It sells its proprietary Craftsman products and other brands. C.T., Chicago A. Value investing does indeed make good sense in a down market. This traditional value fund buys cheap stocks, has low portfolio turnover and often holds large amounts of cash. But even with its unswerving commitment to a value strategy, it hasn t been much more than an average performer in its class. It s a core fund for a conservative investor and could be paired with a growth fund, yet you could do better because it s not one of the best funds.
Financial stocks make up nearly one-fourth of the fund.
Other large sector holdings are industrials, services, energy and technology. The top stocks are Citigroup, Wells Fargo, ExxonMobil, IBM, Verizon, Hartford Financial Services Group, Philips Electronics, DuPont, Allstate and Unocal. Merrill Lynch Basic Value Fund was initiated in 1977 and portfolio manager Kevin Rendino has been in charge since mid-1999, after serving several years as an analyst with the fund. You re not going to like the answer. The deal makes American Airlines the world s largest air carrier.