|
 Jerry Jordan Commentary:
First Quarter Investment Outlook
The U.S. equity markets defied the historically positive year-end seasonal bias and posted negative returns in the Fourth Quarter, significantly reducing the positive equity returns for the year. But, equity returns in the quarter were highly variable between different geographies, market indices, and sectors. The big winners for the year were emerging markets, large capitalization rapid growth stocks, and commodity-based companies. The big losers were financial and consumer discretionary industries, as credit dried up and credit quality spreads exploded. But even within the groups there was enormous dispersion in the Fourth Quarter, for example the Chinese Shanghai A shares declined 5% in the quarter, while India soared 17%, notwithstanding the turmoil in neighboring Pakistan. In the end, most U.S. indices posted mid-single returns, ending the year well off the highs. The big investment story of 2007 was the continued economic surge in the developing economies. |
While U.S. stocks faced a challenging and volatile environment in 2007, our focus on strong earnings growth stock themes was very profitable throughout the year. more›› |
"The big investment story of 2007 was the continued economic surge in the developing economies." |
|
A Conversation with Jerry Jordan
A quarterly conversation with Jerry Jordan (mid-January 2008) to explore select areas of our Quarterly Outlook, and the investment philosophy that Jerry brings as the Fund manager.
How have things changed since October?
I don't think much has changed. Back in October I said, “Look, the economy is slowing down,” but now my guess is that we are probably in a recession, and, I would assume we're halfway through.
When the numbers finally get calculated, long after it will not have mattered, we will find that the fourth quarter was a recession quarter, and the first quarter that we're in right now was a recession quarter.
more›› |
An Opportunity in Steel
We're looking at other areas which we think are a little bit too beaten up, where there is some opportunity. One we're starting to accumulate in, is in the steel industry, which may seem somewhat counter-intuitive, but it is very interesting, and I think this is typical of what we do:
We look for big industries where there is an overriding thesis, and then we sort through to find the best names to play that thesis. Right now what's interesting about steel companies, particularly U.S.-based steel manufacturers, is that U.S. steel inventories are at a 10-year low. It is lower than in ’01, and lower than in ’98—they're at a 10-year low, and they are at a 10-year low because steel buyers got nervous about growth. They've been drawing down their inventories in anticipation of this economic slowdown/recession, and at the same time global steel prices remain at a 10% to 20% premium, to U.S. steel prices. Transportation prices add another 5% to 10% to the cost, so nobody's going to want to ship steel over here. The problem is, we import 20% of our steel every year because we don't produce enough domestically. So, on any sort of any little economic uptick, and maybe I'm asking for a lot to get that, but on any belief by steel buyers which could be service centers which act as intermediaries, or end users like big construction companies, they are going to have to start paying up for steel, and steel prices in the U.S. could go up 15% to 20% just to try to get in line with the global price.
|
Mutual Fund Performance as of December 31, 2007 (total return)*
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. Shares redeemed or exchanged within 60 days of purchase will be charged a 2.00% fee. As stated in the current prospectus, the Fund's annual operating expense ratio (gross) is 2.09%. For the most recent month end performance, please call 1-800-441-7013 or visit the Fund's website.
|
|
|
|
JordanOpportunity.com
Morningstar
Awards 5-Stars to
Jordan Opportunity
Fund  ™
5-STAR OVERALL MORNINGSTAR RATING™
AS OF 1/31/08
(Among 1,452 funds in the large cap growth category. The Overall Morningstar Rating for the Fund is derived from a weighted average of risk adjusted performance figures associate with its 3-year Morningstar Rating Metrics.*)
February 5, 2008
New York, NY
Jordan Opportunity was recognized today by Morningstar Rating with a 5-star rating, the best available rating in its category. Said Jerry Jordan, fund portfolio manger, "I am gratified that the approach we have always used to manage money is being recognized. That said, we view our job for our clients is to find the best investment ideas—and not just try to win a rankings race." Total return on the Jordan Opportunity Fund for the past year was 25.79%. The fund returned 14.57% annualized over the past 3 years. Jordan notes that, "Investors, looking at our past, will find that we have a proven approach that succeeds, over time, through vastly different stock and economic cycles. This is what clients should want—a manager that is always finding a way to be successful as opposed to being stuck in a narrow style that only works at certain times."
*For each fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5- and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metric. The Jordan Opportunity Fund was rated against 1,452 large-cap growth funds over the 3-year period ended 1/31/08. The Fund received a Morningstar rating of 5 stars for the 3-year period.
Morningstar Rating is for the share class indicated only (see ticker). The Ranking may reflect the waiver of all or a portion of the fund's fees. Without such waiver, the Rankings may have been lower.
© 2008 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.
Jordan Opportunity Fund in the News
We invite you to review media coverage, featuring Jerry Jordan in print, radio, and television. Please browse our website, and use the links to watch, listen, and read about our strategy for opportunity and growth.
11.29.07
Business Week — Searching for Big Ideas
10.03.07
TheStreet.com — Smallish Jordan Fund Offers Big Returns
Click here to view all news items.
|
|
