Forester Value Fund

Fund Overview

Forester Value knows how to play defense.

As of April 04, 2012, the fund has assets totaling almost $240.25 million invested in 48 different holdings. Its portfolio consists primarily of shares of large-cap companies.

This fund has historically protected against the downside. In 2008, Forester was the only domestic stock fund to finish the year with a positive return, according to Morningstar. Manager Tom Forester focuses on companies with low price-to-earnings ratios because he believes they are the best performers over time. For now, Forester says he's somewhat concerned with the strength of the economic recovery. As of the end of December, about 20 percent of the fund's assets were in cash. "I'd say it's a yellow light," he says. "We're a little cautious right now." Forester currently favors healthcare companies and consumer staples. He thinks many healthcare companies are undervalued, and he believes consumer staples like Kraft is a safe bet in a slow-growing economy. So far in 2011, the fund's defensive posture has slowed its returns somewhat. The fund has returned -1.45 percent over the past year and 11.17 percent over the past three years. 

Historically, this fund has rarely moved in unison with other large-cap value funds. Since 2000, for instance, it has landed in the top percentile of Morningstar's large-value category in three separate years. But it's also ended up in the bottom percentile twice. One consequence of the fund's defensive nature is that it will usually fall behind during strong markets. That's what happened in 2003, when the fund lagged the S&P 500 by more than 28 percentage points, and in 2010 when the fund finished in the bottom of its category. The fund has returned 3.41 percent over the past five years and 5.20 percent over the past decade. 

Investment Strategy

According to the fund's prospectus: "The Forester Value Fund invests in the stocks of large U.S. companies that it believes are undervalued and have great appreciation potential. It may also take defensive positions when the manager believes that the overall stock market is highly valued or that market conditions warrant it. The Fund generally purchases a stock only at a price [that management] deems significantly below the intrinsic value of the company -[management's] estimate of the amount a buyer would pay to own the entire company."

Role in Portfolio

Morningstar calls this fund a "supporting player."

Management

Tom Forester manages the fund.

This is one of two funds in the Forester family. 

2010-10-30

Performance

The fund has returned -1.45 percent over the past year, 11.17 percent over the past three years, 3.41 percent over the past five years, and 5.20 percent over the past decade. 

Hypothetical Growth of $10,000

Updated 03.31.2012

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Holdings

The fund invests in undervalued companies. Management currently likes healthcare stocks and is staying away from big banks.

Asset Allocation

	% Long	% Short	% Net
Cash	24.11	0.99	23.12
Stocks	76.39	0.0	76.39
Bonds	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other	0.48	0.0	0.48
Foreign Bonds	0.0	0.0	0.0
Foreign Stocks	0.0	0.0	0.0
Convertible	0.0	0.0	0.0
Preferred	0.0	0.0	0.0

Updated 12.31.2011

Top Holdings

Performance as of 03.31.2012

Portfolio as of 12.31.2011

	Ticker	YTD Return %	% Net Assets
Fidelity Instl MM Fds Treasury Only I	---	---	6.93
Altria Group Inc.	MO	6.48	3.3
Chevron Corp	CVX	2.55	3.15
Microsoft Corporation	MSFT	25.15	3.03
Exxon Mobil Corporation	XOM	3.28	2.86

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Fees

Forester Value Fund has an expense ratio of 1.25 percent. 

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Risk

This fund tends to hold up significantly better than the rest of its peers during weak markets. But it will usually lag behind during rallies.

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