I did not even wait till the next day to check back! My tentative plan is to wait a few weeks until I can make the cap gains long term, then sell HUSIX, hold the cash, and add to BRUSX next correction.
Good investing, all!

Dear expatsp,
You are obviously a sophisticated mutual fund investor, and you are more familiar with these funds than I am, so I'm not sure if I can help you or not, but let's talk about it a little.
BRUSX is your favorite, so you're not going to sell that one anyway. I like Bridgeway and I like John Montgomery. I think he applies his craft diligently, and with humility. I also think he brings a rare level of frankness and openness in his communications with investors. Additionally, I like the sliding scale for management fees which actually tosses extra money into the fund after the performance has been poor enough.
Having said all that, as you no doubt realize, you may have to hold Bridgeway funds even longer than the average mutual fund to fully benefit from their gains. I follow Bridgeway Aggressive Growth (BRAGX) as one of the 30 funds on my blog. It comes in dead last for ten year performance at #30, but when I run the 15 year numbers it tops everything else and finishes #1.
And speaking of 15 year numbers, your BRUSX is off the charts wonderful at 17% annualized. That turned $10,000 into $105,000 over a fifteen year period.
As for the other two funds, you clearly know them better than I do. It gets very tricky deciding which of 2 funds to part with. We would like to sell the one than will do worse and keep the one that will do better. Mathematically your odds of being correct should be at least 50-50. In venturing to choose, one must feel that his odds are at least materially better than that. Do you feel that you would have a 2/3 chance of choosing correctly? A 3/4 chance? This is a thicket that I am just not comfortable wading into.
If you were going to offer me an investment in 2 of these funds, I would choose BRUSX and CIPSX, but that may say more about me than about the funds. I am risk averse, and I eschew funds with high fees.
You are first going to have to decide if you do in fact need to raise cash. Personally, I agree with Bruce Berkowitz that a good investor never runs out of cash, but only you can decide what is enough for you. If you do need to be holding more cash, you might consider redeeming a few shares from all 3 of the funds.
In considering this whole business, I am reminded of Warren Buffet's "forth law of motion":
“Long ago, Sir Isaac Newton gave us three laws of motion, which were the work of genius. But Sir Isaac’s talents didn’t extend to investing: He lost a bundle in the South Sea Bubble, explaining later, “I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.” If he had not been traumatized by this loss, Sir Isaac might well have gone on to discover the Fourth Law of Motion: For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases.”
Having quoted that quote, you may be able to guess that the choice which most immediately appeals to me is your #4
"4) Do nothing, keep these 3 good funds, stop thinking about this stuff obsessively, and come back next year."
Although I am guessing you may be a little like me. While you may well be able to keep these three good funds, you will not stop thinking about these things obsessively, and you will most certainly not wait until next year to come back. Heck, you'll be back tomorrow morning!
dryflower

Too many people think this is a buying opportunity and short term to make it a good buying opportunity today. Less than 1% drop in futures is not even close to alarm. It is more like buyers waiting and so there will.be some sell pressures to start with.
Most likely, there will be some profit taking in the recent highfliers and if the standoff continues with no shots fired, the markets may even recover today itself or tomorrow for a very small loss.
The only people that will make money may be those that stocked up on Gold, oil, etc last week and sell into the rally today. This might include Putin selling Gold.
For there to be panic selling that creates a buying opportunity, shots will need to be fired and a narrative has to emerge which will say why the Western countries will suffer such as Russia cutting off oil or gas supplies even if it hurts themselves to retaliate. This is possible but impossible to predict.
There is no reason for shots to be fired at the moment since the areas Russia is occupying mostly want Russia to be there and see themselves as Russians. Putin may be a cold chess player but he is not dumb. He won't advance into western Ukraine. So there will be a lot of posturing from the West and Russian markets will take a hit but they will think it is short term too and a.buying opportunity.
Seems like just a sideshow at the moment as far as markets are concerned.
Have GLL and TBT on my shopping list for short term trading gains in play money portfolio for now.

I currently own 3 small cap domestic equity funds. I am considering cutting that down and would welcome advice. I own the following:
BRUSX (my favorite): great long term returns despite a horrible 2008-09, 1.17% expenses which strike me as a bargain for a microcap fund with only $157 million in assets that is closed to new investors.
CIPSX: Lousy 5 year returns, but holds up well in down markets. Its outperformance in 2008 means it (and me, since I bought it in 2006) are well ahead of its benchmark and the S&P for the time period that I have owned it. I am disappointed it did not do better during the dip at the start of the year, but long-term it is a fund that outperforms during weak markets (2011 tpp.) 1.38% expenses, which I think a little high considering it has $1.2 billion in assets, but I guess that's about average for small cap funds.
HUSIX: Great 5 year returns, a disaster in 2008-09, but like BRUSX it has made up for it since. I bought it about a year ago (with funds raised from closing out ARIVX). 1.85% expenses, which I find very high considering the firm has (including private accounts) over a billion in this strategy, but it is extraordinarily tax efficient which takes some of the bite out of expenses.
I also own GPIOX for foreign small cap exposure.
Looking at 5 year returns it seems that dropping CIPSX is a no brainer, but had I bought all the funds at the start of 2007, CIPSX would have been the outperformer until about October last year, when HUSIX finally overtook it. Preserving capital in a crash is a powerful thing. If I had not proved to myself that I have the guts to add to good funds when they are crashing it should probably be my only fund.
My thoughts are either to
1) Sell HUSIX and keep the cash in case there is a correction. Keeping BRUSX (a high beta quant fund) and CIPSX (a low beta fundamental fund) might provide good diversity.
2) Sell CIPSX and put part in HUSIX and part in cash (a mix of high beta funds + cash in case they crash could be effective).
3) Obey the "the fewer funds, the better) mantra," sell HUSIX and CIPSX, add half of the money raised to BRUSX, keeping it as my only small cap fund, and have a lot of cash in case of correction.
4) Do nothing, keep these 3 good funds, stop thinking about this stuff obsessively, and come back next year.
Thoughts? The tax hit of all changes is acceptable.

The Russian markets had a tough day as their central bank adjusted rates from 5.5 to 7% resulting in a ten percent correction.
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-02/yen-gains-with-oil-on-ukraine-as-s-p-500-futures-retreat.html

FYI:
Regards,
Ted
Highlight Copy & Paste Barron's 3/1/14: Lewis Braham
How's this for irony: In 2013, Bill Miller's Legg Mason Opportunity fund (ticker: LGOAX) delivered a chart-topping 68% return, yet his shareholders won't owe a dime in capital-gains taxes this April. Meanwhile, investors in the Royce Premier fund (RYPRX) will have to pay taxes on $2.27 per share of long-term capital gains, even though the fund lagged behind 95% of its peers.
Tax season is upon us, and it's time to rethink your assumptions about how to build a portfolio that keeps the IRS at bay. After a year in which stocks rose more than 30%, even laggards like the Royce fund—which returned 28% last year—have accumulated significant gains on their books. According to Morningstar, the average U.S. stock fund with more than $1 billion in assets now has a 23% potential capital-gains exposure. That means there are $230 million of taxable capital gains per every $1 billion invested in funds.
Minimizing taxable investment gains and income is more important than ever. Married couples with taxable income of more than $450,000 will see their long-term capital gains taxed at 20% this year, instead of 15%.
Those rates can be even higher thanks to two new taxes. First, there's an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on married couples with earned income of more than $250,000. Since the tax on short-term capital gains and some dividend income is equal to investors' highest income tax rate—now as high as 39.6%—those investment gains could hit 40.5%. Second: Investors with more than $250,000 in adjusted gross income (for married couples) could pay an additional 3.8% in a special Medicare tax on some of their investment income. "The sticker shock for our clients will come this March when their tax bills arrive," says Jim Holtzman, a financial planner at Legend Financial Advisors in Pittsburgh. "They're going to be hit with about $5,000 to $7,000 more in taxes on average."
THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO MINIMIZE the taxes your funds generate. For many financial advisors, the solution is buying low-turnover index funds. Advisor John Smartt Jr. of Financial Counseling & Administration in Knoxville, Tenn., bought his first index fund, the Vanguard 500 (VFINX), in 1989 and hasn't looked back. Now he favors the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index ETF (VTI), which basically buys and holds every U.S. stock forever, so no gains are distributed.
Brace yourself for the second idea: Scour a fund's semi-annual report for losses they have on their books. Granted, "read the fine print" is tough advice to swallow, but the Internet makes it easier and potentially quite rewarding. Search for the words "loss" and "depreciation" in the Opportunity fund's latest report, for instance, and you'll find it has accumulated $1.9 billion worth on its balance sheet to neutralize future gains. These were generated during two brutal downturns in 2008 and 2011 during which Miller's reputation suffered. Now that Miller seems to have his groove back, the fund could be an interesting buy for the tax-averse. By contrast, Royce Premier had $2.5 billion of unrealized capital gains listed in its June 2013 report. So more distributions may be coming, even if it continues to lag behind its peers.
Finding funds with losses on their balance sheets can be tricky, though. Funds crushed in 2008 may have used up their losses. Also, the tax law then only allowed losses to be carried for seven years—so whatever losses remain will expire soon.
The good news is that in 2010 the tax law changed so that balance-sheet losses never expire. Funds in areas—such as gold—that have suffered losses since then have an advantage tax-wise. Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining (VGPMX) and Fidelity Select Gold (FSAGX), for example, each have more than $1 billion in losses on their balance sheets after last year's rout. (Subscribers to Morningstar can screen for funds with negative "potential cap gains exposure.")
Similarly, funds with emerging markets exposure that took a dive in 2011 and 2013 are also sitting on losses. The key here is to find funds that have strong long-term records and explainable recent hiccups. Case in point: the $4.3 billion Janus Overseas fund (JAOSX), which has $1.1 billion in accumulated losses. Over the last 10 years manager Brent Lynn's fund has delivered an 8.6% annualized return, compared with just 6.5% for its peers in its Morningstar category. But recent performance has been volatile and abysmal. Lynn's more aggressive style may shine as emerging markets recover, and the fund will be able to shelter its taxable gains.
Another tack: funds that have replaced a money-losing manager with someone with a strong track record elsewhere. "That's like investing in a completely different fund," says HLM Capital's Benjamin Leshem who seeks out such funds for clients of his financial planning practice in Deerfield, Ill. After lagging badly for many years, Columbia International Value (NIVLX) replaced its former subadvisor Brandes Investment Partners with an in-house Columbia manager, Fred Copper, last June. Copper's Columbia Overseas Value fund (COSZX) has beaten more than 80% of its peers in the last five years. Columbia International Value has $570 million in losses, $171 million of which have no expiration date, and just $277 million in assets. Its shareholders won't be paying any capital-gains taxes for a long time.
.
.
.

Name some companies that meet those criteria.
Steers: Simon Property Group [SPG], the largest REIT in the U.S., has considerable leverage with retailers, as they have dominant mall and outlet portfolios. They have a tremendous balance sheet, and they use their size and cost of capital to take advantage of external growth opportunities, either through redevelopment or acquisitions. We also like Prologis [PLD], a very large industrial REIT. It has global reach that leverages tenant relationships around the world—one-stop shopping for tenants looking for global distribution. It also has a strong balance sheet, and it is growing around the world.
What about office buildings?
Cohen: The major urban centers are doing extremely well. Whether it is New York, Boston, Washington, San Francisco, or Chicago, that's where the American population is moving—that's where jobs are growing, and that's where office fundamentals are likely to improve. The office business is very tough, with high capital costs and high incentives needed to attract tenants. But vacancy rates are likely to decline as employment improves. And, frankly, employment trends are improving, although slowly.
Steers: Where the real job growth is occurring is in technology centers, energy centers, and global trading hubs. So whether it is in Houston, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, or port locations around the country, those are the kind of places you want in the U.S. and overseas.
What's the investing outlook for apartments?
Cohen: We are somewhat neutral on apartments because we see the housing recovery continuing, owing to affordability and the availability of credit. And off a very low level, single-family homes are gaining in attraction to our growing population. On the other hand, as jobs grow, the demand for rental apartments is increasing. Now, this is one area where new construction can take place, particularly in suburban areas but not so much in urban areas— though an exception is Brooklyn, an urban area where a lot of apartments have been built in recent years. But overall, we're neutral on apartments.
How would you sum up a few of your other themes outside of real estate?
Steers: In terms of our core portfolios, we want to be more cyclical and more growth oriented. We like commodities and natural-resource stocks because, frankly, they tend to perform well in the latter half of a cyclical expansion as things like capacity utilization start moving higher.
What about the likely increase in interest rates?
Steers: We don't try to predict where rates will specifically end up. But the direction, given our outlook, is higher. That's fine as long as we are right that what's driving interest rates—and potentially inflation—higher is strong cyclical growth, which drives the fundamentals of what we invest in. So if interest rates migrate higher gradually, that's fine. If you look back over time, REITs have delivered double-digit returns in periods of rising interest rates, so they are not bonds. Over time, rising rates increase the cost of capital for all companies, including REITs. And depending on how sharply those rates rise, it can certainly hamper an economic expansion. But at the end of the day, it is about the economy and jobs. And rates are more of a symptom than anything else.
Thanks, gentlemen.
Cohen & Steers Mutual Funds: http://quicktake.morningstar.com/fundfamily/cohen-steers/0C00001YQF/fund-list.aspx

I have always been a the less diversification the better kind of guy and my entire liquid net worth (taxable and non-taxable) is in NHMRX. ( A strategy I can no longer employ in equity funds, only bond funds) Who says you aren't suppose to put munis in your tax deferred accounts? Even though the fund is up a tad over 6% YTD I am only up a tad over 4% YTD. That's because coming into the year I was all in HFRZX, a dog I had to roll out of during January (check the archives) Obviously high yield munis can't keep up their torrid 2014 pace and the technical wizards will tell you they are extremely overbought now. Even though I can still think of a lot of compelling reasons to be in junk munis, the market doesn't care what I nor the technical wizards think. So will let any adverse price action take me out (like maybe something around a 1.50% trailing stop from YTD highs) May have to think about that though as in 2012's torrid 20%+ gains, NHMRX had a slightly larger drawdown than that before resuming its run. A *huge* spike in Treasury yields could be the killer here.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1006415/000110465914014800/a14-7005_3497.htm
497 1 a14-7005_3497.htm 497
SUPPLEMENT
DATED MARCH 1, 2014 TO THE FOLLOWING PROSPECTUSES:
THE HARTFORD TARGET RETIREMENT 2010 FUND
THE HARTFORD TARGET RETIREMENT 2015 FUND
THE HARTFORD TARGET RETIREMENT 2020 FUND
THE HARTFORD TARGET RETIREMENT 2025 FUND
THE HARTFORD TARGET RETIREMENT 2030 FUND
THE HARTFORD TARGET RETIREMENT 2035 FUND
THE HARTFORD TARGET RETIREMENT 2040 FUND
THE HARTFORD TARGET RETIREMENT 2045 FUND
THE HARTFORD TARGET RETIREMENT 2050 FUND
EACH PROSPECTUS DATED MARCH 1, 2014 AND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS DATED MARCH 1, 2014
(EACH IS A SERIES OF THE HARTFORD MUTUAL FUNDS, INC.)
On December 13, 2013, the Board of Directors of The Hartford Mutual Funds, Inc. (the “Company”) approved a Plan of Liquidation for each of The Hartford Target Retirement 2010 Fund, The Hartford Target Retirement 2015 Fund, The Hartford Target Retirement 2020 Fund, The Hartford Target Retirement 2025 Fund, The Hartford Target Retirement 2030 Fund, The Hartford Target Retirement 2035 Fund, The Hartford Target Retirement 2040 Fund, The Hartford Target Retirement 2045 Fund and The Hartford Target Retirement 2050 Fund (each, a “Fund” and together, the “Funds”) pursuant to which the Funds will be liquidated (the “Liquidations”) on or about June 25, 2014 (the “Liquidation Date”). If you are invested in a Fund through a qualified account, such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”), important information applies to you and is provided below.
SUSPENSION OF SALES. The Funds no longer sell shares to new investors. The Funds will remain open to existing retirement plans and current shareholders until shortly before the Liquidation Date.
LIQUIDATION OF ASSETS. To prepare for the Liquidations, the Funds may depart from their stated investment objectives and policies as they prepare to distribute their assets to investors. In connection with the Liquidation, any shares of a Fund outstanding on the Liquidation Date will automatically be redeemed by the Fund on the Liquidation Date. The proceeds of any such redemption will be equal to the net asset value of such shares after all charges, taxes, expenses and liabilities of a Fund have been paid or provided for. The distribution to shareholders of the Liquidation proceeds will occur on the Liquidation Date, and will be made to all shareholders of record as of the close of business on the business day preceding the Liquidation Date, other than as disclosed below under “Important Information if you are invested in a Fund through a qualified account.”
OTHER ALTERNATIVES. At any time prior to the Liquidation Date, shareholders of a Fund may redeem their shares of the Fund and receive the net asset value thereof, pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Prospectus. Shareholders may exchange their Fund shares for shares of the same class of another Hartford Fund. Class A shareholders may exchange their Class A shares of a Fund for Class A share of another Hartford Fund prior to the Liquidation Date, at net asset value without incurring an additional front-end sales charge.
U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX MATTERS. The Liquidation of a Fund will be a realization event for shareholders holding shares through taxable accounts, meaning that if you receive an amount in liquidation of a Fund in excess of your tax basis, you will realize a capital gain, and if you receive an amount in liquidation of a Fund less than your tax basis, you will realize a capital loss. Prior to the Liquidation Date, a Fund may make distributions of income and capital gains, which may be taxable. If you have questions, you should consult your tax adviser for information regarding all tax consequences applicable to your investment in a Fund. Generally, the Liquidation of a Fund will not be a taxable event if you are invested in a Fund through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Such tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of monies from those arrangements.
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY. If you are invested in a Fund through a financial intermediary, please contact that financial intermediary if you have any questions. If you are invested in a qualified account (example, IRA), you must work with the financial intermediary to direct your investment in order to avoid possible tax penalties.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMPORTANT INFORMATION IF YOU ARE INVESTED IN A FUND THROUGH A QUALIFIED ACCOUNT AND YOU OPENED YOUR ACCOUNT DIRECTLY WITH HARTFORD FUNDS.
401k, Pension and Profit Sharing Plans.
If you are invested in a Fund through a 401k, Pension and Profit Sharing Plan, and we do not receive directions from you or the plan’s trustee, we will send a liquidating distribution to the trustee in the trustee’s name.
Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SIMPLE, SEP AND 403 Plans (“Qualified Account”).
We encourage shareholders invested in the Funds through Qualified Accounts to provide instructions for the exchange or reinvestment of Fund shares prior to the Liquidation Date. If a Qualified Account shareholder does not provide these instructions, Fund shares held on the Liquidation Date in a Fund will be exchanged for shares of The Hartford Short Duration Fund to the extent permitted by that shareholder’s Qualified Account custodial agreement. If a shareholder’s Qualified Account custodial agreement does not authorize the investment of the account into The Hartford Short Duration Fund, then the liquidation proceeds will be returned by mail to the shareholder’s attention but made payable to the applicable Qualified Account custodian in order to avoid adverse tax consequences...