And The Winners Are …

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, August, 2000

MUTUAL FUNDS | These are the BEST OF THE BUNCH. Use these lists of top funds over the past one, three, five, ten and 20 years for ideas. All data is to June 12.

Aggressive growth As good as it gets

The past year has been golden for the best funds in this volatile category--about as good as you may ever hope to see. A lot of the high-octane funds wisely closed their doors to new investors to avoid being swamped with more money than they know what to do with. And the two PBHG funds at the top of the one-year list got new managers this past spring, making their track records a bit irrelevant. But the Calamos, Oak Pin Oak and Van Kampen funds are all run by experienced managers, who are responsible for the results you see. To learn more about Bridgeway Aggressive Growth (a five year winner) and FMI Focus (a three-year champ), see "Great Funds From Out of Nowhere".

1 YEAR

 1. PBHG New Opportunities(**)              338.5%
 2. PBHG Select Equity                      212.0
 3. BlackRock Micro-Cap A(**)               170.6
 4. Kopp Emerging Growth                    166.9
 5. Berkshire Focus                         159.5
 6. Amer Century New Opp(**)                158.4
 7. Turner Micro Cap Growth(**)             152.5
 8. Santa Barbara Bender Growth A           151.4
 9. FirStar MicroCap                        151.3
10. Loomis Sayles Agg Growth Instl          140.1
    CATEGORY AVERAGE                         41.1%

3 YEARS

 1. TCW Galileo Agg Growth I                 66.4%
 2. Loomis Sayles Agg Growth Instl           65.0
 3. PBHG Large Cap 20                        63.2
 4. RS Emerging Growth A(**)                 62.3
 5. Morgan Stanley DW Mid Cap Tr B           60.9
 6. PBHG Select Equity                       60.0
 7. Van Wagoner Post Venture                 59.9
 8. Turner Mid Cap Growth(**)                58.7
 9. FMI Focus                                58.4
10. Oak Pin Oak Aggressive Stock             57.8
    CATEGORY AVERAGE                         24.6%

5 YEARS

 1. Rydex OTC                                50.4%
 2. PBHG Select Equity                       48.0
 3. Calamos Growth A                         44.4
 4. Bridgeway Aggressive Growth              43.6
 5. RS Emerging Growth A(**)                 42.9
 6. Fremont Mutual US Micro Cap(**)          40.9
 7. IPS Millennium                           40.2
 8. Van Kampen Emerging Growth A             40.2
 9. Fidelity New Millennium(**)              40.1
10. Janus Twenty(**)                         39.3
    CATEGORY AVERAGE                         22.6%

10 YEARS

 1. Van Kampen Emerging Growth A             28.0%
 2. RS Emerging Growth A(**)                 27.0
 3. MAS Mid Cap Growth Instl                 25.4
 4. Janus Twenty(**)                         25.2
 5. Aim Aggressive Growth A                  24.4
 6. Invesco Dynamics Inv                     24.4
 7. PBHG Growth                              23.4
 8. American Century Ultra                   23.2
 9. United New Concepts A                    23.1
10. Vanguard Primecap(**)                    22.9
    CATEGORY AVERAGE                         17.1%

20 YEARS

 1. Van Kampen Emerging Growth A             21.3%
 2. Janus Fund                               20.8
 3. Putnam Voyager A                         19.8
 4. Putnam Vista A                           19.7
 5. Delaware Trend A                         19.5
 6. Fortis Growth A                          18.8
 7. Seligman Capital A                       18.6
 8. Invesco Dynamics Inv                     18.1
 9. Neuberger Berman Manhattan               18.1
10. Value Line Leveraged Growth              17.2
    CATEGORY AVERAGE                         16.6%

(**) Closed to new investors

SOURCE: Standard & Poor's

Long-term growth A fund-picker's paradise

No-load investors, take note: The ranks of one-, three- and five-year winners contain some terrific funds, starting with superconsistent Gabelli Growth and Warburg Pincus Capital Appreciation. (For more on these two funds, see "Winners Every Time".) But that's only the start. Just as impressive over a shorter time span are Dresdner RCM Large Cap, Harbor Capital Appreciation and Excelsior Optimum Growth, all of which thrived alongside the huge, growthy companies they invest in. And at Fidelity Growth Company, Steve Wymer, who took over at the start of 1997, has fine-tuned that $32 billion fund and gotten it to hum like an electric motor. His penchant is for slightly smaller companies.

1 YEAR

 1. Putnam New Century Growth A              96.1%
 2. PBHG Large Cap Growth                    85.2
 3. Fidelity Growth company                  72.1
 4. Aim Large Cap Growth A                   69.4
 5. Heritage Growth Equity A                 66.0
 6. Fidelity Adv Dynamic Cap App T           62.3
 7. Whitehall Growth                         62.1
 8. Aim Dent Demographic Trends A            60.7
 9. WM Growth A                              60.5
10. Parkstone Mid Cap A                      59.8
    CATEGORY AVERAGE                         17.2%

3 YEARS

 1. WM Growth A                              50.2%
 2. Heritage Growth Equity A                 41.4
 3. PBHG Large Cap Growth                    41.3
 4. Excelsior Optimum Growth                 39.6
 5. Fidelity Growth Company                  38.8
 6. Whitehall Growth                         36.7
 7. Amer Growth Fund of America              36.4
 8. Dresdner RCM Large Cap I                 35.2
 9. Gabelli Growth                           35.0
10. TCW Galileo Select Equity N              34.6
    CATEGORY AVERAGE                         18.8%

5 YEARS

 1. PBHG Large Cap Growth                    36.9%
 2. WM Growth A                              36.7
 3. Legg Mason Value Prim                    33.8
 4. Mass Investors Growth Primary A          33.5
 5. Gabelli Growth                           32.8
 6. Whitehall Growth                         32.7
 7. Fidelity Growth Company                  32.6
 8. Alliance Premier Growth A                31.8
 9. Warburg Pincus cap Apprec Cmn            30.7
10. MFs Capital Opportunities A              30.3
    CATEGORY AVERAGE                         21.3%

10 YEARS

 1. MFS Emerging Growth B                    23.5%
 2. Fidelity Growth Company                  23.5
 3. Harbor Capital Appreciation              23.2
 4. Mass Investors Growth Stk A              21.5
 5. Legg Mason Value Primary                 21.5
 6. Fidelity Contrafund(**)                  21.4
 7. MFS Capital Opportunities A              21.3
 8. Fidelity Blue Chip Growth                21.2
 9. Gabelli Growth                           20.7
10. Morgan Stanley DW Amer Opp B             20.7
    CATEGORY AVERAGE                         16.0%

20 YEARS

 1. Fidelity Magellan(**)                    22.7%
 2. Amer ExPress New Dimensions A            20.2
 3. Amer Express Growth A                    19.8
 4. Davis NY Venture A                       19.7
 5. AIM Weingarten A                         19.4
 6. Amer Growth Fund of America              19.3
 7. Fidelity Destiny Plan I/O(**)            19.0
 8. Fidelity Contrafund(**)                  18.8
 9. Nvest Growth A                           18.7
10. United Vanguard A                        18.6
    CATEGORY AVERAGE                         16.9%