22
We are dropping the bearish
Hussman Strategic
Total Return
HSTRX
and replacing it with
Baron
Opportunity
BIOPX
.
Hussman has its merits, but its big bet on gold miners’
stocks undermined its goal of preserving capital. The
fund lost
8
.
4%
in
2013
and gained only
1
.
1%
in
2012
.
That was pretty disappointing, and it has spurred
large-scale redemptions from the Neutral-rated fund.
In its place goes Baron Opportunity. This Bronze-rated
fund has performed admirably under manager Michael
Lippert. Lippert, who came on board in
2006
, em-
phasizes faster growth than his peers at Baron, where
steady growth is the common mantra. He looks for
companies with sustainable competitive advantages
and tends to emphasize tech, media, and telecom
more than his fellow managers at Baron.
The mid-growth fund has an appealingly small $
495
million under management, though its expense ratio
of
1
.
37%
is nothing to write home about.
See the facing page for more.
Akre Focus Raised to Silver
We raised our rating on
Akre Focus
AKREX
to
Silver from Bronze as the team behind the fund
continues to jell.
Chuck Akre had to build a new analyst team when
he parted ways with
FBR
in
2009
. Now much of that
team has four years together, and it seems to be
running smoothly. That’s bearing results in a consis-
tent approach and solid performance.
We also give manager Akre credit for his excellent
run at previous charge
FBR
Focus.
Akre looks for firms with sustainable competitive
advantages. He first bought shares of top-
20
holding
Live Nation Entertainment
LYV
, for example,
between February and October because he likes its
sophisticated use of technology for concert pro-
motion. The firm’s shares gained
112%
in
2013
and
contributed significantly to the fund’s returns.
Correction
The one-page fund reports in the January
2014
issue
of
FundInvestor
had an error in the calendar-year
returns. Returns were off by one year so that
2008
returns were displayed in
2009
and
2009
in
2010
.
You can find the correct versions of these reports on
mfi.morningstar.com
. We regret the error.
œ
Summary of Changes
Add
Drop
Baron Opportunity
Hussman Strategic Total Return
Rating Change
To
From
Akre Focus
• ´
PIMCO Global Multi-Asset
‰ ˆ
T. Rowe Price Growth Stock
´ ‰
Western Asset Core Bond
• ˆ
Western Asset Core Plus Bond
• ˆ
Baron Opportunity Joins the
Morningstar 500
Changes to the 500
|
Russel Kinnel
What is Morningstar
FundInvestor
500
?
The Morningstar FundInvestor
500
features the industry’s
best and most notable funds.
Use the list to get new in-
vestment ideas and track the
funds you already own.
FundInvestor
subscribers have
access to one-page monthly
reports on all 500 funds on
mfi.morningstar.com. Just
type in the name or ticker of
the fund in the search box.
