Just Say No to Magellan

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The Fidelity Magellan (FUND: FMAGX) factory is swinging open its storied gates. Amid a media frenzy that would do Willy Wonka proud, the iconic Magellan mutual fund is reopening after a decade of being closed to new investors.

This is big news. Magellan is the fund that put Fidelity -- if not the entire mutual fund industry -- on the map. You're going to be curious about what unfolds, and I don't blame you. We all want to sneak a peek inside and take a snapshot of the Oompa-Loompas.

My advice for you, though, is to rip that golden ticket to shreds.

You heard me.

New investors don't know what they're getting into. They're enamored with a fund that did great things a generation ago. They believe that Peter Lynch's money-managing prowess still permeates walls.

They're wrong, of course. Lynch left the fund 18 years ago, and the fund has gone through several lead managers in that time. Shareowners have also left the building. Since its peak eight years ago, when assets topped $100 billion, the fund has suffered net outflows every year.

I'm not knocking the fund itself. Of course inflows will be hard to come by when you restrict new investments to existing retirement accounts. However, even with the asset base shrunk to just shy of $45 billion, the fund isn't the same nimble player Lynch inherited when it was an $18 million dog 31 years ago.

Harry Lange has done a respectable job since taking over as fund manager in the latter half of 2005. Some of the fund's stateside investments are heavy on the adrenaline, including Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). He has also taken a global approach to making the stock a contender. As of November, the fund's largest holding was Finland's Nokia (NYSE: NOK), at 6% of the fund's assets.

Some of Lange's other foreign growth-stock investments you might not associate with a blue-chip specialist include China's Ctrip.com (Nasdaq: CTRP), Suntech Power (NYSE: STP), and Mexican wireless provider America Movil (NYSE: AMX).

Lange's globetrotting picks have helped fatten returns lately -- especially last year, when the fund trounced most of its rivals with a heady 19% gain. However, the fund failed to beat the S&P 500 in four of five previous years.

In short, you can find better-performing funds that don't have to carry around an awkward $45 billion in net assets. For starters, Amanda Kish recommends winning funds every month to her Champion Funds subscribers.

Let the media gawk as Magellan's gates are flung open. You know where the real golden tickets are.