We're trotting out the gloomy numbers again:
- More than 7,000 mutual funds are vying for your investment bucks.
- Fewer than 25% of them actually outperform the S&P 500 over the long haul.
And?
Even stock investors searching for the 10 best stocks should pay attention, because more than 90 million Americans own mutual funds. (Just think of what's stuffed in your 401(k).) So the news that most funds lag lazy indexes should be taken sitting down.
Drum roll, please ...
There are, however, great funds out there ready to make you money. The 10 best-performing mutual funds of the past 10 years:
|
Fund |
10-Year |
Recent Top Holdings |
|---|---|---|
|
Wasatch Micro Cap (WMICX) |
24.8% |
O2 Micro, China Hongxing Sports, Big 5 Sporting Goods |
|
Kinetics Internet (WWWFX) |
23.0% |
Leucadia National, NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq Stock Market |
|
Bjurman, Barry Micro-Cap |
22.9% |
Air Methods, Dynamic Materials, Diodes |
|
Bridgeway Ultra-Small |
22.7% |
Cal-Maine Foods |
|
FMI Focus (FMIOX) |
21.0% |
iShares S&P SmallCap 600, Kennametal, |
|
Bruce (BRUFX) |
20.9% |
Arena Resources, ATP Oil & Gas, Amerco |
|
CGM Realty (CGMRX) |
20.7% |
Rio Tinto, CVRD, Jones Lang LaSalle |
|
Bridgeway Aggressive |
20.4% |
Crocs, McDermott, Garmin |
|
T. Rowe Price |
19.3% |
American Tower, Crown Castle, MetroPCS |
|
Quaker Strategic Growth (QUAGX) |
18.9% |
Freeport McMoRan, Transocean, Potash Corp. |
OK, so small caps have done well over the past decade ... that doesn't help us going forward. What's worse, three of the 10 best funds are now closed to new investors.
But that's OK. You don't want to chase past performance anyway.
The foundation of greatness
Let's take a step back, and see what we can learn from the 100 top-performing funds.
|
Metric |
Domestic Stock |
Top 100 Funds |
|---|---|---|
|
Manager tenure |
3.8 years |
7.5 years |
|
Expense ratio |
1.42% |
1.15% |
|
10-year return vs. S&P 500 |
0.7% |
8.7% |
The best funds of the past 10 years had, on average, longer-tenured managers and charged less to manage your money. Those two facts are so important that they bear repeating: The best mutual funds of the past 10 years had long-tenured managers who charged less to earn you more money.
Even better, 76 of the 100 best mutual funds of the past decade did not charge loads -- the onerous upfront sales fees that some funds try to get away with charging.
For all 90 million of you ...
So, if you're looking to invest in one of the best mutual funds of the next 10 years, you know where to start: with long-tenured managers who don't charge you an arm and a leg to invest.
Not coincidentally, that's the drum our team at Motley Fool Champion Funds has been beating for years, and to great success. Those are some of the very first characteristics we screen for in prospective funds, and Champion Funds has found success with that formula: Recommended funds are up 28% on average, while their relevant benchmarks are up 15%.
If you'd like to see our entire list of recommended funds, click here to join the service free for 30 days. One of the next decade's best performers just might be lurking therein.
This article was originally published Aug. 11, 2006. It has been updated.
Tim Hanson owns shares of Dawson Geophysical. Brian Richards does not own shares of any company or fund mentioned in this article. NYSE Euronext is a Rule Breakers recommendation. Garmin is a Stock Advisor recommendation. Dawson Geophysical is a Motley Fool Hidden Gems pick. Nasdaq Stock Market is an Inside Value selection. The Fool's disclosure policy never underperforms.
