In that last post I noted that he was lagging the Russian market by about 35 percentage points. As of that day (12/27/2005) the index was up 83% and TMRFX was 47% for 2005. The segment today focused on year-to-date.
Year to date for 2006 the fund is lagging again. Once in an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times.....
In 2004 the fund outperformed the index for most of the year but then lost its lead at the end of the year (it is possible that the chart is not accounting for the year end distribution properly).
The fund also lagged in 2003.
I'm not sure why the fund gets such a high rating. In recent years it has lagged a lot of the time. If you hired a student to manage a fund and the pool of stocks he can choose from all goes up a lot, what do you think the results will be? They'd be pretty good whether they beat the average or not.
TMRFX might be a great way to invest in Russia but unless I am missing something, there is not much value being added which makes it reasonable to question Mr. Connor's understanding of the country.
6 comments:
Roger I love you, BUT if this fund is NOT in your opinion doing a good job then what fund would YOU recommend in it's place for Russia after comparing the Russian Funds you like?? Sometimes it is easy to tear something down and hard to put something up that is better in it's place!
I said the fund might be a great way to invest in Russia. I am questionining Mr. Connor's understanding. If Russia is up a lot, 2005, the fund will be up a lot. Both were up a lot in 2005. The consistent lag makes me think the managers are not that in touch, but I could be wrong. Their returns could almost be thought of as shooting ducks in a barrel.
There are certain stocks the fund has to own. There are so few stocks to choose from that the fund will stay close most of the time whether the managers are rocket scientists or not.
That does not ensure any extraordinary understanding of the country.
Roger,
IF this fund is not your cup of tea in Russia then please tell me a few funds in Russia that you beleive are far superior??
I have no OEF alternative. A couple of clients with a high tolerance for volatility own CEE. Beyond that I would rather find a stock instead of an OEF.
My post is about whether the manager has any insightful forward looking analysis to offer if he lags more often than not.
I'm in the ING Russia Fund (LETRX) and it tends to mirror the Russia index Roger has referred to a couple of times. It also looks like the ING Fund outperforms the Third Millenium fund. Thoughts?
Hello, I see you all have some good comments about TMRFX and Russia Funds. If ou have any questions you feel I can answer for you as a member of TMRFX, I would be glad to do my best to help!
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