Morningstar I view as a very good source of information. Information, not opinion. Past performance may not be a predictor of future performance. However it is necessary to look at past performance. I mean after all, none of us invested in "Apex Mid Cap Growth" because it had bad performance, right?
I really start with a different metric. How much has the manager invested in his own fund? That's easy to find out. What's harder is how much of that investment constitutes his net worth? That's harder. However sometimes it is easy, because of which I never invested in Bill Miller's funds. When one discloses he has 1M+ in his fund and NOT 10M+, but buys a 70M+ yacht, that tells me all I need to know.
Next I look at things like previous performance at older charges. Also look at how his fund(s) performed in good vs bad years. Also look at previous reports to see if he completely glorifies himself in good years but blames bad stock market for bad years. Needless to say it always help if manager communicates about why he buys a certain investment. No one can be right all the time, but for active management one at least has to have confidence manager is not a closet indexer.
Over period of time I have been gravitating only toward active management that view their funds as a "complete" or "only" investment or regardless of capitalization or asset. Such active management I can muster the courage to hold through thick and thin. It is said - dunno who - one has to give fund manager at least 10 if not 20 years for it to make a difference. Well, unless I really respect a fund family I have stopped buying "This Small Cap Fund" and "That Large Cap Fund" when it is obvious company is simply marketing to asset allocators rather than necessarily have special aptitude.
In my 401K I only use index funds since most active funds in 401ks in my opinion suck most intensely. You may occasionally find Fidelity Contra and Dodge & Cox in 401k, but to me it is imply not worth the effort in 401ks. "MY" funds I buy on weakness and hold on for dear life. FWIW its worth here are some funds I buy when my $0.99 crystal balls tells me to.
WGRNX
AKREX
APPLX
BULLX
AUXFX
PVFIX
JORDX
FVALX
I have some MXXVX and CGMFX which I'm not actively buying. I had expressed opinion elsewhere about manager risk vs market risk. IMO it is worthwhile accepting manager risk in active funds only in above situations at large. No point otherwise and better to only accept market risk with index funds and not compound the problem. This after all is why most active fund managers cannot outperform index managers for the most part. With bonds, as you indicate it is even more difficult. I'm hopelessly bond challenged and have given up trying to figure how to invest in them.
It is public knowledge I'm invested in most Artisan and Bridgeway funds that I could and I have held them for a long time. I'm not adding and have no plans to add.
Good luck. Luck is what you need most, more than anything else. Just ask holders of FAIRX who bought in 2008 and sold in 2011.

Reply to @claimui: Unless I'm mistaken, this fund is not supposed to be an "alternative" or supposed to fit in a portfolio. This fund is supposed to be a complete portfolio.
Of course, in reality there is no such thing. I mean no one is going to invest simply in "Target 2035" their entire portfolio. It's manager risk. Which is what this is about.
FAIRX, WGRNX, CGMFX, PVFIX, DEFIX, BULLX, MUHLX, MXXVX, SEQUX, etc., etc., IMHO never "fit" in a portfolio. We are relying - okay gambling - on someone being as good as they, or others claim. Not every fund one owns is about asset allocation.

Reply to @MikeM: Hi Mike - Good points. Hope you do well with this one. Will watch it with interest in the future. The enthusiasm evident reminds me a bit of Heebner's CGMFX in the heyday - though the two are about as dissimilar as you can get - this one's certainly less risky. No intention of buying. - Dinosaur that I am, the $$'s directly with 6-7 houses. In the early years, feared moving it around all the time if with a brokerage. Less of a concern today, but satisfied with how things evolved.
I'll say there are a limited number of ways an income fund can produce outsized returns. Would surely dig a deep hole for myself speculating further - so won't. What seems remarkable is the fund beats long held PRHYX by 5-6 points YTD. Checked to make sure there hasn't been a manager change at Price. Nope - same fellow that's run the fund for 15 years - always done a good job.
Researching PONDX led to a new website (Fund Mojo) which looks quite interesting in giving simple snapshots. May be useful to you or others. http://www.fundmojo.com/mutualfund/fund_report/mutualfund/PONDX

Sticking to ARIVX. Thank you.
As an aside, I worry WSCVX will go the way of CGMFX some day. Also I think just like Heebner, Walthausen is like 70+? Don't mean to sound morose but I'm planning to hold fund for 20 years after doing all my due diligence, I want a support system in place or a manager closer to my age. Having old manager with his name of the fund door is asking for trouble IMHO.
Some funds like YAFFX manage the transition properly. Funds like MUHLX, there is an offspring but he's not into management. People should worry.
Finally, just noticed the "Poll" on the right. How did we do that? Smart programming? Or someone did something manually. Impressive indeed.

Reply to @scott: Good insights as always, scott. I have to admit, my experience with CGMFX has soured me on other momentum-type funds. I'm strongly thinking of moving toward indices for momentum, and active management for deep-value.
My father actually looked into CGMFX after its last real good year. Thankfully, his common sense prevailed.

Reply to @catch22: Heebner is really about making fairly concentrated macro bets - banks, commodities, etc. He also moves fairly rapidly. If he gets that timing wrong (in too early, out too early, whatever), the fund falters. The timing (or, as Shosta noted and it's an interesting point), the length of these trends has not been good and it seems like trend-following funds (Managed Futures) have not fared well in the last couple of years, either. Marketfield has been very good in its macro bets, but it's a matter of timing and the right calls - although MFLDX can and does hedge (which also needs the right timing and calls, too.)
It is amazing how much has changed in terms of AUM and CGMFX.

Reply to @catch22: Doesn't seem like we've had sufficient, sustained upticks for Heebner's style to pay off.
As Scott notes, I don't know why CGM hasn't been shorting.
I track my "lifetime gains" on all my holdings. Still down quite a bit on CGMFX. Very glad I never got suckered into letting it play a larger role in my portfolio. He's really stinking up the joint.

I remember the talk on Fund Alarm back in 2007 about what a terrific fund CGMFX was and how good a manager Heebner was. I bought into it, lost money and got out in 2008. Probably a good learning experience.
Today, for me, managed funds have to have a manager at the helm who has allocation flexibility and will go to cash in order to control risk. They won't be high flying returns in bull markets but over market cycles, funds like ARIVX, YAFFX, FPACX are the right managed funds for me.
Thanks Mr. Heebner for the investment lesson.

Reply to @Shostakovich: I also held CGMFX for several years and finally sold out of it this year (which usually means it is due for a huge comeback heh).
The article also mentions CGMRX's 10 year performance, but like CGMFX, CGMRX has also been lackluster during more recent periods.

Tell me about it. I've held CGMFX for several years at about 5-10% of portfolio, and done well with it. Until 2009. Ugh.
Problem with Heebner is, if there's no trend in the market, his investing prowess fizzles.

commodities news - Taking a Fresh Look at Equity Commodity Funds
http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=541483
4 promising funds on rebound
http://www.minyanville.com/trading-and-investing/etfs/articles/dal-kauax-fairx-cgmfx-cgrrx-mutual/3/22/2012/id/40033

I've held BRAIX for a long time, and other Bridgway funds before that. Recently I started moving it over to APPLX, but BRAIX is still a very large position. At this point I think FAIRX and CGMFX are more likely to make back my losses than BRAIX.
The statement doesn't say anything about tax. I assume it will be a non-taxable reorg but I'm not sure what this does with my cost basis. I will wait for more info, but I plan on selling and completing the move to APPLX before the reorg happens.
One funny note is that there was a long period where we Aggresive "2" investors could gloat about better performance than the Aggressive "1" investors. Guess we don't even get that little perk anymore.
TheShadow: I don't think BRUSX is that big of a deal, it was open and I bought shares in it many years ago, and I recall it being open after the crash for a while. In my opinion, BRSIX was always the more attractive fund and it has never been re-opened.
I have a lot of respect for Bridgeway and their unique fee structure. I hope they survive and thrive even after I leave, because their success can only help the fund industry.

Similar to "Bee's" posting, I once held WWNPX, CGMFX and FAIRX. Sold them all years ago, no looking back. The only one of them that caught me for a loss was CGMFX - Heebner's luck had long since run out before I had finally bought in. Not my brightest purchase.
But NARFX was my most disappointing because I had so hoped to find a long-short that worked. (Only TFSMX ever filled that bill, and I've even sold that fund).
Most recently PAUDX, of which I purchased only a tiny amount, has been very regrettable. Every fund manager runs out of luck eventually, even Arnott.

A few notes:
1. Stupid Investment of the Week? There are probably worse.
2. Stupidest Manager of the Year? Certainly in the running. Other formerly smart managers having stupid years: Brent Lynn (Janus Overseas, JAOSX) and, again, Heebner (CGMFX)
3. A little late for "Stupidest" anything on Fairholme? Probably, although I agree with some of Jaffe's reasoning (such as ego.)

I think the issue in terms of a fund getting it right eventually is opportunity cost - how long do you have to wait while you could have been in something else. I mean, Heebner's investors in CGM Focus could have had time better spent elsewhere over the last few years (no offense to CGMFX investors) and there's no way to know that the fund will stay in the bet (whether it's HP or whatever) until it pays off (if it does.)
If you don't like a specific fund for a number of reasons (large specific bets that have gone awry, consistently off timing on allocation, bloated, etc), then move. I don't disagree with favoring equities over bonds at this point, but who knows and maybe there's better vehicles out there to take advantage of that. You've certainly given them time, it's not as if you've had the funds for a month and are disappointed.

I'll also throw in PRBLX (Parnassus Equity Income). CGMFX is interesting at this point, as Heebner certainly has the ability and willingness to change, but it has been a matter of mistiming moves into and out of sectors over the last 2-3 years. If it was NTF (especially if it was NTF) and Heebner used the fund's ability to short a little bit at times it would be high on my list.

Thanks for this suggestion. I decided that I'll use APPLX to eventually replace BRAIX. They seem similar in their multi-cap coverage and smaller asset base. APPLX is also "socially responsible" -- I don't have a personal view on that, just thought it was an interesting coincidence since Bridgeway (the company if not the fund) also has a "social responsibility" bent.
APPLX expenses are a little high, but they are NTF through my new brokerage so that helps a little. I put some new money into APPLX on Thursday's dip. Will monitor BRAIX going forward to find a good transition point.
I added more to FAIRX and CGMFX even though it hurts. My goal with these funds was that they have relatively low correlation with each other. But of course they can still both be wrong -- like this year.

I am looking for a few options for a go-anywhere stock fund, primarily US stocks (global is OK) and preferably focused (on the theory that I am paying for a manager's best ideas). I have a long-term outlook and I don't mind volatile, "aggressive" approaches as long as there is a method to the madness. Low expenses are important, but not too worried about tax efficiency.
What do folks think about Ariel Focus (ARFFX) and Marathon Value (MVPFX), both mentioned in this month's commentary? Any other suggestions in this space?
For comparison, I currently have holdings in CGM Focus (CGMFX), Fairholme (FAIRX), and Bridgeway (BRAIX). Believe it or not (probably not!), I am not performance chasing -- I have been in all three funds for a long time and continue to put money in as these funds "battle for last place" as one article puts it. But I am changing brokerages with a different transaction fee structure, so I am using this opportunity to look at what else might be available.
Thanks in advance!

Hi Scott,
I have been buying FAIRX, PVFIX (Pinnacle), USAGX (below NAV 37), TPINX (templeton global bond) and bought BRK.B last week. Barrons recommended miners and BRK.B recently. In this environment, I want to own hedge fund type mutual funds who protect on downside. This idea was pitched by fundmentals (hope I have correct spelling) I think (or at least that is how I interpreted his thinking). I don't qualify for hedge funds + most of the good ones are closed + fees are high. As such I consider FAIRX and PVFIX as such vehicles. PVFIX is not cheap though + performance has been lagging due to heavy cash alocation. Also not much downside protection with FAIRX recently. Idea with buying FAIRX and PVFIX is to buy low. As opposed to buying CGMFX near the top which I did. Also TAREX (third avenue real estate) is holding 20% cash but not buying. I think we are in a sideways/bear market that won't end for a while. I was thinking of buying a natural resource fund if oil gets near/below 80. Also DLTNX and VWITX (even though Gundlach was not a fan of munis) were on my buying list a while back. Also bought some PRSVX, SLADX and DODFX when they got cheap. Although not sure how much of SLADX underperformance is due to sino forest (spelling?) holding. I sold some portions of my bond funds a little while ago (a little early if you ask me): VFICX (corporate intermediate), VWITX (muni), and VFIIX (GNMA).
ET

I rarely "automatically invest". The reason is, it becomes that much harder to track cost basis.
I track buys in whole dollar amounts. Sells in whole shares.
Just look at estimated dividend payouts, approximate to whole dollar amounts and invest after distribution. Frankly I never even do that. I do my buys when I do my buys. It's also a healthy way of taking profits off the table. I'm not nervy about my CGMFX position only because I never re-invested a dime of reinvested distributions. When it really hits the depths, I will then put more money in.