Latin America Sizzling for Merrill's Will Landers

U.S. stocks have been spinning their wheels all year, slowly sinking in the process. Meanwhile, Latin American stocks continue to cruise at warp speed, rising more than 30% year to date.

Latin America fund investors surely aren't complaining about the outsized returns, but are their expectations getting a bit warped as well?

Don't take your foot off the Latin fund pedal just yet, says Will Landers, portfolio manager for the $239 million (MDLTX Quote)Merrill Lynch Latin America fund. Landers remains bullish on Latin America even if the U.S. economy starts to sag, oil prices fall and interest rates move higher -- a trio of events that has traditionally sunk South American stocks. According to Morningstar, Landers' fund is up 35% this year, after an impressive 43% increase in 2004. ...