Do Bear-Market Veterans Manage Better in a Downturn?

As the markets continue to crumble, many mutual fund managers are scratching their heads. They say the markets aren't recognizing some companies' good fundamentals, including resilient earnings figures, strong balance sheets, and stable cash flows; and, they say, it's simply fear that has gripped all corners of the market. In coming to grips with their own funds' performance, many note that the current stock market environment is unprecedented in our professional lifetimes (unless, of course, you are 100 years old and worked during the crash of 1929).

Technically, those managers are right in at least one regard: The S&P 500 Index has fallen nearly 55% since Oct. 9, 2007--an outcome worse than that of any other bear market since 1929 (when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 80% in less than three years). But there have been some periods with results similarly gnarly to the most recent drop, including the bear market that began in January 1973, which ultimately saw the S&P 500 fall nearly 50%. Granted, there were some other differences back then, including higher inflation and a drawn-out decline. (It's been faster this time around.)

Still, we wondered if funds led by portfolio managers that ran money in the 1970s have been better off in the latest downturn.

There aren't many managers that have run the same mutual fund for that long (though more have been investing that long) and some that have are part of a team of managers on those funds. Below is a table showing which stock funds have the longest-tenured managers and some details on some of the best-known offerings.

Sectors by Market Cap % Uncertainty
	Manager	Years on Fund	Return 10/9/07-3/9/09 USD	Total Return Anzd 10-Yr	% Cat Rank 10-Yr
American Growth AMRGX	Robert Brody	50	-55.07	-13.27	99
Franklin Growth FKGRX	Jerry Palmieri	44	-50.46	-1.77	14
Franklin DynaTech FKDNX	Rupert H. Johnson, Jr.	41	-48.09	-1.23	10
Nicholas NICSX	Albert O. Nicholas	39	-49.46	-4.17	94
American Funds American Mutual AMRMX	James K. Dunton	37	-48.08	0.08	17
Armstrong Associates ARMSX	C.K. Lawson	37	-39.50	-1.41	12
Valley Forge VAFGX	Bernard B. Klawans	37	-38.62	1.03	10
Pearl Total Return PFTRX	David Stanley	36	-47.54	4.21	--
Stratton Multi Cap STRGX	James W. Stratton	36	-51.47	1.61	5
Royce Pennsylvania Mutual Inv PENNX	Charles M. Royce	35	-55.77	5.20	14
Natixis CGM Advisor Targeted Eq NEFGX	G. Kenneth Heebner	32	-48.69	-1.26	10
Dodge & Cox Stock DODGX	John A. Gunn	32	-62.09	1.68	5
S&P 500 Index			-54.89	-4.00
Data as of 03-09-09.

Franklin Growth FKGRX
Jerry Palmieri started on this fund in the mid-1960s. During the bear market that began in 1973, the fund lost nearly 48%--about in line with the rest of the market. But since then the fund has generally held up much better than the market in tough times. In 1987's quick drop, Palmieri kept the fund's losses to less than 20% between late August and early December. (The market dropped 33% during that period.) In 1987, Morningstar named Palmieri its first Manager of the Year, as he led the fund to a near-20% gain. One of Palmieri's tricks over the years has been to build cash, with varying degrees of success, but somewhat surprisingly, that's not what's helped the fund since late 2007. Rather, Palmieri's approach has kept him largely out of financial stocks and energy names--two areas that have been particularly hard-hit lately.PAGEBREAK