24 Bull-Market Funds Still Alive and Kicking

No one really knows at this point whether the bear market that began last October is really over. While its bite hasn't been particularly deep so far, at least by historical bear-market standards, the cuts have been broad. To date, less than one equity mutual fund out of every 50 has survived the cascade.

TheStreet.com Ratings searched its database of equity mutual funds that had participated in the 2002-07 bull market and have remained intact, thus far, during the downturn. Of 2,913 funds with sufficient history, only 36 --1.17% of the total -- have so far resisted the October-through-July spill.

The increasingly popular "inverse" funds that move counter to the direction of stock prices didn't make the list because their values eroded during the bull market that ended in October.

Since an annualized return of at least 6% would be considered reasonable for the brisk 2003-07 market, 12 funds with bull market returns of less than that magnitude were discarded. The remaining 24 "all weather" funds appear in the accompanying table.

A broad definition of "equity funds" was used in screening candidates for the list; it includes stock-bond "hybrid" vehicles as well as commodity plays. Yet, surprisingly, no "wimpy" defensive funds survived the cut. The closest to what might be taken for a conservative investment would be the single growth and income fund in the group, the true-blue sounding Heartland Value Plus Fund(HRVIX Quote). Yet its major holdings, with include St. Mary Land & Exploration Co.(SM Quote), Olin Corp.(OLN Quote) and Datascope Corp.(DSCP Quote), would not seem like pain-avoidance selections.