Thursday, August 14, 1997
Me!
by
TMF Mishap (Neil
Campbell)
I can still remember an argument I had at a small mutual fund company (which will remain anonymous) after I made my first investment. As a summer intern, I was eager to please. I wanted to let everyone in the office subtly know that the quiet college hire was really a savvy investor. As a few of the salespeople discussed the funds they were going to pitch to clients, I casually mentioned that I had begun investing in mutual funds. One "Senior Associate" overheard my comments and inquired as to my choice.
I was excited to let my superiors know that I could pick a real winner as I proudly announced, "20th Century Ultra," a solid no-load small-cap-appreciation fund that had returned 86.5% in 1991.
Apparently, this statement did not sit well with the "Senior Associate" who touted her less-than-stellar mutual funds to the public with a 5% sales load. She exclaimed, "Well, why didn't you go with one of our funds?" On the defensive, I stated, "To be honest, Ultra has a consistently better rate of return."
The "Senior Associate" did not like that comment at all, however true it was. Suddenly, the lowly summer intern was standing before one big, raging bull. She bellowed, "Well, who is going to be there for you when it is time to get out of Ultra, when it isn't the pick of the month?"
She obviously felt that her personal attention and expertise made up for the poor performance and the high sales loads that her mutual funds carried, which is ridiculous. After all, personal attention means nothing if you're losing money. So I said what any Fool would say, "Me!"