Gutsy or Gimmicky?
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If you want to help fight the war on terror with your pocketbook, plunk down some loot in the Roosevelt Anti-Terror Multi-Cap fund. The tiny mutual fund, with just $14 million in assets, changed its name from Abacus Bull Moose Growth fund last month in an effort to capitalize on renewed patriotic sentiment in the post-9/11 world.
The fund says on its Web site that it will not invest in any of the 400 publicly traded companies that have active business ties to countries that support terrorism. According to its filing with the SEC, it has hired an independent third party to screen out companies that present a “global security risk.” The SEC filing defines that risk as any threat to a company’s share value or reputation stemming from its ties to Iran, North Korea, Syria and Sudan. Another form of risk is a company’s ties to “proliferation-related concerns regarding weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.” If a stock in the portfolio is discovered to have breached the criteria, the portfolio manager will sell the stock within five business days.
Morningstar’s director of mutual fund analysis Russ Kinnel calls the new investment objective “dopey.” “It certainly ranks high up on the scale of all-time gimmicky ideas,” Kinnel says. “When you’re a tiny, obscure fund, you need to scream at the top of your lungs to gather assets.”
