Hartford Capital Appreciation Shines

It isn't easy following in the footsteps of one of the best funds around. But (HCTAX Quote)Hartford Capital Appreciation II (HCTAX) is certainly off to a great start.

Since it was launched just under two years ago, the fund has returned 41%. Not only is that nearly twice as good as Wall Street over the period -- it's even beating the original fund, (ITHAX Quote)Hartford Capital Appreciation I (ITHAX), by a small margin.

Both funds are managed by Wellington, the blue-chip and extremely private Boston investment partnership. Capital Appreciation I -- which I have in my 401(k) plan -- is run by Wellington veteran Saul Pannell. Its younger sister is divided into five slices, each run independently by a separate sub-manager. Pannell is one. But the biggest slice -- $150 million of the fund's $500 million -- is run by eight-year Wellington manager Michael Carmen. ...