My confidence in them would not be shaken by what's happened over the past month or so. |
Nearly everything that had done well in 1999 has done poorly this year, and vice versa. I think the problem is perception lags reality with investors. Throughout this year, we've seen strong flows into technology and growth funds, and the stocks haven't done well. You wonder when investors will start chasing performance and go to value. |
Once the tide turns against you, it's tough. It's hard to keep growing that fast under the best of circumstances. |
Probably most people don't know who he (Weitz) is, but he has a fantastic record and a dedicated following. |
Some of the higher-turnover areas, like small blend funds and mid-cap growth funds, have a problem delivering comparable returns to their peers when too much money flows into the fund. |
There is something to be said for having well-informed shareholders. |
These are cyclical stocks. When the economy slows, investors get out. |
They just don't make sense for (small investors). They'll get eaten up by the commissions. |
They're run by the same management team, and their argument for choosing airline stocks is that air travel is likely to build over time. I guess this goes to show how even that well-built hypothesis can be vulnerable. |
This year, with the Fed cutting rates, people are getting bullish on the prospects of these companies making their debt payments. |
Those subtle differences (in returns of index funds) make a big difference over the long term. |
To the extent that fund companies had operations in the World Trade Center, they typically have backup files, so there shouldn't be any problems. Beyond that, the question is what happened to key investment personnel, and the initial response seems to be good. Oppenheimer Funds had offices in that building, and most of their personnel seems to be accounted for. And all personnel from Salomon Smith Barney was evacuated from 7 World Trade Center before it collapsed. |
When you think back in the last couple of years, there have been so many unexpected twists and turns in the market. It really makes sense to stay diversified. |
You can't look at any one of those and say they're having a great year. |
You can't really say it (fee cuts) are happening across the industry. People shouldn't be lulled into thinking expenses are necessarily falling at their fund family. |