Polaris Global Value Fund
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The views in these article excerpts and hyperlinks were those of the Fund manager as of each article's publication date and may be subject to change. For the period ending December 31, 2007 the Fund's 1-, 5-, 10-year and since inception (7/1/89) average annual returns were -3.97%, 19.17%, 9.82% and 11.68%, respectively. Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost. Please click here for the Fund's most recent month end performance and related information. The article excerpxts and hyperlinks reference individual securities that may or may not currently be held by the Fund. Click here to view a recent listing of the Fund's top 10 holdings. Furthermore, please see additional disclosure at the end of this section.
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MORNINGSTAR
"Polaris Global Value carves its own path, and more investors might want to tag along."
December 20, 2006
The Polaris Global Value Fund management team has succeeded with this world-stock offering because the team follows ideas wherever they lead, rather than following the crowd or the indexes. For example, at the end of 2006's third quarter, the Fund had about 13% of assets in Scandinavia, while the MSCI World Index had just 2.5% there. Conversely, the Fund had much less than the index's weighting in the United States. The team believes there simply are better opportunities outside the U.S. which have existed for some time.
SmartMoney.com
"Cancel That Trip Abroad?"
October 12, 2006
The Polaris Global Value (PGVFX) is a global portfolio that has 36% of the Fund anchored in the U.S. The rest is deployed in regions like Europe and Asia and emerging markets like South Africa and Mexico. Recently, Fund management has hedged the emerging-market positions, by moving into Japanese companies like Meiji Dairies. The Fund also has been scooping up shares of companies located in Europe, including Finland's KCI Konecranes, a maker of large cranes for the world's ports, because the company revenue base is diversified well outside its home country. The portfolio also includes names like UnitedHealth Group and Verizon Communications.
Investment Advisor
"Core Diversification: Polaris Global Value Fund"
October 2006
One way to mitigate the unintended consequences of over- or under-weighting certain geographies or industries: consider investing in a global fund. The Polaris Global Value Fund’s management team keeps an eye on the whole planet, searching for the best values and the cheapest cash flows available. According to Fund Manager Bernard Horn, if global stock picking is done well, investors can achieve a very diversified and risk-optimized core portfolio holding.
SmartMoney Magazine
"STREETSMART UPDATE: Big Bets And Lots Of Cash"
October 2006
Funds that allow their managers the freedom to invest in any corner of the market may do better than the average, according to the editors at SmartMoney. In a follow-up to the February 2006 cover story, “Seven Great Funds To Buy Now”, the SmartMoney team looked back at their picks – one among them being the Polaris Global Value Fund. The Fund was the sole international mutual fund, which performed admirably during the past nine months. During this time, the Fund increased its stake in Japanese companies, like cell phone operator KDDI, as well as Australian industrials including BHP Billiton.
Registered Rep
"Attention Global Shoppers"
September 2006
Those who want to try a go-anywhere global fund may want to consider the Polaris Global Value Fund. The Fund typically invests half of its assets in the U.S., but currently is underweight in the domestic market because Fund management sees more bargains overseas. Fund management starts with a universe of 24,000 stocks and screens for companies with steady cash flows and low prices. Then, the Fund purchases equal positions of about 75 stocks, always including companies from at least 15 industries and 15 countries. The result is a diversified portfolio that has typically proven resilient, although past performance is not an indicator of future results.
Morningstar
"Polaris Global Value Has Attractions Besides Its Performance Figures"
August 31, 2006
A good number of stocks in the Polaris Global Value Fund, and their underlying themes are not common in other portfolios. For example, management believes that the congestion at ports around the world (a major problem for world trade) will remain a key concern. So the Fund purchased companies that can help out on that score, such as KCI Konecranes of Finland. The Fund also likes Japan stock Meiji Dairies, partly because of its heavy exposure to the domestic market.
The Wall Street Journal
"SmartMoney Fund Screen: Steady Performers"
June 20, 2006
The SmartMoney screen identified funds, among them the Polaris Global Value Fund, that have maintained an elusive mix of growth, consistency and wealth preservation. The search was limited to funds with Lipper leader scores of one in the categories of consistent returns and preservation. In addition, funds must have three- and five-year returns in the top quartile, and expense ratios in the bottom half of each fund's classification. Lastly, funds considered must be no load, open to new investors, and have total net assets of at least $50 million with a minimum initial investment of $5,000 or less.
SmartMoney
"Easy Riders"
June 16, 2006
As written by Joshua Albertson of SmartMoney: “A good market shake-up can serve as a healthy reminder of the dangers of not having a well-defined asset allocation model, or of failing to trim winners when they grow like weeds…Market corrections can also test risk tolerance. No long investor likes to watch their gains evaporate, but some like it less than others… The Polaris Global Value Fund is up over the last five years thanks to its democratic, broadly diversified, value-oriented approach. As Morningstar analyst Gregg Wolper recently noted, "Polaris Global Value can help simplify your life."”
Forbes Magazine
"Global Bargain Hunter"
June 5, 2006
To receive the complete article in hardcopy, contact info@polariscapital.com
Mexican cement manufacturers. Belgian chemical producers. Pulp-and-paper makers. Dull as dishwater to most investors. "People don't like them. They have low expectations for them," says Bernard R. Horn, head of Polaris Capital Management, with $1.8 billion under management (as of 6/30/06, the Polaris Global Value Fund assets were $443 million). But such unglamorous businesses have handsomely rewarded the Fund's shareholders.
MarketWatchFrom Dow Jones
"Pedal Off the Metal: Investors Advised to Tread Cautiously with Mining, Energy Stocks
May 3, 2006
Polaris Global Value Fund Manager Bernard R. Horn, Jr. says the market is pricing many energy companies at unsustainable levels, nearer to the pricing of oil. Energy companies, according to Mr. Horn, can be great businesses but won’t necessarily be good purchases until their stocks are cheaper. Instead of the likes of Chevron and Chesapeake Energy, Mr. Horn prefers the long-term potential of Russia’s Lukoil. In addition, Mr. Horn warns investors to be cautious in metal stocks, though he likes copper.
Richard E. Band's Profitable Investing
"Focus on Funds: Four Great Value Managers You Should Get to Know"
April 2006
According to recent data (as of April 2006), the Polaris Global Value Fund has nearly 56% of its portfolio in foreign stocks and 40% in the U.S., with a 4% cash reserve. The Fund seeks to provide an ample allocation to foreign markets, while allowing investors to hand off to seasoned professionals the task of deciding where to invest. The Fund management’s strict buying and selling discipline has helped the Fund to outperform its primary benchmarks over most long term time periods.
Morningstar.com
"Polaris Global Value Can Help Simplify Your Life"
March 13, 2006
Funds that provide diversification in just one portfolio are proliferating--a sign that some people are feeling overwhelmed by the complications of investing and want simple solutions. The Polaris Global Value Fund looks all over the globe, including the United States and emerging markets, for the best opportunities of any size. The Fund’s overall diversification of holdings means that the Fund can potentially serve as an investor's core holding.
The Fund’s investment process is simple: value-oriented and largely quantitative with insights on companies and themes. The Fund's record testifies to its worth.
Motley Fool Champion Funds
"Annual Review: Polaris Global Value"
March 2006
The Polaris Global Value Fund may be a suitable investment for individuals who seek a core holding to complement their portfolio with the objective of diversifying their overall portfolio risk.
The Fund is a Motley Fool Champ. Since converting from a limited partnership into a mutual fund in July 1989, the Fund has outperformed its benchmark, the MSCI World Index for the period ended December 2005, and it has surpassed many of its Morningstar and Lipper peers. The Fund could make a fine starter fund for investors beginning to assemble portfolios or for anyone looking for a fund that seeks to select securities from many countries and markets.
The Boston Globe
“With Oil, A Slippery Situation”
February 21, 2006
Bernard Horn, manager of the Polaris Global Value Fund, divides the world’s markets into camps of oil producers and consumers. With some exceptions, the flow of money paying for oil has boosted entire markets in producing nations and put a drag on those in countries spending big money for their crude. In the U.S., the difference between $25-per barrel and $65-per barrel of oil costs the U.S. an additional $200 billion a year – a major effect on the economy.
SmartMoney Magazine
"Seven Great Funds To Buy Now"
February 2006
To receive the complete article in hardcopy, contact info@polariscapital.com
As manager of the Polaris Global Value Fund, Bernard Horn has jumped into international waters with both feet. In 2003, Mr. Horn decided that the best opportunities existed overseas; as a result, he reduced the Fund’s U.S. holding from 50% to 35%. The strategy proved fortuitous.
Currently, Mr. Horn is finding values in the United Kingdom, Finland and Japan, where companies have been restructuring as their domestic economies improve. Two of his recent picks include: Norwegian bank DnB Nor and South African chemical company Sasol. Many of the stocks owned are not available on U.S. exchanges, making the Polaris Global Value Fund an attractive choice for gaining access to various international securities.
International Herald Tribune
"Around Asia's Markets: Retailing in China Is Drawing Bigger Bets"
January 17, 2006
Bernard Horn of Polaris Capital Management questions whether Chinese consumers’ spending power can be sustained. The country urgently needs to replace inefficient steel mills and paper plants, according to Mr. Horn. In that vein, he has sought out companies (including Finnish paper-equipment maker Metso and Impala Platinum Holdings of South Africa) that will benefit from China’s efforts to control pollution and clean up the air.
On June 1, 1998, a limited partnership managed by the adviser reorganized into the Fund. The predecessor limited partnership maintained an investment objective and investment policies that were, in all material respects, equivalent to those of the Fund. The Fund's performance for the periods before June 1, 1998 is that of the limited partnership and includes the expenses of the limited partnership. If the limited partnership's performance had been readjusted to reflect the first year expenses of the Fund, the Fund's performance for all the periods would have been lower. The limited partnership was not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("1940 Act") and was not subject to certain investment limitations, diversification requirements, and other restrictions imposed by the 1940 Act and the Internal Revenue Code, which, if applicable, may have adversely affected its performance.
The Fund invests in securities of foreign issuers, including issuers located in countries with emerging capital markets. Investments in such securities entail certain risks not associated with investments in domestic securities, such as volatility of currency exchange rates, and in some cases, political and economic instability and relatively illiquid markets.
The MSCI World Index ("MSCI") measures the performance of a diverse range of global stock markets in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East. The MSCI is unmanaged and does include the reinvestment of dividends, net of withholding taxes. Price to cash flow is the ratio of a stock's latest closing price divided by cash flow per share for the past 12 months.