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HOT NEWSLETTERS' BEST FUND PICKS

- Alan Lavine and Gail Liberman



So what is the best-performing mutual fund newsletter recommending these days?

No-Load Fund X, San Francisco, is rated as the best newsletter over the past five and 10 years, according to the Hulbert Financial Digest, Alexandria, Va.

The average of all the report's fund picks have grown at annual rates of 20.7 percent and 17.9 percent over the past five and 10 years, respectively. That is more than the benchmark Wilshire 5000, which has grown 8.3 percent and 12.2 percent over those same respective periods.

No-Load Fund X uses a unique trend following technique that puts it in the top-performing investments. The system looks at past and present performance to rank funds. Then it recommends the best-ranked funds.

It is not surprising that the system has worked well. Except for a couple of bad years, the market has gone straight up for more than a decade. So the report did well identifying the leaders of the pack.

Beware. If you are going to use an investment system, you must stick with it through thick and thin. You can't just buy the report's top-rated funds and hold them for the long term. You must switch when the newsletter says to make changes.

With that said, here are the newsletter's recommended high quality mutual funds:

  • Yacktman Fund. The fund is up 24 percent over the past 25 months. The fund, which invests in medium-size undervalued stocks, has 73 percent in stocks and the rest in cash. Its largest industry positions are in staples, financials and health. Largest holdings include Lancaster Colony and Clorox.

  • PBHG Clipper Focus Fund. The fund, which invests in a concentrated basket of large company undervalued stocks, is up 57 percent over the past 25 months. The fund is 100 percent invested in stocks. The largest industry positions are in financials, staples and services. Largest holding include Philip Morris, Freddie Mac and McDonalds.

  • T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Value Fund. The fund, which invests in mid-size growth and undervalued stocks, is up 38 percent over the past 25 months. The fund is 90 percent invested in stocks and 10 percent in bonds are cash. The largest industries are industrials, financials and services. Largest holdings include Readers Digest, Diamond Offshore Drilling and Molex.

  • Columbia Strategy Value. This new fund, which invests in both mid-size growth and value stocks, is up 30 percent over the past 14 months. The fund is 91 percent in stocks and the rest in cash. Largest industries include industrials, technology and services. Largest holdings include Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, Samsung Electronics and Kookmin Bank.

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    Alan Lavine and Gail Liberman are husband and wife columnist and authors of The Complete Idiot's Guide To Making Money With Mutual Funds, (Alpha Books).


    To read more columns, please visit the column archive.




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