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Checked today on YTD for one Hussman and couple other "hybrid-type" funds. Too small a sample to draw conclusions and approaches vary. May be of interest to some: S&P Index + 9.50%, Marketfield Fund (MLDFX) +8.77%, Permenant Portfolio (PRPFX) + 2.17%, Hussman Strategic Growth (HSGFX) -7.58%. Was surprised the S&P is up that much and also that Hussman hasn't been able to do better in the choppy market. Every dog has its day ... you may have it right VF.
Contrarian call indeed. Best of luck. Fund is negative YTD, one year, three year, five year, and although positive 10 year, it still lagged the vanilla S@P over that period.
That is the first negative rating I've seen though I'm sure there are more.
In my opinion, HSTRX is the only Hussman fund worth a look. HSGFX has been a dog for way to long. Hussman's fortitude to stick to his model is commendable, but that investing model has been inflexible and narrow in it's scope. It almost seems Hussman's ego is telling him "I'm a Phd, I must be right", while the market doesn't agree. If the international fund runs on the same investment theme as HSGFX, it's hard to expect any better results.
Hussman hates the financials so much that he refuses to own them in proportion to their SP500 weighting. When they rally hard he gets burned. Now, it doesn't take a genius to recognize this is very one sided approach. He could have owned Amex or Visa and Berkshire etc and been relatively safe from the big banks problems and not experienced this issue.
I held a very large position in this from 2005-2010. No more.
Comments
In my opinion, HSTRX is the only Hussman fund worth a look. HSGFX has been a dog for way to long. Hussman's fortitude to stick to his model is commendable, but that investing model has been inflexible and narrow in it's scope. It almost seems Hussman's ego is telling him "I'm a Phd, I must be right", while the market doesn't agree. If the international fund runs on the same investment theme as HSGFX, it's hard to expect any better results.
Just now after reading July commentary, I'm thinking I sell MFLDX and move to HSGFX.
I held a very large position in this from 2005-2010. No more.