WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
Today's goal will be to find funds that have jumped ahead of their peers and stayed there for longest. The hottest of the hot funds, if you will.
TODAY'S SEARCH
An easy way to monitor how well a fund has done lately is to use Globefund's five-star ratings, which are calculated monthly. We're looking for consistent top returns, so let's zero in on the funds that nailed a top five-star rating for the most months consecutively. A five-star rating puts a fund in the top 10 per cent of its broad asset class based on measures that include a comparison of its monthly returns with the return on ultra-safe 90-day Government of Canada treasury bills.
SO WHAT DID WE TURN UP?
Lots of precious metals funds, which is no surprise when you look at how well gold has performed lately. The revelation is the number of small, low-profile funds on the list that you may not have heard of. Two good examples: Sceptre Canadian Equity A, a tiny $20.8-million fund that has been a top performer for 14 straight months, and Putnam Canadian Equity, an even smaller newcomer that has been smoking hot so far. It's interesting to note that our list includes a pair of bank funds, which aren't generally known for zippy returns. TD Canadian Equity, especially, has delivered just that.
YOUR HOMEWORK:
Globefund.com can help you dig down into the funds in today's screen. Remember, past results guarantee absolutely nothing about the future.
| Globe | Net | |||||||
| Star | Asset | Assets | 1-yr | 3-yr | 5-yr | |||
| Name | Ranking | Months | Value | Sector | (bil) | Return | Return | Return |
| AGF Precious Metal | 5 | 15 | 29.05 | Precious Metals | 0.56 | 30.28 | 22.79 | 34.14 |
| CIBC Precious Metals | 5 | 15 | 20.23 | Precious Metals | 0.13 | 18.66 | 20.81 | 28.40 |
| Mackenzie Univ Precious Met | 5 | 15 | 19.55 | Precious Metals | 0.42 | 17.02 | 17.66 | 22.14 |
| Dynamic Precious Metals | 5 | 15 | 6.29 | Precious Metals | 0.43 | 22.87 | 19.13 | 25.11 |
| Sceptre Canadian Equity - A | 5 | 14 | 21.10 | Canadian Equity | 0.02 | 19.20 | 22.36 | 13.26 |
| Nat'l Bank Euro. Small Cap | 5 | 14 | 13.08 | European Equity | 0.02 | 23.52 | 19.77 | 12.53 |
| Mackenzie Sentinel Corp. Bond | 5 | 14 | 5.03 | High Yield Bond | 0.50 | 8.10 | 7.24 | 7.15 |
| TD Canadian Equity | 5 | 13 | 31.82 | Cdn Div.& Equity Incm | 2.94 | 11.59 | 20.48 | 13.93 |
| Fidelity Europe-A | 5 | 13 | 29.41 | European Equity | 0.12 | 27.34 | 17.74 | 5.48 |
| TD Dividend Growth | 5 | 11 | 57.22 | Cdn Div & Equity Inom | 2.49 | 9.35 | 17.59 | 14.49 |
| Putnam Canadian Equity-A | 5 | 11 | 17.58 | Canadian Equity | 0.02 | 17.56 | 18.82 | +11.01 |
| AGF International Stock Class | 5 | 11 | 16.53 | European Equity | 1.74 | 24.38 | 18.45 | +9.61 |
| iShares CDN Composite Index | 5 | 10 | 86.10 | Cdn Div. & Equity Incm | 0.42 | 12.93 | 19.09 | +13.29 |
| iShares CDN LargeCap 60 Index | 5 | 10 | 78.51 | Cdn Div. & Equity Incm | 9.27 | 14.58 | 19.32 | +13.42 |
| Scotia Latin American Growth | 5 | 10 | 35.11 | Emerging Markets Equity | 0.07 | 26.50 | 34.26 | +20.49 |
| Fidelity Latin America-A | 5 | 10 | 24.67 | Emerging Markets Equity | 0.03 | 24.04 | 36.74 | +21.18 |
| TD Latin American Growth | 5 | 10 | 24.65 | Emerging Markets Equity | 0.19 | 31.29 | 38.37 | +22.01 |
| First Trust RBC Inv Focus List 2001 | 5 | 10 | 24.27 | Cdn Div. & Equity Incm | 0.27 | 8.98 | 17.23 | +11.84 |
| Altamira Precision Cdn Index | 5 | 10 | 21.84 | Cdn Div. & Equity Incm | 0.18 | 11.80 | 18.12 | +12.58 |
| Investors European Equity-A | 5 | 10 | 17.03 | European Equity | 1.86 | 22.48 | 16.55 | n-a |
| GGOF European Equity Fund Mutual | 5 | 10 | 14.15 | European Equity | 0.02 | 20.29 | 17.45 | +10.47 |
| DFA International Value Class A | 5 | 9 | 18.11 | International Equity | n-a | 21.87 | 17.67 | n-a |
| Hartford Canadian Stock D | 5 | 9 | 18.04 | Canadian Equity (Pure) | 0.02 | 15.41 | 19.87 | +12.74 |
| Northwest Canadian Equity | 5 | 9 | 17.25 | Canadian Equity | 0.43 | 17.32 | 18.49 | +10.96 |
| Clarington Short-Term Incm Class | 5 | 9 | 11.70 | Cdn Money Market | - | 3.60 | 2.18 | +2.11 |
| GGOF US Money Mkt Fund Cl (US$) | 5 | 9 | 10.00 | U.S. Money Market | - | 4.60 | 2.81 | +1.88 |
| BMO Dividend | 5 | 8 | 51.74 | Cdn Div. & Equity Incm | 5.75 | 9.16 | 15.22 | +12.76 |
