Mutual Funds to look at?

**snafu** · 06-01-2009, 12:12 PM

Both India and China seem to be 'best bets' for swift recovery and profit. Seek a well known, well managed International Fund manager based in the country you choose. South America [Latin Funds] were not tarnished with American problem equities

**ea1776** · 06-01-2009, 02:08 PM

I like MCHFX if you are looking for an experienced management team in China. Check out their Q1 annual report on the Matthews website. It shows all of their holdings. I like China in the short term and long term. I have less than 25% of my entire portfolio in the U.S. Our current administration is scaring me. China seems to be dedicated to the idea of economic growth, whereas U.S. only used to be.

I like small caps funds for U.S. right now if you must invest in domestics. T. Rowe Price's "New Horizons" is a good choice. I also love T. Rowe Price's "International Discovery", which is small caps of non-US companies. Historically, the small-caps have led the economy back from a recession. Kind of makes sense when you think about it, since they are typically the ones with new products, higher motivation, high manager ownership, etc...

Please do your own research though and come up with an investment mix you feel comfortable with.

**ea1776** · 06-01-2009, 02:14 PM

on another note, Mathews also has an India fund. However it has underperformed its benchmark for a while, so I can't recommend that one. MCHFX (the China fund), pays out capital gains, so the chart performance against its benchmark doesn't tell the whole story. You would have to look at the prospectus and the history of dividend and capital gains distributions to get the full comparison/picture. If you are in a retirement account or tax-deferred account, MCHFX is SOLID.

**jeffmem** · 06-02-2009, 09:53 AM

I have some issues with China, I live in Taiwan, the whole political stuff gets to me sometimes, so I am not so trusting. But I do have a mutual fund now which is PRASX that is way down from where I bought it. I think I am about even, but lost a year and had to invest more in it to balance it out. I was not planning to do that. Some Chinese companies support this stock.

As for India, yeah, they are also an emerging market for investment, but like China, new doesn't mean safe.. I am still evaluating the risks. But I do believe that getting out of the US market might not be a bad thing to do with the way the economy is, no one knows what is going to happen, and there seems to be a lot of other really good stuff out there. I am not really interested in investing anymore into the US market at this point. Especially since I live overseas and I use Taiwan currency for my daily life.

**shultice24** · 06-04-2009, 09:57 AM

Don't forget about expense ratios.

When expense ratios are figured in, only a tiny, tiny fraction of actively managed mutual funds beat the market on a consistent basis. When that's the case, you'd be better off with a index fund or ETF that has minuscule expense ratios by comparison.

**EEinNJ** · 06-04-2009, 10:20 AM

Unless you already have a broad portfolio with a diversified asset allocation, I would not recommend sector funds or ETF's. You can do OK or great for a while, then get hammered, especially in emerging markets. CNN Money and Schwab both have good screeners for ETF's and funds.

**Ima saver** · 06-04-2009, 10:49 AM

I like Vanguard Index 500 fund.

**shultice24** · 06-04-2009, 12:59 PM

Originally posted by Ima saver View Post

I like Vanguard Index 500 fund.

It's the cream of the crop for S&P tracking. Can't beat Vanguard.

**Shane Watson** · 06-05-2009, 07:40 AM

Asian mutual funds are in good shape right now. I have a friend telling me that he made a good amount with one of those. I thinking of taking a chance too. Hope I am right!

**shultice24** · 06-05-2009, 09:50 AM

Originally posted by Shane Watson View Post

Asian mutual funds are in good shape right now. I have a friend telling me that he made a good amount with one of those. I thinking of taking a chance too. Hope I am right!

Hopefully this would be a small portion of a much more diversified portfolio? If this is all you were to own, that's pretty risky business.

What specific reasons do you have for investing in that market, other than a recommendation and hope?

Hopefully you don't mind me asking- these are the types of questions that can seperate successful investors from those who get completely torched after essentially gambling on poorly-reasoned investment decisions.

**jeffmem** · 06-08-2009, 10:06 AM

I know about Vanguard, but did not know so many people feel they are cream of the crop... Which ones would you recommend having a look at that are doing well and have low maintenance fees?

shultice24, to answer your question, I have copied an pasted some of my other information from another post for your information.

I have no 401k because I am not working in the US. And right now put very little into SS.

Ok allocation:

Cash: 66% includes CD's, MMA's and other savings. I only really want to invest about $12,000 of this cash, other is for emergencies, etc.
Government Bonds 18%
Traditional IRA: 3%, note I have only around 2k in this, I have been advised by my accountant not to put anymore because interest rates are so low and I am getting better on other MMAs.
Stock: 6.8%
Mutual Funds: I have two, together total 6.5%
AEPGX and PRASX, both of which were started last year, bad bad bad. I lost quite a bit, but have kept putting money into them, so they are balancing out a bit. I feel there must be better mutual funds out there, these two kind of suck at least this last year, and AEPGX has terrible fees.

**shultice24** · 06-09-2009, 12:55 PM

Hey Jeffmem,

I won't offer any specific financial advice about allocation or specific investments, but I will reccommend looking into Vanguard's index funds.

It has been proven time and time again that almost no actively managed mutual funds beat the market for any consistent period of time. So, in my opinion, why bother with em? Why pay for people to manage your investments when you could get better results by taking a completely passive approach? If they can't beat the market, we might as well buy the market!

Vanguard has plenty of index options (from the S&P 500, to the entire US stock market, to international indices with thousands upon thousands of stocks). Since they require no active management, the fees are dirt cheap. And you will automatically match the market without breaking a sweat.

Index investing is the ultimate ticket to building long-term wealth, with as little stress as possible.

**Scanner** · 06-09-2009, 06:08 PM

Janus Overseas has been a mainstay for me for years (JAOSX)

At one time, it was rated the #3 international mutual fund by Kiplinger (out of like 1500) and consistently has had 5 star morningstar rating. But, also at one time, when there was a scandal at Janus, it did drop to 3 stars.

It has outcompeted the index over the long term.

It's very volatile though. If you don't like rollercoaster rides, I would stay away from it. For a 10 year horizon, it's okay. For a 3 year horizon, no. That's actually a huge swing in your time goals and you need to decide between the two.

The expense ratio is reasonable -usually hovering near 1% for an actively managed fund.

At one time this year, the NAV was at $21.00, I think, off of a high of around $60.00 It's now at $35.00. Between that and my silver appreciation, this has been a good year for me so far.

But man, when it falls, boy does it fall. . .

**jeffmem** · 06-10-2009, 06:17 AM

shultice24 and Scanner, thank you both for your feedback.

I have looked at JAOSX and I see what you mean. For me, 10 years is ok, but I am not sure if I want the roller coaster or not. And at $35 I may wait to look at it again when it drops a bit.

I will have a look at the Vanguard funds, I had looked at them years ago but since then have not checked them again.

Mutual Funds to look at?