Xstrata, Dell, Amdocs Top Masters' Thesis

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Jeremy DeGroot, manager of the Masters' Select International Fund(MSILX Quote), says his team is bullish on mining and technology stocks.

The fund, which has earned five stars from Morningstar(MORN Quote), is run by investment firm Litman/Gregory, but relies on subadvisers to pick stocks. The portfolio has risen 39% this year, better than 71% of its peers. During the past five years, the fund has returned an average of 7.9% annually, better than 86% of its rivals.

Welcome to TheStreet.com's Fund Manager Five Spot, where America's top mutual fund managers share their investment views in five questions.

Are you bullish or bearish?

DeGroot: We are more bearish than bullish. But Masters' Select International is comprised of the best stock-picking ideas of each of the fund's six subadvisers and Litman/Gregory's market outlook is not relevant to how the fund is managed.

We don't apply a top-down or macro overlay on the fund's portfolio. It is built stock by stock, from the bottom up. While we see fundamental economic and valuation headwinds that we think are likely to limit the returns to broad equity indexes over the next five or so years, the fund's stock pickers are optimistic, if not outright bullish, about the return prospects for the individual stocks they are finding for the fund.

What stock is your top pick?

DeGroot: I am going to read comments from one of our subadvisers on Xstrata, a U.K.-based global diversified mining company, which is a top holding in the fund.