If you're the type of investor who stares into the teeth of this nasty market and licks your chops, this is the Big Screen for you.
| Screen Gems: High Returns, Low Fees and Steady Management |
| Big-Cap Growth Funds |
| Mid-Cap Growth Funds |
| Big-Cap Value Funds |
| Mid-Cap Value and Small-Cap Value Funds |
| Tech Funds |
| Saturday Screen Roundup |
| A Tale of Whoa! Sector fund average returns over the last year |
| Source: Morningstar. Annualized performance figures through March 9. |
| Leading Sector Funds | ||
| Technology Funds | ||
| Fund | 3-Year Annualized | 1-Year Return |
| (ICTEX Quote - Cramer on ICTEX - Stock Picks)Icon Information Technology | 41.1% | -19.8% |
| (DTGRX Quote - Cramer on DTGRX - Stock Picks)Dreyfus Premier Technology | 31.4 | -61.2 |
| (PPTIX Quote - Cramer on PPTIX - Stock Picks)North Track PSE Tech 100 | 30.8 | -41.0 |
| (RSIFX Quote - Cramer on RSIFX - Stock Picks)RS Information Age | 21.5 | -52.8 |
| (ATEYX Quote - Cramer on ATEYX - Stock Picks)Alliance Technology Adv | 17.6 | -50.1 |
| Health Funds | ||
| (MAHCX Quote - Cramer on MAHCX - Stock Picks)Merrill Lynch Healthcare A | 19.9 | 8.1 |
| Financial Services Funds | ||
| (ICFSX Quote - Cramer on ICFSX - Stock Picks)Icon Financial | 12.7 | 63.0 |
| (RPFGX Quote - Cramer on RPFGX - Stock Picks)Davis Financial A | 10.4 | 44.0 |
| (TFSIX Quote - Cramer on TFSIX - Stock Picks)Mutual Financial Services | 9.8 | 59.1 |
| Utilities Funds | ||
| (AUIYX Quote - Cramer on AUIYX - Stock Picks)Alliance Utility Income A | 17.2 | 11.2 |
| (GASFX Quote - Cramer on GASFX - Stock Picks)American Gas Index | 15.2 | 44.4 |
| (SAMUX Quote - Cramer on SAMUX - Stock Picks)Strong American Utilities | 13.8 | 28.2 |
| (INUTX Quote - Cramer on INUTX - Stock Picks)AXP Utilities Income A | 12.8 | 6.8 |
| (PUTLX Quote - Cramer on PUTLX - Stock Picks)Principal Utilities A | 11.5 | 8.3 |
| Natural Resources Funds | ||
| (ICENX Quote - Cramer on ICENX - Stock Picks)Icon Energy | 23.3 | 66.4 |
| (FSTEX Quote - Cramer on FSTEX - Stock Picks)Invesco Energy Inv | 22.6 | 49.6 |
| (UMESX Quote - Cramer on UMESX - Stock Picks)Excelsior Energy & Natural Resources | 18.7 | 35.9 |
| (MAGRX Quote - Cramer on MAGRX - Stock Picks)Merrill Lynch Natural Resources A | 15.6 | 43.3 |
| (VGENX Quote - Cramer on VGENX - Stock Picks)Vanguard Energy | 12.0 | 39.9 |
| (PRNEX Quote - Cramer on PRNEX - Stock Picks)T. Rowe Price New Era | 10.7 | 32.9 |
| Communications Funds | ||
| (TISHX Quote - Cramer on TISHX - Stock Picks)Flag Investors Communications | 12.8 | -42.0 |
| S&P 500 Index | ||
| S&P 500 | 6.8 | -11.0 |
| Source: Morningstar. Annualized performance figures through March 9. | ||
Tech Funds
If you're brave enough to be shopping tech funds in this market, here's a few you might consider. A couple of the tech funds that made our list have distinct styles. In running the no-load
(ICTEX Quote - Cramer on ICTEX - Stock Picks)Icon Information Technology fund, lead manager Craig Callahan uses quantitative models to rotate among stocks in several tech industries, hunting for undervalued stocks. It seems his definition of a tech stock is broader than Morningstar's, however, because the fund had only 35% of its money in tech stocks according to the Chicago fund-tracking group. The broker-sold (PPTIX Quote - Cramer on PPTIX - Stock Picks)North Track PSE Tech 100 fund tracks the PSE Tech 100 Index. Despite its name and due to its price-weighted structure, biotech shops like Genentech(DNA Quote - Cramer on DNA - Stock Picks) and Amgen(AMGN Quote - Cramer on AMGN - Stock Picks) get a bigger weighting than networking titan Cisco Systems(CSCO Quote - Cramer on CSCO - Stock Picks). The other tech funds on our list are less eclectic. The no-load (RSIFX Quote - Cramer on RSIFX - Stock Picks)RS Information Age fund, run by Ron Elijah and Roderick Berry, and the broker-sold (DTGRX Quote - Cramer on DTGRX - Stock Picks)Dreyfus Premier Technology fund, run by Mark Herskovitz, tend to trade frequently among stocks of fast-growing tech shops. The broker-sold (ATEYX Quote - Cramer on ATEYX - Stock Picks)Alliance Technology fund, run by Peter Anastos and Gerald Malone, takes a less aggressive buy and hold approach. Other than those on our list, the no-load (TVFQZ Quote - Cramer on TVFQZ - Stock Picks)Firsthand Technology Value and (TLFQX Quote - Cramer on TLFQX - Stock Picks)Firsthand Technology Leaders funds, both managed by tech guru and CNBC darling Kevin Landis, are worth a look. Both funds missed our cut because of higher expenses than their peers, but Landis' track record is solid (to hear from the guy himself, check out this recent
10 Questions interview). Though the Technology Value fund has narrowly lagged its peers over the past year with a 64.4% drop, its 27.8% five-year annualized return beats 98% of its peers. And the Tech Leaders fund, which tends to chart a less-aggressive course, beats its peers over the past one- and three-year periods. Its 27.2% annualized gain over the past three years beats more than 90% of its competitors, according to Morningstar. Two other tech possibilities are the Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares(QQQ Quote - Cramer on QQQ - Stock Picks) and the (FSPTX Quote - Cramer on FSPTX - Stock Picks)Fidelity Select Technology fund, which levies a maximum 3% sales charge or load. The Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares track the Nasdaq 100, the largest 100 nonfinancial stocks traded on the Nasdaq, and trade on the American Stock Exchange like a stock. The Fido Select Tech fund didn't make the cut because it changes managers every year or two, like most Fido sector funds, and its 67.7% tumble over the past year lags its peers. Still, Fidelity's deep bench of analysts has earned the Boston shop's sector funds a solid reputation. This fund's 22.8% 10-year annualized return beats more than 80% of its peers. 


