Mutual Fund Investing
Top Hybrid Funds in April: CGM Mutual
Richard Widows
05/13/08 - 12:30 PM EDT
Although the list of the 10 top performing equity-fixed income "hybrid" mutual funds is dominated by six asset-allocation vehicles, a traditional balanced fund captured the top spot by a comfortable margin.
The CGM Mutual Fund(LOMMX Quote - Cramer on LOMMX - Stock Picks) has established a habit of turning in double-digit annual returns in the 27 years since Kenneth Heebner assumed the helm. In April, it jumped into double digits in a single month.
With 9.25% of its portfolio in Brazilian Petroleum Corp. ADR(PBR Quote - Cramer on PBR - Stock Picks) and 6.53% in Schlumberger(SLB Quote - Cramer on SLB - Stock Picks), the price surge in petroleum boosted LOMMX to an 11.88% total return for the month. With 32% of the fund's assets, energy was a dominant force in the CGM fund's portfolio.
Whereas balanced funds tend to hold a relatively steady ratio of roughly 60% to 80% in equity investments, with the remainder primarily in fixed-income investments, asset allocation funds have a broader mandate that allows their managers to adjust their proportions more radically.
The energy sector also helped the Purisima Total Return Fund(PURIX Quote - Cramer on PURIX - Stock Picks) secure the second spot in the hybrid category for the month. Its top holding is Schlumberger, followed by German electronics giant Siemens AG ADR(SI Quote - Cramer on SI - Stock Picks). Other major energy holdings in PURIX's portfolio include Baker Hughes(BHI Quote - Cramer on BHI - Stock Picks), Transocean(RIG Quote - Cramer on RIG - Stock Picks) and Total SA ADR(TOT Quote - Cramer on TOT - Stock Picks).
Aside from the CGM fund, the only two funds on the adjoining list with positive results year to date are convertible funds. The Franklin Convertible Securities Fund(FISCX Quote - Cramer on FISCX - Stock Picks) and the Fidelity Convertible Securities Fund(FCVSX Quote - Cramer on FCVSX - Stock Picks) were each up more than 7% in April and fractionally above water for the year so far.
| APRIL'S BEST PERFORMING | ||||||
| NAME, TICKER & TheStreet.com RATINGS GRADE | INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE | 1-MO. TOTAL RET'N (%) | YR.-TO- DATE RET'N (%) | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO (%) | MIN. INITIAL INVEST. | |
| CGM Mutual Fund (LOMMX) B+ | Balanced - Domestic | 11.88 | 2.52 | 1.07 | $2,500 | |
| Purisima Total Return Fund (PURIX) C+ | Asset Allocation - Domestic | 7.84 | -3.02 | 1.41 | $25,000 | |
| TCW Agg LifePlan Fund N (TGPGX) U | Asset Allocation - Domestic | 7.78 | -2.51 | 1.21 | $2,000 | |
| Franklin Convertible Securities A (FISCX) D+ | Convertible | 7.55 | 0.39 | 0.89 | $1,000 | |
| Evergreen Balanced A (EKBAX) D+ | Balanced - Domestic | 7.37 | -2.12 | 1.03 | $1,000 | |
| Fidelity Convertible Securities (FCVSX) A+ | Convertible | 7.22 | 0.45 | 0.79 | $2,500 | |
| Ivy Fund-Mngd Euro Pacific Cl A (IVMAX) U | Asset Allocation - Global | 7.03 | -7.89 | 1.72 | $500 | |
| TCW Moderate LifePlan Fund N (TGPOX) U | Asset Allocation - Domestic | 6.92 | -0.70 | 1.10 | $2,000 | |
| Oppenheimer Transition 2030 Fund A (OTHAX) U | Asset Allocation - Domestic | 6.78 | -3.26 | 1.33 | $1,000 | |
| MSIF Strategies Fund A (GVIAX) U | Asset Allocation - Domestic | 6.70 | -4.34 | 1.74 | $1,000 | |
| S&P 500 Composite Total Return | 4.87 | -5.03 | ||||
| Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond | 0.18 | 1.95 | ||||
| Source: TheStreet.com Ratings - Data as of 4/30/2008. For an explanation of our ratings, click here. |
||||||