Energy Manager Buys With an Eye on U.S. Growth

The energy story isn't over by a long shot.

"Any long-term portfolio must have a significant energy stake," says Kent Croft, co-portfolio manager of the (CLVFX Quote)Croft Value fund. "We have entered a new era of higher energy prices primarily for three reasons: geopolitical risk, supply constraints and global growth."

Croft's multi-cap, go-anywhere fund has certainly benefited from the run-up in energy prices. Almost 15% of the $30 million portfolio is in energy stocks. The fund is up nearly 17% year to date, 11 percentage points better than the S&P 500. It has returned an average of 17.5% annually over the past five years, 5.6 percentage points better than the index. ...