Only One Fund Manager Made Money in 2008

But repeating the feat this year could prove tricky for Forester
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 27, 2009 10:24 AM CST

Of the 8,200 stock mutual funds in the United States, only one—Forester Value—managed to turn a profit in 2008. With a gain of just 0.4%, Thomas Forester has become a minor celebrity in the financial world, and brokers are suddenly eager to sell his tiny fund to investors. It's a welcome turnaround for Forester, who nearly shuttered the fund last year, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Forester trailed the S&P through 2007, and his wife told him he would have to close the fund unless he beat the index by 10 points last March. He came in 9.5 points ahead—good enough for Mrs. Forester—and stayed in the black through the end of the year. Although he's basking in glory now, the obsession with yearly results may soon knock him off his perch; Forester Value is down 13% so far in 2009.
(More mutual funds stories.)

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