A Foreign Large Blend Fund With Potential

Greg Carlson: A fund that's come on our radar is Chautauqua International Growth. This fund is less than two years old; however, manager Brian Beitner has run the same strategy since 2006 starting at his previous firm, TCW. He started his own firm in 2009. That firm was acquired by Baird in 2016 but is still run pretty autonomously.

Beitner seeks companies with sustainable competitive advantages that can benefit from long-term trends. He runs a concentrated portfolio of 30 to 40 stocks. He doesn't mind paying up for companies that meet his criteria. The fund can be pretty volatile over the long term, even compared to other foreign large growth funds. However, he has generated an excellent long-term record.

Fees on the mutual fund are above average at this point, but the fund is quite small. We think those fees will come down over time. Nevertheless, this is a strategy that requires patience. The fund does carry a lot of risk, but we think it holds a lot of potential, too.