Category Archives: Stars in the shadows

Small funds of exceptional merit

Artisan Global Value (ARTGX) – May 2013 update

  This is an update of the fund profile originally published in 2008, and updated in May 2012. You can find that profile here. Objective The fund pursues long-term growth by investing in 30-50 undervalued global stocks.  The managers look for four characteristics in their investments: A high quality business A strong balance sheet Shareholder-focused [...]

Posted in Stars in the shadows | Comments closed

Payden Global Low Duration Fund (PYGSX) – May 2013

Objective and Strategy Payden Global Low Duration Fund seeks a high level of total return, consistent with preservation of capital, by investing in a wide variety of debt instruments and income-producing securities. Those include domestic and international sovereign and corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage- and asset-backed debt securities, convertible bonds and preferred stock. The maximum [...]

Posted in Stars in the shadows | Comments closed

Bridgeway Managed Volatility (BRBPX), January 2013

Objective and Strategy To provide high current return with less short-term risk than the stock market, the Fund buys and sells a combination of stocks, options, futures, and fixed-income securities. Up to 75% of the portfolio may be in stocks and options.  They may short up to 35% via index futures.  At least 25% must [...]

Posted in Stars in the shadows | Comments closed

Stewart Capital Mid Cap Fund (SCMFX) – November 2012

Objective and Strategy Stewart Capital Mid Cap Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.  It invests, primarily, in domestic midcap stocks.  While it is technically a “diversified” fund, the managers warn that they prefer to invest in “a relatively small number of intensively researched companies.”  They operationalize “relatively small” as 30-60.  They target firms that don’t need [...]

Posted in Stars in the shadows | Comments closed

Northern Global Tactical Asset Allocation Fund (BBALX) – September 2011, Updated September 2012

Objective The fund seeks a combination of growth and income. Northern’s Investment Policy Committee develops tactical asset allocation recommendations based on economic factors such as GDP and inflation; fixed-income market factors such as sovereign yields, credit spreads and currency trends; and stock market factors such as domestic and foreign earnings growth and valuations.  The managers execute [...]

Posted in Stars in the shadows | Comments closed

Aston/River Road Independent Value Fund (ARIVX) – updated September 2012

Objective and strategy The fund seeks to provide long-term total return by investing in common and preferred stocks, convertibles and REITs. The manager attempts to invest in high quality, small- to mid-cap firms (those with market caps between $100 million and $5 billion). He thinks of himself as having an “absolute return” mandate, which means [...]

Posted in Stars in the shadows | Comments closed

Marketfield Fund (MFLDX) – July 2012

Objective The fund pursues capital appreciation by investing in a changing array of asset classes.  They use a macroeconomic strategy focused on broad trends and execute the strategy by purchasing baskets of securities, often through ETFs.  They can have 50% of the portfolio invested in short sales, 50% in various forms of derivatives, 50% international, [...]

Posted in Stars in the shadows | Comments closed

Huber Small Cap Value (HUSIX) – June 2012

Objective and Strategy The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in common stocks of U.S. small cap companies.  Small caps are those in the range found in the Russell 2000 Value index, roughly $36 million – $3.0 billion.  The manager looks for undervalued companies based, in part, on his assessment of the firm’s replacement [...]

Posted in Stars in the shadows | Comments closed

Wasatch Long/Short (FMLSX) – June 2012 update (first published in 2009)

Objective The fund’s investment objective is capital appreciation which it pursues by maintaining long and short equity positions.  It typically invests in domestic stocks (92% as of the last portfolio) and typically targets stocks with market caps of at least $100 million.  The managers look at both industry and individual stock prospects when determining whether [...]

Also posted in Funds | Comments closed

LKCM Balanced Fund (LKBAX) – May 2012 update

Objective The fund seeks current income and long-term capital appreciation. The managers invest in a combination of blue chip stocks, investment grade intermediate-term bonds, convertible securities and cash. In general, at least 25% of the portfolio will be bonds. In practice, the fund is generally 70% equities, though it dropped to 60% in 2008. The [...]

Posted in Stars in the shadows | Comments closed