Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Cramer's Funds

I'm looking through the book Jim Cramer's Stay Mad For Life (that I got via paperbackswap).

In the last chapter he lists his 11 best mutual funds which he chose on their managers ability to lose less than the market in down years. He based the ratings on the years 2000-2006. Well, now we have have four more years of data.

The market has been up in three of those four years, with the S&P 500 losing 37% in 2008. Let's see how Cramer's funds did in those years.

CGMFX: -48.18% (though it did crush the market 79.97% to 5.49% in 2007)
DAGVX: -36.01% (and just about matching the S&P 500 in the other three years)
BRAGX: -56.16% (like CGMFX it outperformed in 2007 at 25.80%)
RHJSX: -39.80%
SHRAX: -42.40%
BUFSX: -29.84% (but it underperformed in 2007 at -0.33%)
FBRVX: -33.85% (but manager Chuck Akre has left to form his own fund AKREX)
PSLAX: -39.48%
HRTVX: -39.53%
BERWX: -27.09% (it underperformed in 2007 at -3.68%)
MUHLX: -40.39% (and also underperformed in 2007 at -9.66%)

So four of the 11 outperformed in 2008.

How about some of my funds?

FAIRX: -29.70% (and also outperformed in the three other years as well)
TAVFX: -45.61%
FLPSX: -36.17%
OAKLX: -36.22%
OAKIX: -41.06%
JAVLX: -41.97%
MFOCX: -40.75%
GABGX: -45.92%
FCNTX: -37.16%
FDGFX: -42.96%
ASVIX: -27.63%
BSCFX: -40.24%
WVALX: -40.74%
JENSX: -29.97%
RCAPX: -33.71%
SLSSX: -44.72%
SWPSX: -39.27%
HFCGX: -43.69%
LMGTX: -60.44%
LMOPX: -65.49% (83.14% in 2009)
FDSSX: -41.66%
MUTHX: -37.92%
MDISX: -26.55%
JAWWX: -45.02%
FIEUX: -44.02%
PRASX: -60.99%
AKREX: N/A

So only four of my funds were down less than 30%: FAIRX, ASVIX, JENSX, MDISX. And three of my funds were down over 60%: LMOPX, LMGTX, PRASX.

That should be telling me I should buy FAIRX. And sell the Legg Mason funds.

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