Author Archives: David Snowball

About David Snowball

David Snowball, PhD (Massachusetts). Cofounder, lead writer. David is a Professor of Communication Studies at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, a nationally-recognized college of the liberal arts and sciences, founded in 1860. For a quarter century, David competed in academic debate and coached college debate teams to over 1500 individual victories and 50 tournament championships. When he retired from that research-intensive endeavor, his interest turned to researching fund investing and fund communication strategies. He served as the closing moderator of Brill’s Mutual Funds Interactive (a Forbes “Best of the Web” site), was the Senior Fund Analyst at FundAlarm and author of over 120 fund profiles.

Mairs and Power Small Cap Fund (MSCFX), September 2016

By David Snowball

Objective and strategy

The fund seeks “above-average” long-term capital appreciation by investing in 40-45 small cap stocks. For their purposes, “small caps” have a market capitalization under $3.4 billion at the time of purchase. The manager is authorized to invest up to 25% of the portfolio in foreign stocks and to invest, without limit, in convertible securities (but he plans to do neither). Across all their portfolios, Mairs & Power invests in “carefully selected, quality growth stocks” purchased “at reasonable valuation levels.” Continue reading →

Seafarer Overseas Growth & Income closing

By David Snowball

Seafarer Overseas Growth & Income (SFGIX/SIGIX) closing to new investors

On August 31, 2016, Seafarer announced the imminent closure of its flagship Seafarer Overseas Growth & Income fund. The closure is set to become effective on September 30, 2016.

Highlights of the announcement:

    • The fund will soft-close on September 30, so that existing investors will still be able to add to their accounts. There are the usual exceptions to the closure.

      • Continue reading →

Elevator Talk: Michael Willis, Index Funds S&P 500 Equal Weight (INDEX)

By David Snowball

Since the number of funds we can cover in-depth is smaller than the number of funds worthy of in-depth coverage, we’ve decided to offer one or two managers each month the opportunity to make a 200 word pitch to you. That’s about the number of words a slightly-manic elevator companion could share in a minute and a half. In each case, I’ve promised to offer a quick capsule of the fund and a link back to the fund’s site. Other than that, they’ve got 200 words and precisely as much of your time and attention as you’re willing to share. These aren’t endorsements; they’re opportunities to learn more. Continue reading →

Funds in Registration, September 2016

By David Snowball

It’s been a quiet month for new registrants. There’s the usual collection of trendy ETFs (e.g., Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF) and Mr. Greenblatt is launching more Gorham-branded institutional funds (Gotham Neutral 500 at 1.4%, Defensive Long at 2.15%, and Defensive Long 500 at 1.65%). Other than that, we found just four new no-load, retail funds. Folks interested in social impact investing might want to put Gerstein Fisher Municipal CRA Qualified Investment Fund on their radar. Low minimum, relatively low expense, it provides individual investors a tool to support affordable housing and community development. Otherwise, the new options peaked out at “meh.” Continue reading →

Briefly Noted . . .

By David Snowball

New questions to ask your potential fund manager: “so, how did your high school lacrosse team do? And how was the cuisine in the cafeteria?” If the answers were anything close to “great” and “scrumptious,” run away! Run away! As it turns out, new research shows that managers who come from relatively modest, perhaps even challenged, backgrounds tend to surpass their J. Crew wearing peers. So if you can find a kid whose forebears were, say, poor Tennessee farmers, he probably deserves your money. (Especially if his fund is closing to new investors, say, at the end of September.) Thanks to Ira Artman, longtime reader and friend of the Observer, for the heads-up!

After 35 years with Legg Mason, Bill Miller bought himself and his funds free of them. Continue reading →

August 1, 2016

By David Snowball

Dear friends,

aAugust, famously “summer’s last messenger of misery,” is upon us. It’s a month mostly celebrated by NFL fans (for the start of training camp and the endless delusion that this might be the year) and wiccans (who apparently have a major to-do in the stinkin’ heat). All of us whose lives and livelihoods are tied to the education system feel sympathy for the poet Elizabeth M. Taylor:

August rushes by like desert rainfall,
A flood of frenzied upheaval,
Expected,
But still catching me unprepared.
Like a match flame
Bursting on the scene,
Heat and haze of crimson sunsets.
Like a dream
Of moon and dark barely recalled,
A moment,
Shadows caught in a blink.
Like a quick kiss;
One wishes for more
But it suddenly turns to leave,
Dragging summer away.

I could, I suppose, grumble again about the obvious (the combination of repeated stock market records with withering corporate fundamentals isn’t good), but Ed bade me keep silent on the topic. So we’ll try to offer up a bunch of lighter pieces, suitable to summer. Continue reading →

Morningstar’s “undiscovered” funds

By David Snowball

In case you’re wondering, here is the Observer’s mission:

The Mutual Fund Observer writes for the benefit of intellectually curious, serious investors— managers, advisers, and individuals—who need to go beyond marketing fluff, beyond computer- generated recommendations and beyond Morningstar’s coverage universe … Our special focus is on innovative, independent new and smaller funds. MFO’s mission is to provide readers with calm, intelligent arguments and to provide independent fund companies with an opportunity to receive thoughtful attention even though they might not yet have drawn billions in assets. Its coverage universe has been described as “the thousands of funds off Morningstar’s radar,” a description one fund manager echoes as “a Morningstar for the rest of us.”

Morningstar is in the business of helping investors. Since most investors have most of their money in large funds, Continue reading →

Bill Gross goes commando again

By David Snowball

Janus has announced the departure of Kumar Palghat from Janus Unconstrained Global Bond Fund (JUCAX). Mr. Palghat, a very accomplished investor with a long record of success at PIMCO and elsewhere, will become the manager of Janus Short Duration Income ETF. Mr. Palghat worked with the fund for just over one year. In his absence, Bill Gross returns to complete control. Continue reading →

Third Avenue seeks a buyer

By David Snowball

The disaster of Third Avenue Focused Credit (TFCVX) rolls on. For those not following December’s drama, TFCVX offered the impossible: it would invest in illiquid securities (that is, stuff that couldn’t be sold at the drop of a hat) but provide investors with daily liquidity (that is, act as if portions of the portfolio could be sold at the drop of a hat). That worked fine as long as the market was rising and no one actually wanted their money back, but when the tide began to go out and investors wanted their money, the poop hit the propeller. Continue reading →