The Quest for Good No-Load World-Allocation Funds

In February, American Funds started a new fund that invests in stocks and bonds all over the world. American Funds Global Balanced (GBLAX) is only the second stock-holding fund that American has launched in the past decade. With American's team-managed approach and low expenses, the new fund will probably be a winner.

For some reason, funds that levy sales charges, as the American funds do, dominate the world-allocation category. The best include  BlackRock Global Allocation (MDLOX), run by Dennis Stattman;  IVA Worldwide , managed by Charles de Vaulx and Chuck Lardemelle; and  First Eagle Global (SGENX), run by Abhay Deshpande and Matthew McLennan.

Slim Pickings
On the no-load side,  Fidelity Global Balanced  has been a decent performer the past three years, during which most of its current managers have been on board. But I'm lukewarm on the fund because it hews closely to the MSCI World Index for its sector and regional exposure. That largely keeps it out of emerging nations and prevents its managers from moving to the markets that offer the best opportunities.

Probably the best no-load choice is  PIMCO All Asset All Authority , run by Rob Arnott. As the name implies, Arnott has broad latitude to switch among an array of asset classes and does so using PIMCO funds. The fund is worth considering if you want to invest with an active asset allocator.

Beyond PIMCO, you'll have to think outside the box if you want broad diversification and want to avoid a sales charge. You could, for example, invest in target-date funds. These funds, which cater to investors saving for retirement, provide a mix of foreign and U.S. stocks and bonds, albeit with a bit of a bias toward the United States. The Vanguard and T. Rowe Price families offer fine target-date funds.

Another idea is to add a domestic asset-allocation fund to a global-stock fund. You can take a bold allocation fund, such as  FPA Crescent (FPACX), and pair it with something like  Dodge & Cox Global (DODWX). Crescent's Steve Romick will invest in whatever appears to offer the best potential reward relative to risk; he even occasionally sells stocks short. Romick has built an outstanding record over 18 years. Dodge & Cox's value-oriented managers keep the allocation between U.S. and foreign stocks fairly steady, so it complements Crescent nicely.

You can also combine a global-stock fund with a go-anywhere bond fund.  PIMCO Eqs Pathfinder  is a conservative world-stock fund run by Mutual Series veterans Anne Gudefin and Charles Lahr. The bargain-hunting duo will move into cash if they can't find enough cheap stocks, but they don't invest much in bonds. That's what Dan Fuss and Kathleen Gaffney, managers of  Loomis Sayles Bond (LSBRX), can do for you. They make aggressive shifts into the countries or sectors of the bond market that appear the most attractive.

A rising star in the world-allocation category is  Artisan Global Value (ARTGX). (See Gregg Wolper's column that discusses the fund here.) David Samra and Dan O'Keefe, longtime managers of  Artisan International Value (ARTKX), launched Global Value in 2007. The fund has just $51 million in assets, so the managers have plenty of flexibility to go where they find value. I'd pair Global Value with  Manning & Napier Pro-Blend Moderate Term (EXBAX), which leans slightly toward growth stocks and adjusts its asset mix based on the managers' economic forecasts and corporate earnings trends. The 11-man management team has also done a good job picking stocks, helping Pro-Blend Moderate to outperform its moderate-allocation peers consistently over the years.

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