Scout Mid Cap Fund (UMBMX)

Domestic stock mutual funds can be categorized into three main categories: large cap domestic stock fund, mid cap domestic funds, and small cap domestic funds. One of this best mid cap domestic stock funds is Scout Mid Cap. I have provided this investment fund review and details below.

Scout Mid Cap (MUTF: UMBMX)

The Scout Mid Cap fund is seeking long-term capital growth. This Scout fund typically invests >80% of net assets in mid-cap equity securities. According to the fund’s prospectus, this fund will invest in mid cap companies with market capitalizations between $1.5 billion and $17 billion. The fund invests primarily in securities of U.S. companies, but may invest some of the portfolio in foreign companies (<20% of assets), American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") or Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs").

James Balanced: Golden Rainbow R (GLRBX) Fund

As part of conservative allocation balanced fund, James Balanced Global Rainbow R is also considered among the best balanced fund. The following article will provide the fund’s review and details such as fund’s yield, top 10 holdings, objective, and more.

James Balanced: Golden Rainbow R (Ticker: GLRBX)

The James Balanced: Golden Rainbow fund’s objective is to achieve total return through a combination of growth and income and preservation of capital in declining markets. This James Advantage fund invests mainly in undervalued foreign & domestic equity securities and in fixed income securities. It typically holds both equity securities and fixed income securities, with > 25% of assets in equity securities (stocks) and >25% of assets in fixed income securities (bonds). Some or all of equity portion of the fund may be invested in small and micro capitalization companies.

Fund Details

James Balanced: Global Rainbow R fund

• Fund Inception Date: July 1, 1991
• Ticker Symbol: GLRBX (Retail Class)
• CUSIP: 470259102
• Beta (3yr): 0.62
• Rank in category (YTD): 29%
• Category: Conservative Allocation
• Distribution Rate: 1.16%
• Net Assets: $ 1.12 billion
• Sales Load: 0.0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.12%
• Capital Gains: N/A
• Number of Years Up: 16 years
• Number of Years Down: 3 years

Updated on 10/19/2011

Daily Worst Performer Closed End Funds CEF on Oct 17 2011

Looking into the worst performer funds may provide additional insight for investor. The worst performer closed end funds for October 17th, 2011 are Turkish Investment Fund, Dreyfus Strategy Municipal Bond, Royce Micro-Cap Trust, and more. These funds are rated based on its performance on October 17th, 2011 (Monday).

About Closed End Funds

Closed End Funds are the opposite of mutual funds or open end funds. Closed End Funds are traded like stocks or ETFs on stock exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX). They can be traded during market day at any time. Their market price can be traded either premium or discount to their NAV. Some of these funds may use leverage to enhance the fund’s performance or return.

Worst Performers

The 11 Worst Performer CEFs on October 17, 2011 are:

Daily Worst Performer CEFs

1. Turkish Investment Fund (TKF)
2. Dreyfus Strategy Municipal Bond (DSM)
3. Dreyfus Municipal Income (DMF)
4. J Hancock Bank & Thrift (BTO)
5. Royce Micro-Cap Trust (RMT)
6. Source Capital (SOR)
7. Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunities (HYI)
8. Aberdeen Latin America (LAQ)
9. Latin American Discovery (LDF)
10. Morgan Stanley Eastern Europe (RNE)
11. Cohen & Steers Total Return Realty (RFI)

updated on 10/18/2011

Morgan Stanley Institutional Global Franchise Fund (MSFAX)

This article provides mutual fund review of Morgan Stanley Institutional Global Franchise fund. More details about the fund performance, fund details, yield, and more. As part of world stock fund, this Morgan Stanley fund has been one of the best world stock fund.

Morgan Stanley Institutional Global Franchise I (MSFAX)

The Morgan Stanley Institutional Global Franchise investment fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation. This Morgan Stanley fund invests mainly in world equity securities of companies that have resilient business franchises and growth potential. It typically invests in securities of issuers from >3 different countries, which may include the United States. The fund focuses its holdings in a relatively small number of companies and can invest <25% of assets in a single issuer. It can also invest in the equity securities of any size company and use derivative instruments.

MSFAX Fund Details

Morgan Stanley Inst. Global Franchise

• Fund Inception Date: November 28, 2001
• Ticker Symbol: MSFAX
• CUSIP: 61744J283 
• Beta (3yr): 0.64
• Rank in category (YTD): 1
• Category: World Stock
• Distribution Rate: 2.69%
• Net Assets: $ 179.21 million
• Sales Load: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.0%
• Capital Gains: N/A
• Number of Years Up: 8 years
• Number of Years Down: 1 year

Updated 10/13/2011

Calamos Growth & Income A (CVTRX) Fund

The following article is about Calamos Growth & Income A Fund. As part of best aggressive allocation balanced mutual fund, I’ll provide details about the fund’s review and details including fund’s yield, top holding, sales load and more.

Balanced mutual fund is also known as hybrid fund. This fund usually has assets in bonds and stocks. The portfolio diversification will depend on the fund’s objective. There are 5 types of balanced mutual funds such as Aggressive Allocation, Moderate Allocation, Conservative Allocation, World Allocation, and Retirement Income.

Calamos Growth & Income A (Ticker: CVTRX)

The Calamos Growth & Income fund seeks high long-term total return including capital appreciation and current income. This Calamos fund invests mostly in a diversified portfolio of convertible, equity and fixed-income securities of U.S. companies without regard to market capitalization. The average term to maturity of the convertible and fixed-income securities purchased by the Fund will typically range from two to ten years.

Fund Details

Calamos Growth and Income A

• Fund Inception Date: September 22, 1988
• Ticker Symbol: CVTRX
• CUSIP: 128119104
• Beta (3yr): 1.21
• Rank in category (YTD): 4
• Category: Aggressive Allocation
• Distribution Rate: 1.56%
• Net Assets: $ 4.35 billion
• Sales Load: 4.75%
• Expense Ratio: 1.09%
• Capital Gains:  N/A
• Number of Years Up: 17 years
• Number of Years Down: 5 years

Updated on 10/16/2011

Top Performer Closed End Funds of Week 41, 2011

The following is the top performer CEFs for week 41 of 2011. The top performing funds include Alpine Global Premier Properties, Foxby Corporation, ING International High Dividend Equity Income and more.

These past 2 weeks have been great for investor. The market provided double digit returns. Closed End Funds were among the top performing funds. The following funds have returned 10% or higher for the past week. Majority of these outperformers are global equity funds, growth funds, real estate sector funds, etc.

The 12 Top Performer Closed End Funds CEFs 2011 (Week 41) are:

1. Alpine Global Premier Properties (AWP)
2. Foxby Corp (FXBY)
3. Equus Total Return (EQS)
4. RENN Global Entrepreneurs (RCG)
5. ING International High Dividend Equity Income (IID)
6. Avenue Income Credit Strategies (ACP)
7. JF China Region Fund (JFC)
8. Templeton Russia & East European (TRF)
9. DCA Total Return Fund (DCA)
10. Lazard World Dividend & Income (LOR)
11. Gabelli Global Utility & Income (GLU)
12. Aberdeen Australia Equity (IAF)

Note: Week 41 = October 10, 2011 till October 16, 2011

Prudential Municipal High-Income A (PRHAX) Fund

Muni bond fund is another popular investment fund among investor especially a high income earner and retiree. One of the best feature of this fund is it provides regular income exempt from federal tax rate to investor. One of this best muni bond funds review is Prudential Municipal High-Income fund. Details review is described below.

Prudential Municipal High-Income A (Ticker: PRHAX)

The Prudential Municipal High-Income fund’s objective is to achieve the maximum amount of income that is not subjected to federal income taxes. This Prudential fund invests >80% of its investable assets in municipal bonds, which are fixed-income securities issued by states and municipalities. The income provided by this fund is free from regular federal income tax. The investments may include certain municipal bonds of which the interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax (AMT). The fund's management normally invests in municipal bonds that it believes may provide above-average yields.

PRHAX Fund Details

Prudential Municipal High Income

• Fund Inception Date: January 22, 1990
• Ticker Symbol: PRHAX (Class A)
• CUSIP: 74440M104
• Beta (3yr): 1.20
• Rank in category (YTD): 53
• Category: High Yield Muni
• Distribution Rate: 5.24%
• Net Assets: $ 568.77 million
• Sales Load: 4.0%
• Expense Ratio: 0.87%
• Capital Gains: N/A
• Number of Years Up: 16 years
• Number of Years Down: 4 years
• Average Maturity: 12.2 years
• Average Duration: 7.9 years

updated on 9/29/2011