Goldman Sachs
Davis New York Venture
Lord Abbett Small Cap Blend
Thornburg Core Growth
Janus Adviser Forty I have to disagree with the previous answer regarding Goldman Sachs. The company just released earnings Tuesday that handily beat estimates. GS is a great company with an awesome track record. As of Monday, the stock was priced for absolute failure, which I find highly unlikely given the company's expertise. However, if you are looking to buy GS, you may want to wait, as it has gained over 25% in the past week, and a pullback may be warranted.
Davis New York Venture (NYVCX) seems like a pretty solid fund. The manager has been in place since 1995, which means the fund's history is a result of his doing and not a previous manager's. Above average return for average risk, four star rating, seems like a good choice. However, just be aware that the expense ratio is above the category average and that it has a 1% deferred load fee.
Lord Abbett Small Cap Blend (LSBCX), again, seems like a pretty solid investment. Manager has been in place since inception and has generated an average 18.51% annual return, while taking on low risk. However, over the past three years, he has only generated a 8.81% average return. This may not be too much of a concern, as most open, small cap funds have all been struggling.
Thornburg Core Growth (TCGCX) may have stronger competitors. The fund is ranked in the 98th percentile in its category, which puts it at near rock bottom. While the fund is four star rated, it carries above average risk. The fund has generated strong returns, however, if you strip out the 55% return from 2003, its returns are more in-line with competition that sport lower risk ratings. You might want to consider looking into some competition further to find some less risky funds, however, if you cannot find any that appear better, this fund will suffice, as it has been a fairly solid performer.
Janus Adviser Forty (JACCX) takes on fairly substantial risk through only investing in 20 to 40 stocks. With that said, it has not been a very strong performer, as taking on this much risk demands a much higher risk premium. With that said, if you are interested in a focus fund, which only invests in a small amount of stocks, I would strongly recommend the CGM Focus Fund, CGMFX. The fund has the same investment strategy but has returned 38.64% average annual return over 5 years, compared to the 17% of the JACCX. While CGMFX has a high risk rating, the fund manager is world reknowned, which is shown by his stellar long-run performance. However, if this does not interest you, JACCX is a strong investment given its risk rating as well.
Just some quick overviews, I hope they helped some.
Best of luck!
Brendan Prewitt Go to Morningstar.com and see if you can find the star ratings for each mutual fund. I would avoid the Goldman Sachs (GS) stock like the plague right now (and any financial stock right now).
Okay, I decided to do your homework for you:
Davis New York Venture (large companies with more than market capitalization of more than 10 billion): 4 star rating
Lord Abbot Small Cap Blend (small growth): 4 star rating
Thornburg Core Growth (domestic stocks with growth potential): 4 star rating
Janus Adviser Forty (20 to 40 stocks of companies of any size and that have growth potential): 5 star rating
If it were me, I'd just put 25% of my contribution into each mutual fund. They are all solid mutual funds.
BTW, I never said that Goldman Sachs is not a great company because it is. Unfortunately, it's in a sector that is very unfavorable now and very volatile. |
