Top Funds of 2011 Driven by Tech, Energy
BOSTON (TheStreet) -- With barely a month down in 2011, investors are making the most money from large-cap mutual funds in anticipation of a long-awaited revival of global economic growth.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
, made up of 30 blue-chip, large-company stocks,
broke the 12,000 level
yesterday for the first time in 2 1/2 years. It has been buoyed by investors' upbeat take on corporate earnings and President Barack Obama's call to overhaul corporate taxes in his
Tuesday.
The
Standard & Poor's 500 Index
is up 2.8% this year, while the
Dow Jones Industrials Average
has risen 3.5%.
Flows into all types of equity mutual funds hit a five-week high of $10.1 billion in the week ending Jan. 19, of which $6.9 billion flowed into U.S. stock funds. Bond funds have suffered outflows. It was the sixth week of net inflows to stock funds in the past seven weeks, amounting to total inflows of $17.3 billion for the period, and most of it went to large-cap funds, said EPFR Global, a provider of fund flows and asset-allocation data.
That's a stark reversal from 2010, when U.S. equity funds had outflows of $49 billion.
In terms of performance through Jan. 25, technology mutual funds led the pack with a 3.2% return, followed by industrial funds, 3%; large-cap value funds, 2.5%; health funds, 2.4%; and large-cap blend funds, 2.3% return, according to Morningstar.
ProFunds Short Precious Metals
(SPPIX) - Get Report
led all funds in terms of performance through Jan. 25, with a return of 13% this year. The fund is essentially a hedge that gold and other precious metals prices will fall, so as gold slides, it rides. Its long-term record is abysmal: ProFunds Short Precious Metals lost 34% last year and has a five-year average return of minus 24%.
Behind it is
Cambiar Aggressive Value Investor
(CAMAX) - Get Report
, up 11% this year and 51% over the past year. Brian Barish, its manager since August 2007, has loaded up the fund with computer-hardware and energy stocks.
The large-cap value fund has made several recent investments in oil-field services companies. In a prescient bet, Barish added 70,000 shares of
Halliburton
(HAL) - Get Report
during the period ending Nov. 30, making it the fund's largest allocation at a whopping 9%.
Although its shares are down 1.5% this year, Halliburton on Monday reported that fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year earlier because of international demand as well as record U.S. revenue on the industry's rush to exploit shale formations in North America.
Halliburton said revenue and earnings growth will continue through 2011 as high oil prices drive demand for drilling and oil-rig services globally. Its shares gained 37% in 2010, more than twice that of the S&P 500.
Another new portfolio addition to Cambiar in the most recent reporting period was oil-field-services provider
Key Energy
(KEG) - Get Report
, now at 5.3% of the fund. Key's shares gained 48% in 2010 but are down 6.3% this year. Last week, FBR Capital reiterated its "outperform" rating on the company and raised its price target to $16 from $13, citing "favorable secular trends."
Other top holdings of Cambiar include: international oil-and-gas firm
Repsol YPF
( REP), at 8.3%, and
Flextronics International
(FLEX) - Get Report
, a Singapore-based electronics-assembly contractor, which is 7.5% of the fund.
But the fund's returns this year have been buttressed by Canadian transportation conglomerate
Bombardier
( BBD.B), up 18%;
On Semiconductor
(ONNN)
, up 14%; and
European Aeronautic Defense
(EAD) - Get Report
, up 19%.
Another large-cap fund off to a quick start is the $2 billion
AllianceBernstein Large Cap Growth Fund
(APGAX) - Get Report
, up 6% this year and 21% over the past 12 months. It's counting on technology darlings
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
, the maker of the iPad and iPhone, at 7.5% of the fund, and the Internet search engine
(GOOG) - Get Report
, 5.2% of the fund.
Others in its top five include
Alcon
( ACL), a leading maker of an array of eye-care products, investment bank
JPMorgan Chase
(JPM) - Get Report
and oil-field-services giant
Schlumberger
(SLB) - Get Report
, all about 4% of the fund.
Schlumberger recently reported that fourth-quarter earnings rose 31%, and its results and that of Halliburton support the view that the oil-field-services sector is poised for a strong growth spurt on expectations that
this year.
AllianceBernstein has a volatile performance record and is coming off a particularly poor 2010, when it returned 9.4% versus the S&P 500's 15%. That put it in the 93rd percentile of large-cap funds, as ranked by Morningstar.
Another strong performer so far this year is
Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund
(GAAEX) - Get Report
, up 8.7%. It's a strict play on alternative-energy stocks and, in particular, solar-energy companies. It may be serving as a counterpoint to rising oil and gas prices for some investors, but its long-term prospects are what attract most investors to the $38 million fund.
Its top picks are three Chinese companies:
ReneSola
(SOL) - Get Report
, a maker of the crystalline raw material used to make solar wafers, at 5.2% of the fund;
LDK Solar
(LDK)
, the world's largest manufacturer of solar wafers, at 5.2%; and
JA Solar Holdings
(JASO)
, at 4.8%.
ReneSola is the star of the group, with its shares up 18% this year after a gain of 84% in 2010.
As could be expected for a fund that is so focused, Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy's returns are volatile. Last year, it lost 21% of its value.
Also off to a quick start this year is the $1.2 billion
Fidelity Select Electronics Fund
(FSELX) - Get Report
, up 6.7%. Its biggest holding, at 9.9% of the fund, is
Marvell Technology
(MRVL) - Get Report
, up 6.7% this year. A top performer is its fourth-largest holding, at 4.9%,
Micron Technology
(MU) - Get Report
, up 24%. But the hottest stock in the fund is a maker of graphics-processor chips,
Nvidia
(NVDA) - Get Report
, up 56%.
Fidelity Select Electronics gained 17% in 2010 and 85% the year before. Its performance can be volatile since the portfolio typically has a big allocation to semiconductor stocks.
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