The Best Growth Funds this Year to Put Your Stock Investments Into
The trend, if you can see it by the way Wall Street has fared in this recession, is that companies that are more out there, living life on the edge, taking risks for a better return, are the ones that are the least affected. People with stock investments in the little companies, the ones they hoped would somehow buck the trend, actually did do just that, perhaps because the little companies felt they had so little to lose, they could take risks. They took their risks, and they came out on top. Not that your stocks in these companies really made you a profit; they took such a beating in the first half of the year, and they are just climbing back to where they left off. There are funds out there that only take on large and growing companies; and these have performed really well. All the talk in the papers now is about how you could consider it pretty good if you invest in a large and growing company and have it climb about 20%. There are some out there that actually go twice as far. So apparently, the mantra for stock investments in 2010 is, go for the large company. And if you invest in a fund that deals in these companies, you'd do pretty well, whether or not it is a bullish market this year.
But if you think about it, investing in American stocks was what got you into trouble. We still seem to be a little iffy on finding the correct capitalism mix of freedom versus regulation. But what if you looked east, at China or India? They welcome your investment dollars, and those companies really seem much more robust than the local ones. If you want, you could check out something called the MCSI Emerging Markets Index to find out what countries are doing best. Making your stock investments through growth funds is a smart idea now. It will make you less nervous. And if you want to invest in foreign markets, this would help you get the mix between local and foreign markets exactly right. The trick, though, is, not to put all your eggs in one growth fund, but to spread the risk.
I personally have my money on a few growth funds out there. Masters Select International seems to be professionally run. They split their business among several managers, each offering their own areas of expertise, and all of them are under the direct supervision of respected mutual fund analysts. You could plant a third of your money in here, and they would invest a third of that in countries down in Latin America and over in Asia. T. Rowe Price has a great emerging markets product too; they did take a beating earlier with the economic recession, but they more than made up for it with an 80% escalation. Or how about going with this growth fund for small company stock investments that grow aggressively? They're pretty respectable, you know.
For the local part of your stock investments mix, Primecap Odyssey Growth and Fairholme are a great way to go. They've been in business for about 25 years now, and have a terrific return rate that is above what the Standard&Poor would have you settle for. They take your money to make stock investments in large companies, and are pretty stable. Well, that's the word on the street (and that's Wall Street) at least, and we could trust that.