This Large-Cap Fund Emphasizes Downside Protection

Jimmy Wen: Silver-rated ClearBridge Appreciation benefits from experienced managers who execute this strategy consistently and successfully. Scott Glasser has managed this fund since 2002, and Michael Kagan joined as a comanager in 2009. They make good use of ClearBridge's strong bench of analysts to look for proven businesses with strong balance sheets and superior management teams.

The strategy also emphasizes downside protection, so Glasser and Kagan have maintained a balance of value and stable-growth stocks in the portfolio. Indeed, this fund has shown its defensive abilities during market downturns. It shed a cumulative 46% during the October 2007 to September 2009 financial crisis while the S&P 500 Index lost 55%. More recently, Glasser and Kagan were able to stem the fund's losses again during the late 2015 market pullback. The managers' patience has paid off--long-term holdings such as household goods producer Kimberly-Clark helped mitigate the fund's losses during these volatile periods.

Though the fund has not been able to keep up with the market rally since 2009, the managers' cautious approach has produced a portfolio with a predictable return profile, making it suitable for patient investors with a lower risk tolerance.