Marsico Capital to Launch International Fund

In a move that could justify some suspicions that the most attractive investment opportunities are overseas, growth-specialist Marsico Capital Management plans to roll out its first international fund in July.

High-profile founder Tom Marsico won't hold the reins. Who will is a mystery.

Marsico International Opportunities will be an all-cap growth fund that will follow the high-octane, concentrated growth style Marsico employs on his (MFOCX)Focus and (MGRIX)Growth & Income funds. He used the same approach when he ran (JAVLX)Janus Twenty from 1988 to 1997.

The new Marsico fund will primarily invest in growth stocks in developed foreign markets, although it can buy shares in emerging markets as well, according to preliminary paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday. The fund will hold between 35 and 50 stocks at any given time.

But who will pick those stocks? That's a secret. In a bit of fund-world espionage, Marsico officials say they've plucked a manager from another shop, but will not name him or her for a few weeks. The manager will join the Denver fund shop next month, according the fund's SEC filings.

The new fund won't levy a sales charge, but it will charge a 0.25% annual 12b-1 marketing fee to pay a broker's commission. The fund's projected 1.6% annual expenses are less than the average stock fund, which charges 1.77%, according to Morningstar.

Investors are hotter for tech and telecom funds than for international funds, but no doubt the Marsico label will help the fund stand out from the crowd. He launched his eponymous funds at the end of 1997 and they already have nearly $5 billion in assets. Add in the numerous funds the firm sub-advises and total assets under management more than triples to nearly $17 billion.

Investors might not even balk at a Marsico fund without the man himself at the helm. Both Focus and Growth & Income are up more than 50% over the past year, beating their peers and the S&P 500 index, thanks to helpings of pricey technology and telecommunications stocks like Cisco (CSCO) and Qualcomm (QCOM). More recently, however, they trail their average peer.

21st Century Growth, the firm's first non-Marsico fund, which launched Feb. 1 with James Hillary holding the reins, is already up 39.1%. Focus and Growth & Income are up 6.2% and 8.1%, respectively, since Jan. 1.

The new fund will expand the firm's international research efforts, confirmed a Marsico official. That could provide more ideas for other funds, which can invest as much as they'd like overseas.

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