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Fund Spy

Readers Pick Their Favorite Mutual Fund Managers

I chose my top 10 managers--now it's your turn.

A couple weeks ago I wrote about 10 of my favorite domestic-stock fund managers. I said they were 10 of the best--not necessarily the 10 best--and invited readers to sound off on who they liked most among those I left off. Boy did I get a lot of responses.

Here then are some of the interesting e-mails I received. I'm not including the suggestions for people who didn't meet my criteria of diversified domestic-stock fund managers (no teams) with 10 years worth of returns. Nor am I including the many e-mails I received from fund managers and other fund company employees.

John Keeley of  Keeley Small Cap Value  
"As an advisor that swears by my Morningstar analysis, I agree with your list. However, I think you are overlooking one hugely successful fund manager - John Keeley from the Keeley Small Cap Value Fund. So when I saw your resounding praise for Cates and Hawkins of  Longleaf Small-Cap (LLSCX) I just had to do the numbers. Keeley has provided 15.04% since inception 13 years ago translating into 618%.

"Keeley has not wavered in his stock picking of undervalued companies that he feels will have significant upside. Looking deeply into his numbers and speaking with his back office give me the confidence to suggest to my clients that they include Keeley in their portfolio. They have been extremely happy." Susan of Massachusetts

Robert Gardiner of  Wasatch Micro Cap (WMICX) (closed to new investors)
"My favorite manager not on your list is Robert Gardiner with Wasatch Micro Cap. Now I know that the fund has been closed for some time because he invests in super small companies but I did not read anywhere on your article that the fund needed to be open to new investors. Please check out his 10 year performance and I think that you will agree." Ignacio

David Williams of  Excelsior Value & Restructuring 
"David Williams and his team at Excelsior have blown past almost every other large cap value fund around, despite the current year's numbers. When you look at the holdings in UMBIX, you very quickly notice this is not your typical large cap value fund. If I have a favorite domestic fund, it could very well be UMBIX." Bob in Ohio

"Any list of top mutual fund managers must include David Williams of Excelsior Value and Restructuring. Williams has had an excellent performance record both before and after taxes. His approach to buying stocks in the restructuring process has been quite successful. To help minimize the risks he owns companies throughout the four phases of restructuring and holds onto them until he has wrung every dollar of restructuring potential out of them. He has bested the S&P 500 in 9 out of the past 11 calendar years and has landed in the top 1% of his category for the ten year time period. With low turnover and loss harvesting he has been able to have stellar performance without distributing any capital gains for the past several years." Derek of North Carolina

Ron Muhlenkamp of  Muhlenkamp Fund  (MUHLX)
"I love how some folks are dumping on Ron Muhlenkamp now. He is about as intelligent as any manager I know, and his ability to discuss almost any aspect of investing in a cogent, understandable manner is pretty unique, too. What a terrific long-term record for this manager that goes his own way." Bob in Ohio

Rich Fentin of  Fidelity Value (FDVLX)
"Richard B. Fentin of Fidelity Value Fund is a 'steady eddie' who inspires confidence. In recent years, the fund's occasional slumps tend to be short-lived; it then recovers and goes on to reach new heights. The fund performed well in the 2000-2002 bear market. From January 2000 to December 2002, this fund's total return actually gained by 10%.

"Morningstar's 'Growth of $10,000' chart on the Snapshot page for this fund shows that the fund has done well over the past four years not only in relation to the S&P 500, but also in relation to its category peers. Fentin is doing a terrific job." Anita

Robert Torray of  Torray Fund (TORYX)
"Robert Torray's annual messages to fundholders are gems of solid no-nonsense advice to 'stay the course,' to ignore the noise and hype of fund promoters, to expect gyrations of the marketplace, and to trust that stock values of good, solid, well-managed companies eventually reflect the health of those companies." Ed

Ron Baron of  Baron Asset (BARAX)
"I would nominate Ron Baron. He has managed two funds in two unloved sectors of the market (mid-cap growth and small cap growth)and delivered excellent results with less risk than the best fit indexes. Take for instance the Baron Asset fund. Whatever mid cap growth benchmark you match it against Ron Baron has out performed it with less risk. The same goes for the Baron Growth Fund. Who else exemplifies long-term focus than Ron Baron? The low turnover in his funds tells the whole story. In fact, some of the picks in his Baron Asset fund have been there ever since I can remember. What helps him accomplish this of course is his intense research focus." Manjula

John Montgomery of Bridgeway Funds
"How about John Montgomery of the Bridgeway Funds? No one can beat his record, and no fund company treats its shareholders as well as Bridgeway. Sure, he's a quant manager, but you didn't rule them out. We can't look under the hood to see his computer models directly, but Montgomery is very clear in his shareholder letters (which are superb, BTW) why he believes quant investing is the way to go. I'd say that qualifies as a 'creative, original strategy.' I must admit, his funds are volatile, but you don't have to worry about asset bloat here - he closes funds at absurdly low levels (compared to other fund companies). For example, he closed the  Bridgeway Ultra-Small Company Fund (BRUSX) to all new money - even from current shareholders - when it reached $100 million in assets. Good thing, too, given the astounding returns. If he hadn't, I'd be even more over-weight in small caps than I am already. Well, that's the sort of problem I like to have - when funds do so well that it completely throws off my asset allocation!" Bill in Nebraska

Poll Results - Who do you think is the best?
I asked you to pick your favorite from among my top 10 and here's how you voted:
14% - Bill Miller
13% - Joel Tillinghast
34% - Richie Freeman
16% - Saul Pannell
23% - Will Danoff

 

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