Mutual Funds to Brighten Your 2007 Outlook

Markets, like the ocean, are always different and always the same. Blue skies turn stormy in moments, and squalls drop as suddenly as they rise.

As 2006 draws to a close, most investors are surveying the horizon cheerfully. They have, after all, enjoyed nearly four years of calm seas and fair winds.

Will 2007 be more of the same? Maybe. But here are some funds whose fortunes are worth watching in the new year, and why.

Consider (LETRX Quote)ING Russia and equivalents such as (TMRFX Quote)Third Millennium Russia. No funds, not even those investing in gold, have done better over the past five years than those that put their money in Russia. ING Russia's share price has rocketed from $10 to $60. And Russia's economic boom, fueled by oil money and robber-baron capitalism in the new Wild East, isn't slowing: The fund rose 56% this year through Dec. 24.

This sort of meteoric rise will make some investors greedy for more, and others nervous.

In the case of Russia, there is plenty to think about. While outsiders pour their money into the country, the smartest insiders seem to be rushing to get their money out, fueling a boom in real estate, luxury goods and even sports franchises in Western Europe.

Meanwhile, you have to ask questions about the political and legal system, including the rights of property owners. I constantly marvel at the sheer bad luck -- from imprisonment to murder -- that seems to befall every prominent critic of dictator -- er, President Vladimir Putin.