About Michael A. Weiss, CFA Expertise I can provide high quality answers to questions about mutual funds domiciled in the United States. Overall, I have 15 years of investment experience. I am currently the Editor of <a href="http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/">The Mutual Fund Investor</a>, a quarterly publication that provides recommendations and commentary on various no-load mutual funds. I am also currently the Chief Investment Officer of a state registered investment advisory firm that specializes in no-load mutual funds.
Experience Overall, I have 15 years of investment experience. I am currently the Editor of The Mutual Fund Investor, a quarterly publication that provides recommendations and commentary on various no-load mutual funds. To learn more about The Mutual Fund Investor, please visit <a href="http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/">http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net/</a>. I am also currently the Chief Investment Officer of a state registered investment advisory firm that specializes in no-load mutual funds.My mutual fund experience began at a company called Lipper Analytical Services, where I researched and wrote about mutual funds. Lipper is one of the premier mutual fund research and ratings organizations. After Lipper, I worked as an investment analyst for Merrill Lynch’s multi-billion dollar Mutual Fund Advisor and Selects Programs. I also have experience working with individual stocks and bonds. I have managed investment portfolios for both Merrill Lynch Investment Managers as well as Evergreen Investments.<BR><BR><B>Organizations</B><BR>CFA Institute
CFA Society of Philadelphia
<BR><BR><B>Publications</B><BR>The Mutual Fund Investor
<BR><BR><B>Education/Credentials</B><BR>CFA charterholder
MBA in Finance and Investments from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College<BR>
Expert: Michael A. Weiss, CFA Date: 6/25/2007 Subject: opinion on a mutual fund
Question Hello,
I have recently purchased a mutual fund and I would like to get your advise or thoughts on this particular fund. It is held under Wells Fargo Advantage and Is called Wells Fargo High Income Fund.(STHYX)
I was formely investing in another fund with Wells called the Ultra Short Term Income(Stadx) I was having a payroll deposit into that fund and as it got larger I felt that it was not as aggressive as I would like and was turned onto the High Income fund.
I was told that it was a little more aggressive but not as risky as a Index fund or Growth Fund.
Thanks for any thoughts or advice you can give me.
Jim
Answer Hi Jim,
Thank you for your question. First, The Wells Fargo High Income Fund is a high yield fund and is far more aggressive than the Ultra Short Term Income Fund. In some ways, the Ultra Short-Term Income Fund is only a little more aggressive than a money market fund. High yield funds, on the other hand, are one of the most speculative fixed income categories, but are normally considerably less volatile than equity funds like growth funds or equity index funds.
As far as historical performance is concerned, Morningstar's research shows that this fund ranks near the middle of its high yield peer group over the past 3 years, but has achieved these results with less volatility compared to the group.
It is worth noting that the High Income Fund is the former Strong High Yield Bond Fund. (Wells Fargo Bought the Strong Funds) The Strong funds had received allot of bad press due to a market timing scandal in 2003. In addition, the High Income Fund performed very poorly in 2001 and 2002, while current portfolio Thomas Price was co-managing the fund.
More recently, Mr. Price has done a reasonable job with this fund especially in reducing the fund's volatility. But still it is difficult for me to forget about what happened in the prior years.
Overall, I think that the High Income Fund is a reasonable choice. There is no doubt that Mr. Price is an intelligent portfolio manager. He has a considerable amount of experience and has very good credentials. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern. He is also a CFA charterholder.
Jim, if you are interested in learning more about other mutual funds, you can pick up a sample copy of my newsletter. Just go to www.mutualfundinvestor.net and click on Try It Free.
Also, please understand that this opinion is not meant as a substitute for personalized investment advice.
I hope this helps and Good Luck!
Michael A. Weiss, CFA
The Editor
The Mutual Fund Investor
www.mutualfundinvestor.net
