Morningstar rating: 4 stars
Total 12-month return: 39.73%
Total 5-year annualized return: 18.03%
Morningstar 5-year risk rating: 0.84
Smallest initial purchase: $2,500
Smallest automatic investment: $500
Telephone number: 800-525-8983
Strong Schafer Value
Looking for long-term capital appreciation, this relatively unknown fund focuses on companies with market capitalizations of at least $250 million. It looks for companies with healthy financials and relatively low stock prices compared with their intrinsic value. The fund limits itself to only about 35 holdings.
Morningstar rating: 4 stars
Total 12-month return: 25.75%
Total 5-year annualized return: 17.64%
Morningstar 5-year risk rating: 0.80
Smallest initial purchase: $2,500
Smallest automatic investment: $50
Telephone number: 800-368-1030
SHORT- TO INTERMEDIATE-TERM-BOND FUNDS
Holdings in these funds are limited to bonds with maturities of less than 10 years, a conservative investment category.
Harbor Bond
This fund tops its category because of a successful balancing act between high-quality domestic and foreign bonds (which add up to at least 65% of assets) and riskier debt issues, including mortgage-backed securities, which spice up the profit potential.
Morningstar rating: 5 stars
Total 12-month return: 5.93%
Total 5-year annualized return: 9.44%
Morningstar 5-year risk rating: 0.90
Smallest initial purchase: $2,000
Smallest automatic investment: $500
Telephone number: 800-422-1050
Strong Government Securities
At least 80% of this fund's assets go into U.S. government securities. What's unusual is where the remaining 20% goes: corporate debt, private-placement investments, and even a sprinkling of derivatives. Think of this as a walk on the (slightly) wilder side of intermediate-term-bond funds.
Morningstar rating: 5 stars
Total 12-month return: 4.05%
Total 5-year annualized return: 9.20%
Morningstar 5-year risk rating: 0.94
Smallest initial purchase: $1,000
Smallest automatic investment: $50
Telephone number: 800-368-1030
Stein Roe Income
The big goal here is current income, so this fund aims for a boost from junk bonds. Don't get scared off, though, by this fund's aggressive stance. At least 60% of its assets go into safer, investment-grade debt securities. Even the junk bonds tend to fall into the BB (that is, a higher-rated) category.
Morningstar rating: 5 stars
Total 12-month return: 5.47%
Total 5-year annualized return: 9.15%
Morningstar 5-year risk rating: 0.92
Smallest initial purchase: $2,500
Smallest automatic investment: $1,000
Telephone number: 800-338-2550
Stein Roe Intermediate Bond
More cautious than its sister fund, this one aims for income plus capital preservation. It reserves 60% of its assets for corporate debt rated A or higher, U.S.-government obligations, and high-grade commercial paper.
Morningstar rating: 4 stars
Total 12-month return: 5.35%
Total 5-year annualized return: 7.65%
Morningstar 5-year risk rating: 0.85
Smallest initial purchase: $2,500
Smallest automatic investment: $1,000
Telephone number: 800-338-2550
AGGRESSIVE STOCK FUNDS
Yes, entrepreneurs, this is the sector you know best because it consists of small-capitalization, growth-oriented stock investments.
Stein Roe Capital Opportunities
The hunt is on here for companies with the potential for rapid earnings growth. But the fund has a cautious bent, as witnessed by its predisposition to make bets on companies that have already established good growth records. As much as 35% of its assets can go into debt securities.
Morningstar rating: 5 stars
Total 12-month return: 84.88%
Total 5-year annualized return: 26.50%
Morningstar 5-year risk rating: 0.89
Smallest initial purchase: $2,500
Smallest automatic investment: $1,000
Telephone number: 800-338-2550
Baron Asset
Take "small-cap" here with a grain of salt: this fund makes investments in companies with capitalizations of $100 million to $1.5 billion. Investments have one thing in common: they're undervalued, according to this portfolio manager.
Morningstar rating: 5 stars
Total 12-month return: 51.98%
Total 5-year annualized return: 22.31%
Morningstar 5-year risk rating: 0.93
Smallest initial purchase: $2,000
Smallest automatic investment: $500
Telephone number: 800-992-2766
Acorn
This fund aims for long-term capital appreciation from investments in stocks its portfolio manager considers exceptional. It has a reputation for idiosyncratic stock choices. What makes a stock exceptional enough to qualify: typically, strong market franchises and a connection to broader economic trends.
Morningstar rating: 5 stars
Total 12-month return: 32.44%
Total 5-year annualized return: 19.79%
Morningstar 5-year risk rating: 0.85
Smallest initial purchase: $1,000
Smallest automatic investment: $1,000
Telephone number: 800-922-6769
Meridian
The goal is long-term growth from stocks that meet a beauty-pageant list of criteria -- revenues below $750 million, projected earnings and revenue growth of at least 15% during the next three to five years, strong market share, and high-quality management. About 20% of the fund's assets tend to stay in cash.
