Our 4-Hour Workweek

A "thirty-something" colleague of mine asked me last week what would I recommend he invest in given he had $10,000.

I love these kinds of questions and with zeal set out to come up with a meaningful recommendation. Considering his age and the fact that he has three young children and a stay at home wife, I felt his risk tolerance was low and so I made a beeline to the MSN Money Central website and the deluxe mutual fund screener. I set the following search criteria:

1. 10-year annualized return equal to or greater than 12%;
2. Morningstar rating of 5-star;
3. Morningstar risk of low;
4. Zero front-end load.

The search yielded 7 hits: Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining (VGPMX) at 22.44% per year; Fidelity Select Medical Equipment/Systems (FSMEX) at 14.41%; Waddell & Reed Adv Science & Technology (USTFX) at 13.17%; Ivy Science & Technology (WSTCX) at 12.69%; and three Neuberger Berman Genesis funds (NBGNX, NBGEX, and NBGAX) at 12.34%, 12.29% and 12.01% respectively.

Wow! Seven great funds with low risk and 10-year annual returns of 12% or more. Pretty good stuff!

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek