WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
Many stock funds have taken a shellacking by bear markets around the world. Let's look at just how badly these funds have been mauled.
The global financial crisis has wreaked havoc on stocks as investors become jittery about slower global growth. And stocks are getting whipsawed as managers dump securities to deal with redemptions or margin calls.
TODAY'S SEARCH
To see how active managers have been hit by the market downturn, we checked the worst year-to-date returns of stock funds to Oct. 8. This screen may not catch all funds if they are valued weekly or even monthly like many hedge funds. We also excluded exchanged-traded funds, other versions of the same fund and U.S. dollar-denominated funds.
SO WHAT DID WE TURN UP?
It's been ugly. Many stock funds have lost 50 per cent of their value so far this year.
They include smaller-company and emerging market funds whose riskier, less liquid stocks often get jettisoned by investors in market downturns in a flight to quality. Natural resource funds have also been pounded by plunging prices in commodities like oil and gold.
Funds using an earnings or price momentum strategy have also seen their holdings creamed as their stocks head south. Landry Morin Small Cap Momentum plunged 63 per cent, while Caldwell Canada has fallen 52 per cent.
Even funds with socially responsible mandates - like screening out companies that pollute - have not escaped unscathed. Mavrix Sierra Equity, a smaller-company fund, is down 56 per cent.
Looking at the returns, it's also a lesson for investors who chase performance. Last year's star can easily lose its shine.
While Sprott Growth was the best performing Canadian stock fund in 2007 with a 35.1-per-cent return, it had fallen 60 per cent by Wednesday.
Worst 30 stock funds - Oct 8, 2008 YTD
| % rtn | ||||||||
| (as of Sep/08) | Oct. 8/08 | % return | ||||||
| Fund name | Category | Assets (mil.) | MER | YTD | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
| Landry Morin Small Cap momentum-F | Cdn. Small or Mid Cap Equity | 1.95 | -62.9 | 9.4 | 15.8 | 21.6 | ||
| FrontierAlt Resource Capital Cl-A | Natural Resources Equity | 7.2 | -61.5 | |||||
| Sprott Growth | Cdn. Focused Sm/Mid Cap Eq | 150.0 | 5.79 | -59.5 | 35.1 | |||
| Sentry Select Mining Opportunity Cl | Natural Resources Equity | 27.2 | 2.78 | -58.1 | 10.0 | |||
| Middlefield Uranium Focused Metals | Natural Resources Equity | 2.5 | 2.35 | -56.0 | ||||
| Mavrix Sierra Equity | Cdn. Focused Sm/Mid Cap Eq | 8.7 | 2.94 | -55.6 | 21.1 | 14.0 | 21.6 | 19.8 |
| Mackenzie Univ Wld Resource Class | Natural Resources Equity | 140.2 | 2.46 | -54.5 | 32.3 | 23.6 | 27.3 | 22.8 |
| Scotia Latin American | Miscellaneous | 63.9 | 2.54 | -54.5 | 15.0 | 43.8 | 44.0 | 25.3 |
| Mackenzie Growth | Cdn. Focused Equity | 318.2 | 2.37 | -54.4 | 8.3 | 11.9 | 10.5 | 17.7 |
| Mavrix Growth | Cdn. Small or Mid Cap Equity | 3.9 | 3.21 | -54.1 | 1.3 | 35.6 | 8.4 | -11.2 |
| Mavrix Multi Series Growth | Cdn. Small or Mid Cap Equity | 0.1 | 2.14 | -54.0 | ||||
| DMP Resource Class | Natural Resources Equity | 187.5 | 10.44 | -53.0 | -5.1 | 44.3 | 40.4 | 7.5 |
| Mavrix Explorer | Natural Resources Equity | 2.2 | 2.75 | -53.0 | 8.1 | 9.8 | -12.5 | 4.1 |
| Acuity Canadian Small Cap | Cdn. Small or Mid Cap Equity | 89.2 | 2.85 | -52.8 | 9.4 | 37.2 | ||
| Excel China | Greater China Equity | 68.6 | 2.39 | -52.8 | 39.5 | 83.2 | -6.0 | -4.4 |
| Frk Tmp Canadian Small Cap | Cdn. Small or Mid Cap Equity | 1.0 | 2.78 | -52.5 | 5.5 | 28.6 | 18.9 | |
| Caldwell Canada | Cdn. Small or Mid Cap Equity | 4.7 | 2.75 | -52.3 | 7.4 | 49.9 | 19.3 | -1.7 |
| Galileo Fund | Cdn. Focused Sm/Mid Cap Eq | 2.01 | -52.3 | 20.2 | ||||
| Stone & Co. Growth Industries A | Cdn. Small or Mid Cap Equity | 0.6 | 3.57 | -51.7 | -2.1 | 4.3 | 5.5 | 32.2 |
| HSBC Chinese Equity-I | Greater China Equity | 164.4 | 2.55 | -51.1 | 35.0 | 80.3 | 7.2 | |
| Excel Emerging Europe A | European Equity | 10.9 | -50.8 | |||||
| Acuity All Cap 30 Canadian Equity | Cdn. Focused Sm/Mid Cap Eq | 298.9 | 2.85 | -50.7 | 13.6 | 26.2 | 10.1 | 21.3 |
| Sprott Energy | Natural Resources Equity | 173.0 | 2.86 | -50.6 | 17.9 | 6.1 | 42.4 | |
| Trans IMS Can-Emerge | Emerging Markets Equity | 4.8 | 4.32 | -50.4 | 23.5 | 24.4 | 27.4 | 14.6 |
| HSBC BRIC Equity-I | Emerging Markets Equity | 78.3 | 2.60 | -50.1 | ||||
| Mavrix Asia Pacific | Asia Pacific Equity | 0.5 | 3.15 | -50.1 | ||||
| AGF Global Technology Class | Science and Tech. Equity | 6.4 | 3.50 | -49.6 | 5.4 | 1.8 | 0.0 | -13.5 |
| Criterion Global Clean Energy CH-H | Miscellaneous | 4.6 | -49.4 | |||||
| AGF China Focus Class | Greater China Equity | 251.5 | 2.96 | -49.3 | 30.5 | 67.6 | 8.6 | -9.3 |
| Excel Chindia | Miscellaneous | 80.8 | 3.18 | -49.3 | 35.2 | 48.5 | 11.2 | |
| S&P 500 index | -32.9 | 3.5 | 13.6 | 3.0 | 9.0 | |||
| S&P/TSX composite index | -27.3 | 7.2 | 14.5 | 21.9 | 12.5 |
SOURCE: GLOBEFUND
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