Totally inspired by similar post on SFGIX...
I really know how to pick them.
HSGFX
FAIRX
now CGMFX
I've gotten back my principal some time back so have been letting this ride. However I have watched my current cost basis of $6000 go to as much as $7700 and now is at $5200 odd. YTD down over 15% YTD.
Now I know Heebner invests on a whim but can't believe he would be so out of step with things. Then I did something I normally don't do with this fund. I looked at the portfolio.
>45% in Emerging Markets as per M*. "WTF" does not begin to explain it.
How many idiots besides me still hold this fund? Please feel free to lie.

@Edmond, my opinion is EM is one of the categories where returns will be better with a managed fund. Just my opinion, but also everything I've read agrees with that thought. Actual results will only be known 20 years from now.
My biggest argument when considering my own portfolio right now (being 65) is do I even need an EM fund. I hold SFGIX because I believe it is the least volatile approach to EM investing. But frankly, I don't believe SFGIX will outperform FMIJX (my 1 international fund) in most any time frame over 3 years.

That is a very interesting quote.
I don't have an interest in a portfolio manager who is happy to invest a lot of his AUM in China, but then (perhaps in a second of candor) seems to be agnostic as to the possibility of a crash in Chinese equities.
If one TRULY has a 20-year time horizon and is unconcerned about equity crashes, why not just invest passively? -- An investor can passively endure equity crashes without paying a useless management fee. For 20 years.

So a while back, Foster wrote an article saying that for a ~ 20 year horizon people need to load up on Chinese equities (or something along those lines). So that may dictate where him and his team will be investing. I know that FPIVX (not an EM dedicated fund) bought a lot of Brazilian equities a little while ago. Just an FYI. I hold both SFGIX, SFVLX and FPIVX. Foster also mentioned that if China does crash, then people (again with a 20 year horizon) should buy even more Chinese equities.

Lipper has SFGIX 78% Asia. But at least half of that is in Taiwan, Hong Kong Singapore and S. Korea, all of which are considered developed markets. I also noticed unusually heavy concentration at the top (37% in top 10 holdings). http://www.funds.reuters.wallst.com/US/funds/holdings.asp?YYY622_tNYDpo1qU/MLQg9W+6KX6RuZTH3KwZb8EX/lL+8rQLcFNPvJvJFoMad8BeSVDYky
Interesting name (Growth and Income). Price’s TRIGX was called G&I until maybe 5 years ago when they dropped that description and renamed it a “value” fund. When I looked at its 1-year performance, it’s done far worse than SFGIX with more than a 13% loss. But it never was a good performer. (TRIGX is concentrated in Europe.)
International have lagged U.S. equities for a while. One reason has been the very strong Dollar. While I like to hedge against the Dollar, I do it using less volatile EM and global bond funds. As far as being an EM in disguise, it’s hard to say. Even non-EM international funds usually dabble in EM. Sometimes that exposure can be “unlimited” per Prospectus.
No opinion on whether you should buy, sell, hold this one. Generally after I sell a fund it bounces back with outperformance. The financial media is hot with stories of how the EM markets stand to lose big in the Trump trade war. Again, by the time you and I hear this type news it’s likely already been discounted by the markets.

Lastly, I couldn't find a specific listing for the symbol, WTF

I've had a lot of funds with this symbol over the years @catch22, as in WTF did I buy this fund for :)
A few things going on in my head I guess. One is a post from a few weeks ago with the question, do you really need an EM fund? The other is the performance record for SFGIX over the past 3+ years. On the positive side, it is a tamer way to play the EM category if you choose to be there. That plus the managers thoughtful approach to capital protection IS why I bought it.
Oh, well, just thinking out loud. Thanks for the discussion.

So a while back, Foster wrote an article saying that for a ~ 20 year horizon people need to load up on Chinese equities (or something along those lines). So that may dictate where him and his team will be investing. I know that FPIVX (not an EM dedicated fund) bought a lot of Brazilian equities a little while ago. Just an FYI. I hold both SFGIX, SFVLX and FPIVX. Foster also mentioned that if China does crash, then people (again with a 20 year horizon) should buy even more Chinese equities.

@Derf
I presume you're asking about the composition of SFGIX. If so, go to the link below.
Bookmark this link for future use for checking other tickers. You don't need to login to view decent data. For future checks, as with GASFX, enter the symbol at the top right search box, then select what you want to view; as with this link for composition.
I find the page layout informative and easy to read.
My 2 cents as to SFGIX, is being in a few places at the wrong times; or perhaps something else managers were hoping. Brazil and South Korea have been problematic for the past year, and other exposure to the Asia area is more of a problem with the current circumstances.
SFGIX composition
Lastly, I couldn't find a specific listing for the symbol, WTF , MikeM placed in the subject line. :)

SFGIX by country
http://www.seafarerfunds.com/documents/ogi-factsheet.pdf

@Derf: Apparently the EM index is 74% Asia. Here's SFGIX, showing its benchmark alongside the fund's holdings (scroll down to "World Regions"):
Benchmark
And here's EEM, the MSCI index, corroborating the 74%:
EEM (EM index fund)
I recall the index as being in the 60s a few years back (haven't owned an EM equity fund in a while), so Asia's expanded.
There are different ways to parse what's EM and what's not, tho. Maybe the more developed east Asian nations skew the proportion if they're included in the count; I don't have Premium, so can't check the country-by-country list of the EM benchmark on M*, but the main portfolio page does show 25% developed Asian economies (per M*, apparently) in the "diversified EM" benchmark.

Anyone else have this thought; is SFGIX, Seafarer Overseas Growth and Income, really a diversified EM fund? I've continued to believe in the manager, but it is getting hard to justify holding what appears to be an Asian fund when you thought you were holding a diversified EM fund. Per M* it holds almost 80% of it's equities in the Asian region.
If Foster is not going to move on from his Asian roots, I may have too.

I would not. Just don't see how the risk-reward would justify that "bet".
Do you know SFGIX, though called an EM fund, is 50:50 Developed and EM markets (per M*)? NEWFX is 55% Developed, 45% EM. DWGAX 38% Developed market. If you look at an "International fund like DODFX, they have 20% in EM.
I guess where I'm going with that, many of these foreign funds are a mix of Developed and EM countries and their managers know more than me or you (well, me anyway). You have to dig into a funds portfolio to be pure one or the other. Maybe just leave it up to the EM fund manager to decide.

FYI: (Slide mouse to 16:30 minutes for Andrew Foster interview.)
Andrew Foster, portfolio manager at the Seafarer Growth and Income Fund, said he expects 2019 to be better for emerging markets than last year was, but warned that it won't be a great year, just better than the recent past. More importantly, with emerging markets coming back, he expects them to deliver the diversification benefits that they mostly have fallen short of in recent years. Also on the show, Gerg McBride of BankRate.com discusses they pay raises workers are expecting -- or not -- for the year ahead, David Trainer of New Constructs reviews his top Danger Zone picks from 2018, and Tom Plumb of the Plumb Funds has the Market Call.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/moneylife-with-chuck-jaffe/e/58176652?autoplay=true
M*: Snapshot SFGIX:
https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/sfgix/quote.html
Lipper Snapshot SFGIX:
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/fund/sfgix
SFGIX Is Unranked In The (DEM) Fund Category By U.S. News & World Report:
https://money.usnews.com/funds/mutual-funds/diversified-emerging-mkts/seafarer-overseas-growth-and-income-fund/sfgix

Foreign stock funds have been dead money in my portfolio for many years. My funds all have relatively good long-term returns compared to comparable funds, but foreign stocks in general have sucked for the past decade or longer. That said, I recently rebalanced my portfolio, adding to my foreign funds under the premise that sooner or later they will outperform US stocks.
My funds (in various IRA and 401k) accounts include ARTKX, MAPIX, SFGIX, PSILX and a total international index fund. However, it’s hard for me to recommend any of them because the returns have all been so terrible in recent years.

I use PRIDX. It's all over the map, with 12.5% in EM. I re-deployed profits earlier this year and am letting the principal ride. I held SFGIX for several years, almost since inception, but unloaded it.

Typical year really, some up, some down and many basically standing still.
FCNTX - 16.85%
POAGX - 17.35
DSENX - 13.2
MGGPX - 11.2
MTUM - 16.3
THQ - 15.4
SFGIX - (9.26)
MAPIX - (3.15)
UTG - (2.66)

Quick note while we're waiting.
Andrew's latest shareholder letter is (perhaps too long but) informative. At base, he thinks the ground has shifted in the EMs with China's rise as a sort of stabilizing force. That meant that the "Steady Eddy" stocks that are the centerpieces of the SFGIX portfolio are marginally less valuable: they lose too much upside for the downside protection they offer. He's making modest changes in process that will favor stocks on the tails of the growth-value distribution. Not major shifts, he stresses, but more appreciation for their potential contribution.
Might be a coincidence but the fund has had top 10% returns over the summer.
Back to waiting,
David

Clearly. Trying to imagine why you would charge such a thing. Guess you have not studied in detail its changing fortunes the last few years. 5.5y ago DS mentioned its defensive stance to an extent (http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2013/03/seafarer-overseas-growth-income-sfgix/) but not more recently (https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2015/05/seafarer-overseas-growth-income-sfgixsigix-may-2015/). See also its M* star changes over time.
In any case it invests in EM; who would think "philosophy should protect capital in down markets" of any such vehicle?
It is fascinating to me to read that investments which do not pan out, or not quickly enough, are somehow the result of defocusing, as though effort and will and hard thinking and other notionally causal behaviors can and will preclude outcomes like @MikeM quoted. That's why I wondered if he doubled down on those overreacted-to stocks.
I have been reading Foster for years, back to Matthews, interesting guy. But some months, and longer, the bear eats you.

I see no evidence that total assets is the culprit for SFGIX under-performance. 2.2B is not at all to high for an EM fund concentrated on large caps. Look at the T. Rowe Price fund, PREMX. It has 5.5B in assets. 2.2B for a large cap fund should not be a problem IMHO.
Read what Foster says in his reviews. He is pretty honest about the funds short-falls and under-performance. Basically, wrong bets on stock picks, countries and sectors. He talks about how he thought he positioned the fund for downside protection - and it didn't pan out. Quite honest.

The Fund’s poor performance relative to the benchmark stemmed from several holdings that produced acceptable financial results, but which disappointed some segment of investors (but not Seafarer). Many of these companies operate in the information technology sector, either in software or manufacturing: Venture of Singapore (a contract manufacturer of high-end electronic devices); TOTVS of Brazil (a commercial software company); and Delta of Taiwan (a diversified manufacturer of electronic systems and components). These three companies saw their share prices slump sharply in response to passable (but apparently disappointing) results. In all three cases, I believe the market’s response was grossly over-exaggerated.

https://www.seafarerfunds.com/funds/ogi/portfolio-review#performance-review

I know that Seafarer's website states that SFGIX/SIGIX are closed, but I just noticed that it appears that you can purchase them through Vanguard & Schwab (not on Fidelity though) - have these funds re-opened?

I'll share...
What seems to be working in my portfolio YTD:
FSUTX - strong steady Mo (momentum) since March 2018
FSMEX - Strong Mo
FSRPX - Strong Mo
POAGX - Aggressive active management
PRMTX - Keeps on impressing. A category over-achiever
VHCOX - Aggressive active management
PRNHX - a small position that has had a big year YTD (investors remorse, wish I owned more)
USNQX - Volatile, but rewarding
Steady Eddy's (have good risk-reward characteristics):
PRWCX - Love this funds goal... "achieve market returns with 2/3rd the downside risk"
VMVFX - a new fund that seems worth DCA into
FMIJX - A short lived fund (2011) that offers exposure outside the US
BRUFX - Manager continues to reduce downside risk while optimizing upside
BTBFX - I was impressed with how this fund navigated 2008
VHT - Healthcare seems to be a fund for all seasons
PRHSX - ditto HC
What seems to have faltered:
PRIDX - Struggling, but a hold for me...down 2% YTD
SFGIX - Highly correlated losses with EM losses...down 11% YTD
VWO - Strong US currencies are making EM markets less profitable...down 10% YTD
HJPSX - A country that has relied very heavily on QE for Equity-Inflation
VWINX - having a rare negative year
MINDX - Seems to catch cold when EM sneezes
PONAX - We've parted ways...small position
PARWX - A new position
Ticker YTD Perf Port WT
VHT 12.20% 0.21%
VHCOX 11.10% 5.43%
VWINX -1.04% 2.26%
PRHSX 13.72% 6.53%
PRNHX 20.11% 0.11%
PRIDX -1.96% 4.87%
PRMTX 9.70% 2.88%
PRWCX 6.19% 14.64%
BRUFX 3.46% 4.89%
POAGX 13.08% 15.53%
VWO -9.95% 1.58%
PONAX -0.39% 0.27%
SFGIX -11.26% 4.51%
FMIJX -1.27% 4.58%
MINDX -2.07% NA
USNQX 15.82% NA
FSRPX 19.47% 4.82%
FSMEX 19.62% 4.34%
VMVFX 6.28% 2.38%
BTBFX 5.67% 2.38%
FRIFX 1.84% 2.28%
HJPSX -5.11% 2.10%
FSUTX 10.25% 2.45%
PARWX New 3.96%
USAXX Cash 7%
Allocation Weights/Returns YTD