Funds Notebook: As Internet Fund Falters, Kinetics Rolls Out Health Fund

Kinetics Asset Management, adviser of the once-white-hot (WWWFX Quote)Internet fund, launched a second venture last week, the Medical fund. But the health fund's lack of a track record and the Internet fund's flagging third-quarter performance could cast a long shadow on Kinetics' new portfolio.

The no-load Medical fund focuses on stocks of cancer research and treatment companies as well as gene-therapy firms and medical-instrument makers. The fund's prospectus lists Kinetics Chief Strategist Peter Doyle as the day-to-day manager. But since his sector specialties are finance, utilities and real estate investment trusts, or REITs, the analytical heavy lifting will be done by co-manager Bruce Abel, a mechanical engineer with a background in nuclear physics, computer programming and industrial design.

The fund was not incubated -- managed with the adviser's money prior to launch -- so it has no performance record. ...