Fund Spy: Morningstar's Inside Secrets to Selecting Mutual Funds that Outperform

by Russel Kinnel, Don Phillips (Foreword by)

Overview

If you're serious about picking the right investments for your portfolio, Fund Spy will put you on the right track.

Nobody is more familiar with mutual funds than author Russel Kinnel, the Director of Mutual Fund Research for Morningstar, Inc. and Editor of Morningstar® FundInvestor, a monthly newsletter for individual investors. He has spent over 15 years researching mutual funds and meeting with the people who manage them. Now, with Fund Spy, he offers unparalleled guidance that will sharpen your investing skills and help you find the best funds for your portfolio.

Filled with in-depth insights and expert advice, Fund Spy arms you with the information needed to intelligently screen and select a variety of funds. While both effective new strategies and time-tested techniques are outlined throughout this reliable resource, all of the methods here will help you avoid common mistakes and outperform the average investor.

Page by page, Fund Spy puts this process in perspective with detailed discussion of:

• How to find managers who invest millions of their own money in their funds

• Why fund expenses really matter

• Using a fund's performance to understand its risk and reward profile, as well as its behavior in different types of markets

• How to find great fund managers and teams

• And much more

Combining quantitative data with qualitative research, Kinnel highlights key factors that drive fund performance and writes candidly about the industry's conflicts of interest that can harm investors.

Don't settle for high-cost, poorly run funds simply because they fell into your portfolio or someone is touting them. Follow the guidance found in Fund Spy and you'll quickly discover what it takes to research and buy the right funds. Three months from now, you may not see a difference, but you will see a dramatic difference in five or 10 years, when the power of compounding has substantially grown your portfolio and put more money in your pocket.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470473498
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	03/23/2009
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	194
File size:	996 KB

About the Author

Russel Kinnel is Director of Mutual Fund Research for Morningstar and Editor of Morningstar FundInvestor, a monthly newsletter for individual investors. He also oversees Morningstar's Fund Analyst Picks and Pans and writes the "Fund Spy" column for Morningstar.com. He joined the company in 1994 and holds a bachelor's degree in economics and journalism from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of Internet, software, and print-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on more than 290,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles. The company has operations in 18 countries and minority ownership positions in companies based in three other countries.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xv

Chapter 1: The Remarkable Gap Between Winners and Losers 1

Chapter 2: Does Your Manager Eat His Own Cooking? 9

Chapter 3: New Trading Cost Estimates Shed Light on a Big Mystery 17

Chapter 4: The Power of Expense Ratios Is Greater Than You Think 25

Chapter 5: How to Use Total Returns Wisely 35

Chapter 6: Understanding Mutual Fund Strategies and Fundamental Risk 45

Chapter 7: How to Find Good Managers and Avoid the Dodgy Ones 69

Chapter 8: The Inside Scoop on No-Load Fund Companies 77

Chapter 9: The Inside Scoop on Broker-Sold Fund Companies 99

Chapter 10: Twenty Great Funds That Passed My Test 111

Appendix A: The Best of Eleven Years of Fund Spies 121

Appendix B: Vital Statistics on the 20 Funds That Passed Our Test 153

Glossary 157

About the Author 169

Index 171