Kiplinger created a hall of shame for mutual funds and you should definitely check it out to be sure you don't own one of these duds. You also want to be sure you don't buy any of them in the future. While some fund directors may get the hint and even find a good manager, the fact that they've got such poor records for so long means you couldn't even trust a turnaround attempt. The directors of these mutual fund groups are dropping the ball when it comes to oversight.
One pure disaster that Kiplinger highlights is the Franklin Real Estate Securities fund. This fund has been in the bottom 20% for one, three, five and ten years. To give you an idea of how out of touch with reality its board members are, the directors wrote in its annual report, "the Board found such performance to be acceptable." If that level of performance is acceptable to Franklin's board, I'd question their stewardship of all their funds.
Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 1 
Closing Bell: A six-day rally (AIG, REGN, M, MOT, PALM, RIMM)
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