From Deseret News archives:

Mutual funds finding great buys overseas

Investors bullish on E. Europe, Russia, Asia, South America

Published: Sunday, June 10, 2007 12:07 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
In selecting the Kiplinger 25, our annual list of the best mutual funds, we found four outstanding choices among funds that specialize in overseas investments.

• Julius Baer International Equity II (symbol JETAX; expense ratio, 1.34 percent; 800-387-6977). Manager Rudolph-Riad Younes says about a third of the fund is allocated to stable blue chips, such as Nestle, the Swiss multinational food giant. Most of the rest is in stocks that Younes figures can double in three years and triple in five. For example, Younes is bullish on Eastern Europe, and he is investing in companies that will help former Eastern-bloc countries catch up with their cousins in Western Europe. Similarly, he believes that Indian banks are a screaming buy because their market values are tiny compared with the burgeoning Indian economy.

Younes is also upbeat about the prospects for luxury-goods makers, which serve the rising nouveaux riches in emerging markets such as Russia, China and the Middle East. So Younes has loaded up on bauble-maker Bulgari and the parent companies of Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Cartier. Over the past year, the fund has returned 19.9 percent.

Story continues below
• Oakmark International (OAKIX; 1.08 percent; 800-625-6275). David Herro is on a roll. The fund he manages has returned 14 percent annualized during his nearly 15-year reign. These days, he's finding value in European drug stocks; Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline are two large holdings. He also loaded up on DaimlerChrysler shares, betting (correctly) that the German automaker was in the early innings of a restructuring that would include unloading Chrysler. And he likes the way his food-and-drink holdings, such as Nestle and Diageo, generate steady earnings gains.

• Dodge & Cox International Stock (DODFX; 0.66 percent; 800-621-3979). It's hard to find fault with this gem. Its performance is excellent, and its risks and fees are relatively low. Dodge & Cox's team of analysts and managers study purchase candidates intensively and subject the companies to a range of scenarios to assess what could go wrong. "If we lock this portfolio away for five years in a box, what's the likelihood that we would find it diminished in value?" asks Diana Strandberg, one of nine portfolio managers. "We think of ourselves as part-owners of the businesses." The fund has returned an annualized 20.2 percent over the past five years.

• T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Stock (PRMSX; 1.26 percent; 800-638-5660). London-based Chris Alderson, who steers the fund with three co-managers based in London and Singapore, manages risk by holding a diversified portfolio of about 140 stocks and focusing on steady growers that are selling at reasonable prices. Some of his favorite plays are Brazilian and Mexican banks and Indian-infrastructure companies. Over the past five years, the fund has returned an annualized 25.2 percent. Over the past decade, it outpaced its benchmark by an average of three percentage points per year.

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

previousnext

Latest comments

Outside of Utah, this game was a non-event. Even though both BYU and Utah...

Letters: Taxing rich doesn't help

To Lute: The marginal tax rate in those days was actually more than double...

The joy of a baby's love

"Your very own crack cocaine" is really the hormone/neurotransmitter...

I see where the Jamie Whit. story is another attemp by Utah fans to make...

The AP Top 25

When the Utes lose to BYU the quickly try to turn the loss into some media...

Hall mouths off about hate of Utah

Max is in a position of leadership & has now defined who he is for years to...

When the utes lose their best comeback is to try to point out some sin of a...

Hall mouths off about hate of Utah

of the "Crying Babies" club. 23 out of 26 members prefer him over Danny...

Woods cancels meeting with police

Hey Ron- why don't you come clean about what you did last night. This ain't...

Marriage definitions vary widely

much of which is ignored by the faithful. When there is an issue that the...

Advertisements