4
T. Rowe Price
Manager departures have pared the ranks of T. Rowe
Price funds on this list. However, there are still
five excellent funds here, including three that are still
open to new investors.
T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth
TRBCX
has been
a winner with Larry Puglia at the helm. He has
produced consistent outperformance over a
20
-year
career running this fund.
T. Rowe Price Equity Income
PRFDX
has been an
easy fund for investors to own under Brian Rogers.
However, he will step down in October
2015
.
T. Rowe Price International Stock
PRITX
reflects
T. Rowe’s success in getting its overseas efforts to
a level near that of their domestic-stock counterparts.
Bob Smith has managed to beat his index through
some trying times.
Vanguard
Enjoy yourself. Here are nine cheap, excellent funds
that are still open and have whipped their indexes.
There are also the three closed Primecap-run funds.
Vanguard Dividend Growth
VDIGX
may be my
favorite for its great manager and a strategy that
leads to high-quality companies with modest
levels of debt.
I also like the Wellington-managed allocation funds
Vanguard Wellesley Income
VWINX
and
Vanguard Wellington
VWELX
. These Gold-rated
funds are well-run and do a nice job of tamping
down volatility.
There are also three more-adventurous value funds
in the form of
Vanguard Selected Value
VASVX
,
Vanguard Windsor
VWNDX
, and
Vanguard Wind-
sor II
VWNFX
.
Finally, there are two strong sector funds:
Vanguard Health Care
VGHCX
and
Vanguard
Energy
VGENX
, which are not only well-
run but also cheaper than most index funds in
their categories.
Who Fell Out?
Here’s a brief rundown of funds that were on our list
last year but didn’t make the cut this time.
Davis Financial
RPFGX
fell out with the departure
of manager Ken Feinberg.
FPA Paramount
FPRAX
and
Hussman Strategic
Total Return
HSTRX
fell out because we down-
graded them to Neutral.
Invesco Equity and Income
ACEIX
fell out because
it failed the expense-ratio test. The fund moved from
moderate-allocation to aggressive-allocation, where
its fees are no longer in the cheapest quintile.
Janus Triton
JATTX
dropped out because its
managers left for Arrowpoint, where they now run
Meridian Growth
MERDX
.
MFS Total Return
MSFRX
fell out because it is
now just a bit behind its index’s return and its fees
are a sliver outside the cheapest quintile.
Mutual European
MEURX
and
T. Rowe Price
Overseas Stock
TROSX
dropped out because they
failed the fee test.
Perkins Mid Cap Value
JMCVX
,
PIMCO Income
PONDX
and
PIMCO Total Return
PTTRX
dropped
out because of a Neutral Parent rating.
T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation
PRWCX
was
bounced by a High Morningstar Risk rating.
T. Rowe Price New America Growth
PRWAX
and
T. Rowe Price Growth Stock
PRGFX
lost their
managers and thus fell out.
T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Value
TRMCX
fell out
because David Wallack no longer owns shares of the
fund. T. Rowe switched its retirement plan to
CIT
s,
which means many managers there now have lower
ownership figures.
Wasatch Long/Short
FMLSX
has fallen behind its benchmark and out of our list.
œ
