Piggybacking the pros: CGM Focus Fund

Posted Apr 13th 2008 4:10PM by Zack Miller
Filed under: Mutual Funds, U.S. Steel (X), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT)

This market is tough. Pros and novices alike are having a tough time. Particularly in a down market, a market commentators like to call a ""stock picker's market," I find it illustrative to dig deeper into the holdings of those special professional money managers that have found a way to make a go of it.

Take the CGM Focus (CGMFX) fund. This fund consistently shows up at the top of 1-year, 3-year, and multi-year best performers. CGM Focus has returned on average 37% per year for the past five years. While this is absolutely no guarantee that it will continue to perform like this, fund manager Chuck Heebner seems to have the special sauce -- at least for now.

So, what has been so successful for the fund?

Commodity picks like fertilizer plays Potash (NYSE: POT) and Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) have been big positions and have been big winners. Steel plays like US Steel (NYSE: X) have performed very nicely for CGM as well.

Looking at what worked is somewhat like looking into a rear-view mirror. These gains were in the past. What's Heebner and team buying now?

In March, CGM Focus initiated some new positions. These include deep-water driller Transocean (NYSE: RIG). The fund also bought MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR), which supplies silicon wafers to the burgeoning solar power industry. Oil refiner Hess (NYSE: HES) was also added to the mix.

In times of trouble, it's sometimes useful to turn to those with some clarity.

Zack Miller is the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund.

Tags: cgm focus, cgmfx, Chuck Heebner, HES, Hess, MEMC, MOS, Mosaic, mutual fund, POT, Potash, RIG, Transocean, US Steel, WFR, X