The Big Screen: Leading Mid-Cap and Small-Cap Value Funds

If you don't own a small- or mid-cap value fund, this year shows you why it's a bad idea to ignore these wallflowers.

Screen Gems: High Returns, Low Fees and Steady Management

Big-Cap Value Funds

Big-Cap Growth Funds

Tech Funds

Saturday Screen Roundup

These funds comprise some 15% of a diversified portfolio using the Wilshire 5000 as a yardstick, but like a backup singer who steals the show, they're the two top-performing stock-fund categories so far this year. If you're not familiar with them, let's look at how these funds invest, how they've performed over the long-term and then sift out some solid performers from their somewhat thin ranks.

As you might surmise from the name, these funds essentially hunt for bargains among the stock market's small fry. The median market capitalizations of small- and mid-cap value funds' portfolios are $1.1 billion and $7.9 billion, respectively, compared to $66.9 billion for the (VFINX Quote)Vanguard 500 Index fund, which tracks the S&P 500. They typically focus on companies with decent earnings growth and a cheap valuation relative to their peers, the broader market or some combination of the two. ...