¶ … Opportunity' Knocking?" By Jonathan Burton
Available online: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120398831088492289.html?mod=money_page_left_hs
In the February 26 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Jonathan Burton lists mutual funds that promise to weather the storms raging on the global and domestic markets. Mutual funds managers are taking advantage of depressed stock prices by snatching up bargains, notes Burton. The time is ripe now for normally timid investors to branch out, expand their portfolios, and move into the arena of mutual funds. Shopping for mutual funds can be made easier with an increased array of opportunities like there are now.
As Burton notes, however, investment in the newly created funds is a long-term project. Investors must have patience when buying up shares in mutual funds that are underperforming now -- but will deliver returns in the future. Funds that previously shut down because of market woes are re-opening themselves to investors. Although they involve a certain degree of risk, most offer long-term solutions for riding out market waves. Among the newly re-opened mutual funds are Dodge & Cox, Longleaf, and First Eagle Global.
Of these Dodge & Cox is the most well-respected for stability and long-term investment potential. The fund includes Wachovia, Motorola, and Comcast. Longleaf is also primarily about American holdings with General Motors, Sprint Nextel, and new performers Walgreens and Symantec. Burton mentions one with primarily European performers: Tweedy Browne Global Value, with holdings that include Heineken and Nestle.
The Burton article is a valuable and brief resource for personal investors. Anyone wishing to move their investments, shifting into what might be low-risk and high-return ventures for the years to come might want to consider taking Burton's advice. Investing in newly re-opened mutual funds means buying into them at depressed prices and although returns might take years to manifest, the payoffs will be solid. Moreover, the funds Burton mentions allow investors to branch out into non-U.S. markets.
