The World According to GARP
Discerning this fund's facts from fiction
One of the great things about a market that has toppled from
very lofty heights is the opportunity it holds-particularly for
those who don't mind taking risks in the large-cap arena and
prefer investing in growth stocks that are priced right.
52%
of investors say they've had to reduce
personal discretionary spending because of rising energy
costs.
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Jay Sekelsky, portfolio manager of the Mosaic Focus Fund, is a
growth at-a-reasonable-price (GARP) investor. Because his portfolio
is a focused one, typically holding between 12 and 18 stocks,
it's considered riskier than those holding more names.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, however: According to
Lipper Analytical Services, the fund was up more than 5.35 percent
in June, while most large-cap growth funds were down more than 13
percent. And, while the holdings are limited, the companies in it
are made up of familiar brand names: McDonald's and Target, to
name a few.
"We're trying to avoid any real big hits to the
portfolio," explains Sekelsky. "So preservation of
capital is an important element. And we try to pick solid 15
percent-type growth stocks where the growth can be consistently
achieved, as opposed to those 25 to 30 percent growth stocks that
can be more volatile."
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While this fund has had its ups and downs, the year-end total
return in 2000 was 10.7 percent. Bargain hunters who like the GARP
investment style might find the fund worth investigating.
Dian Vujovich is an author, syndicated columnist and
publisher of fund investing site www.fundfreebies.com.
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