Top Hybrid Funds in April: CGM Mutual
Although the list of the 10 top performing equity-fixed income "hybrid" mutual funds is dominated by six asset-allocation vehicles, a traditional balanced fund captured the top spot by a comfortable margin.
The
CGM Mutual Fund
(LOMMX) - Get Report
has established a habit of turning in double-digit annual returns in the 27 years since Kenneth Heebner assumed the helm. In April, it jumped into double digits in a single month.
With 9.25% of its portfolio in
Brazilian Petroleum Corp. ADR
(PBR) - Get Report
and 6.53% in
Schlumberger
(SLB) - Get Report
, the price surge in petroleum boosted LOMMX to an 11.88% total return for the month. With 32% of the fund's assets, energy was a dominant force in the CGM fund's portfolio.
Whereas balanced funds tend to hold a relatively steady ratio of roughly 60% to 80% in equity investments, with the remainder primarily in fixed-income investments, asset allocation funds have a broader mandate that allows their managers to adjust their proportions more radically.
The energy sector also helped the
Purisima Total Return Fund
(PURIX)
secure the second spot in the hybrid category for the month. Its top holding is Schlumberger, followed by German electronics giant
Siemens AG ADR
(SI) - Get Report
. Other major energy holdings in PURIX's portfolio include
Baker Hughes
(BHI)
,
Transocean
(RIG) - Get Report
and
Total SA ADR
(TOT) - Get Report
.
Aside from the CGM fund, the only two funds on the adjoining list with positive results year to date are convertible funds. The
Franklin Convertible Securities Fund
(FISCX) - Get Report
and the
Fidelity Convertible Securities Fund
(FCVSX) - Get Report
were each up more than 7% in April and fractionally above water for the year so far.
Richard Widows is a senior financial analyst for TheStreet.com Ratings. Prior to joining TheStreet.com, Widows was senior product manager for quantitative analytics at Thomson Financial. After receiving an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University in California, his career included development of investment information systems at data firms, including the Lipper division of Reuters. His international experience includes assignments in the U.K. and East Asia.