10 Questions: At Charles Bath's New Value Fund, There's No Room for Tech

Click on the company name to jump to Bath's comments on the stock.

Black & Decker

Brunswick

Centex

ConocoPhilips

Countrywide

Maytag

Merck

Pfizer

Schering-Plough

SunGard Data Systems

Trinity Industries

It might seem unusual to devote this week's 10 Questions to a mutual fund that has a mere $3 million in assets under management. However, it's also unusual to find a $3 million fund managed by a skipper whose previous fund turned in a 20-year streak of successive positive years.

The fund is (DHLCX Quote)Diamond Hill Large Cap, and the manager is Charles Bath. Bath joined the tiny fund in September, after running the $1.5 billion (NWFAX Quote)Gartmore Total Return fund (formerly the Nationwide Fund) since 1985. From 1978 to 1998, his fund stayed in the black. Then, in 1999 -- when pimple-faced fund newbies were posting triple-digit returns -- Bath posted a fractional loss because he stuck to his investment guns. He says he's proud of his performance in 1999, and he's overjoyed to be taking his expertise and impressive record to a new shop.

Why does a fund manager skip out on a $1.5 billion fund to manage an unheralded fund with $3 million in assets? Why did he bypass the 1999 mania? Looking forward, why does he say tech has no place in his value fund? To find the answers to these questions and more (and a lot of stock picks), read on.

1. These days, people are finding value in funny places -- semiconductor-equipment makers and telecom outfits, for example. How do you define value and where are you finding it? ...