Gabelli says value funds will maintain value
From Mutual Funds Magazine Online
Five of Mario Gabelli's top ten stocks in his concentrated Gabelli Value fund were also his top ten three years ago. When picking businesses to invest in Gabelli believes a good pick does not change so quickly. "I'm a wealth builder by picking stocks when no one else wants them. I buy straw hats in winter," Gabelli said. He thinks this style of fund is becoming more attractive as people realize that chasing the hot stock of the moment can often burn holes in investors pockets. If Gabelli is right the funds that put their eggs in fewer baskets and watch them closely will only gain popularity.

Diversification pays off
From Detroit Free Press
Mutual funds which invested in a broad range of stocks outperformed the best of big-company stock funds last quarter. Nearly 69% of general U.S. stock funds beat the S&P 500 index funds regardless of whether they were small-cap funds, mid-cap, micro-cap, natural resources, emerging markets funds, or Canadian funds. All these funds did better than the S&P 500 index funds, which were up an average 6.85% for the second quarter.

No lunch, no guests
From Investment News
The attendance at mutual fund shareholders meetings is almost non-existent -- especially if there is no lunch to draw investors. Attendance has been so low lately that many fund shops haven't even bothered to hold them, especially because investors ultimately bear the costs involved. The easy communication via the Internet and 24-hour telephone service has made communication between fund complexes and shareholders much more regular and user-friendly. This has contributed to the eclipse of the traditional annual meeting. Most open-end funds are now able to get away without holding shareholder meetings because they are registered in states that don't require them unless shareholders are voting on proxy proposals. Closed-end funds, on the other hand, must hold them according to the rules of the exchanges on which they trade.

Mutual fund managers wanted
From Investment News
America's biggest brokerage house, Merrill Lynch & Co., is on the prowl for mutual fund managers, marketers and idea people to help overhaul floundering portfolios. Merrill has historically marketed itself as more objective "financial consultants", so that clients won't think funds are being pushed on them. Of the total mutual fund sales that its 14,000 brokers make, only 40% are Merrill portfolios, off from 60% a few years ago. To combat this downturn they have taken managers from Goldman Sachs, OppenheimerFunds Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. The brokerage house is also planning to add more growth funds, especially aggressive growth, sector funds and quantitative funds.  

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