GE, Alleghany Have Outstanding Prospects Says Osterweis Manager

The recent raft of unsettling headlines regarding global terror, rising rates and a drop in consumer spending should not keep investors out of the market, said John Osterweis, chief investment officer for the Osterweis Funds. 'The U.S. economy continues to expand, inflation remains low, we are still the best economy in the world at this point and so investors should not be overly skittish about the outlook for 2016,' said Osterweis. Osterweis is also a co-portfolio manager for the Osterweis Strategic Investment Fund (OSTVX), which is down 4.8% year-to-date, according to fund-tracker Morningstar. Osterweis is bullish on GE (GE), which has seen its shares rise over 20% so far in 2015. The company’s stock broke the $30 level in October for the first time since the financial crisis of 2008. 'They built a big finance division and they are liquidating that, taking the cash and buying back stock, focusing the company very much on the industrial businesses which are superbly run,' said Osterweis. 'As those businesses grow, I think the stock will gain a great following.' He is also positive on Alleghany Coporation (Y), which is up over 8% year-to-date, saying the property and casualty insurer is tremendously well-managed and quietly grows its book value 8% to 10% a year.