Finding the Right Mutual Fund Companies 1 – Strengths and Weaknesses

April 29, 2009 by kutenk · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Investment 

Finding the Right Fund Companies for You
Because knowing your fund family’s capabilities is critical to picking strong-performing funds, here are brief descriptions of some of the best-known fund companies (as well as a few boutiques), along with pros and cons of each.

1) AIM
Known best for its growth funds, AIM’s growth lineup generally held up fairly well during the 2.5-year bear market that began in March 2000, though it suffered markedly at the onset. That behavior illustrates a characteristic of AIM’s earnings growth focus, which feeds off trends. In other words, the funds don’t do well at market inflection points. In fact, several of AIM’s growth funds were left behind 2003’s rally.
Given the funds’ continued preference for premium-growth stocks and tolerance of high price multiples, we continue to expect streaky performance from AIM’s growth funds. On AIM’s value offerings—yes, AIM offers some value funds and has for years—we also expect streaky performance. That’s because the patient value managers often buy controversial stocks that can take a couple of years to pan out. These funds also tend to be more concentrated than their growth counterparts.
AIM absorbed the Invesco lineup of funds after the latter firm’s funds posted terrible bear-market performance and Invesco became enmeshed in the fund-trading scandal of 2003 and 2004. Most of the former Invesco funds subsequently merged into AIM offerings with similar strategies.
Overall, AIM is one of the more-adventurous shops around. Investors here should likely be willing and able to endure some swings in performance.




Strengths: AIM has a few standout funds whose managers look for growth but pay attention to their stocks’ price tags. AIM Mid Cap Core Equity is one of our favorites within this group.

Weaknesses: Investors seeking small-value options won’t find them here. And while expenses here are generally below average among funds sold through financial advisors, they could be lower given the firm’s assets under management.

2) American Century
Although American Century is best known as a shop that uses computerized models to pick growth stocks, the firm has been placing greater emphasis on its analyst resources over the past several years, and it has successfully expanded its lineup to include some fine value, foreign, and bond funds.
On the growth-stock side, American Century practices a strategy known as momentum investing. The aim is to find companies with accelerating growth rates in the hope that the market doesn’t fully appreciate the degree of positive change at the firm. Computers can screen for a host of momentum factors such as profit growth, earnings growth, and earnings that exceed expectations. The catch is that companies with accelerating profits tend to trade for high prices, and that makes them vulnerable to jarring price drops when their earnings fall short of expectations.
The firm is best-known as a no-load fund family, though most of its funds also have share classes designed for those using financial advisors. American Century’s expenses aren’t the lowest around, but the firm has worked to keep its trading costs as low as they can be. American Century’s executives have also been vocal opponents of so-called soft-dollar arrangements, whereby fund shops pay higher prices for their trade execution in exchange for stock research and other goodies.




Strengths: American Century is a classic B student. Although only a few of the firms funds would make the top of our buy lists (its value-oriented funds, including American Century Value and Equity-Income, are standouts, and some of its bond funds are also topnotch), most of the firms funds are respectable.

Weaknesses: The firm has improved fundamental research capabilities, but it still has a ways to go before it can stand with the best on that front. Moreover, while many American Century funds are sensibly managed, their costs are generally higher than offerings from rival no-load firms such as T.Rowe Price, Vanguard, and Fidelity. American Century Giftrust has been a notable laggard for several years.

3) American Funds
The watchword here is long term. The privately held American Funds gets managers focused on the long haul and shelters them from any pressure to chase investment trends. As a result, the funds generally win out in the end even if they endure periods of looking extremely unfashionable. American does a great job of keeping managers and analysts at the firm for their entire careers. As a result, it boasts some of the longest-tenured managers in the industry. Adding to the firm’s long-term success is the fact that fund expenses are the lowest of any advisor-sold firm. Also, the firm never chases a quick buck by launching trendy funds that bring in a ton of cash but may not be in shareholders’ best interests. Remember how it seemed as if everyone had an Internet fund by early 2000? The American Funds group did not. And their funds largely avoided the overhyped stocks that later crashed to the earth when the bubble burst and accounting scandals scarred the market.

For every one of its 26 mutual funds, American divvies up assets among a handful of independently acting managers. At most firms, a team-managed approach means that a group of managers swap ideas and come to a consensus, but American cobbles together managers with different styles and lets them loose. That gives American funds diversification among both strategies and stocks. American has never closed a fund to new investors because the firm believes it can always carve out another chunk and turn it over to another manager. That said, the firm has seen a torrent of new assets come in the door over the past few years. American says that it has promoted some analysts to management posts and isn’t struggling to invest the new assets, but it’s clear that entrenched managers are running more than they ever have before. We’d like to see the firm articulate a closing policy for some of its largest funds, including Growth Fund of America.

Strengths: American’s fundamental research skills are second to none, and it shows across the board in its funds. Fundamental Investors and EuroPacific Growth, to name just a few, have produced outstanding performance without undue volatility. We also like American Funds’ innovative take on emerging markets, the New World fund, which combines developed and developing markets.

Weaknesses: The fund doesn’t have much in the way of small-cap exposure: SmallCap World, its one small-cap option, is nothing to write home about. And if you’re looking for a fairly aggressive fund, you’ll have to look elsewhere because American doesn’t go there. The shop also faced regulatory scrutiny in early 2005, with regulators alleging that the firm had improper arrangements with brokerage firms to sell its funds and that it failed to clearly disclose these arrangements to shareholders or directors. The company has contested the charges, however.

On the next post, we’ll cover another Mutual Funds.

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International Sales Agreement. Key Documentation for Export Agreement. Essential Export Import Operation.

April 24, 2009 by kutenk · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Export Import 

Here is sample for International Sales Agreement (Export)

AGREEMENT made January 4, 1982, between Panoramic Export Company, Inc., a New York corporation having its principal place of business at 71 West 42d Street, New York, New York (the “Seller”), and Miguel Vellos, of 31 Avenida de Cortez, Lima, Peru (the “Purchaser”).

1.    Sale. The Seller shall cause to be manufactured, and shall sell and deliver to the Purchaser certain machinery and equipment (the “goods”), to be manufactured specially for the Purchaser by Rollo Manufacturing Company (the “Manufacturer”), at the Manufacturer’s plant in Detroit, Michigan, according to the specifications appearing in Exhibit A annexed.

2.    Price. The purchase price shall be $1,857.60 F.O.B. mill, freight prepaid to New Orleans, Louisiana, payable in currency of the United States of America. The term “F.O.B. mill” means delivery free on board cars at the Manufacturer’s works.




3.    Payment. The terms are net cash on presentation of invoice and inland bill of lading to bankers approved by the Seller, with whom credit in favor of
the Seller for the full amount of the purchase price is to be established forthwith. This credit shall be confirmed to the Seller by the bankers, and shall remain in full force until this contract shall have been completely performed. Delay by the Purchaser in establishing this credit shall extend the time for the performance of this contract by the Seller to such extent as may be necessary to enable it to make delivery in the exercise of reasonable diligence after such credit has been established; or, at the Seller’s option, such delay may be treated by the Seller as a wrongful termination of this contract on the part of the Purchaser.

4.    Delivery. The Seller shall notify the Purchaser when the goods are ready for shipment. Thereupon the Purchaser shall furnish shipping instructions to
the Seller, stating the date of shipment, the carrier, and the routing. The Purchaser shall be entitled to select any routing officially authorized and published by the transportation companies, provided that the Seller may change the routing if inability to secure cars promptly, or other reasons, would involve delay in forwarding the goods over the route selected by the Purchaser. The Seller shall not be required to ship the goods until it has received shipping instructions from the Purchaser. If the Purchaser fails to furnish shipping instructions promptly, so as to enable the Seller to perform this contract in accordance with its terms, the Seller may, at its option, and in addition to all other rights it may possess, cancel such portion of this contract as may remain unexecuted, or make shipment in accordance with any routing of its own selection.




5.    Freight charges. Any prepayment by the Seller of freight charges shall be for the account of the Purchaser, and shall be included in the amount of the invoice and repaid by the Purchaser on presentation thereof, and shall not affect the obligations of the Seller with respect to delivery. Insofar as the
purchase price includes freight charges, such price is based upon the lowest official freight rate in effect at the date of this contract. Any difference between such rate and the rate actually paid, when the goods are shipped from the Manufacturer’s plant, shall be for the Purchaser’s account, and shall be reflected in the invoice, whether such difference results from a change in rate or a change in route.

6.    Insurance. In no case does the purchase price, even though inclusive of freight, cover the cost of any insurance; but if the route selected involves
movement of the goods by water, or by rail and water, for which the freight rate does not include insurance, the Seller shall effect marine insurance for the account of the Purchaser, and the Purchaser shall repay to the Seller the cost of such insurance.

7.    Partial delivery. The Seller may ship any portion of the goods as soon as completed at the Manufacturer’s plant, upon compliance with the terms of
paragraph 4; and payment for any portion of the goods as shipped shall become due in accordance with the terms of payment stated in paragraph 3.

8.    Contingencies. The Seller shall not be liable for any delay in manufacture or delivery due to fires, strikes, labor disputes, war, civil commotion, delays in transportation, shortages of labor or material, or other causes beyond the control of the Seller. The existence of such causes of delay shall justify the suspension of manufacture, and shall extend the time of performance on the part of the Seller to the extent necessary to enable it to make delivery in the exercise of reasonable diligence after the causes of delay have been removed. However, that in the event of the existence of any such causes of delay, the Purchaser may cancel the purchase of such portion of the goods as may have been subjected to such delay, provided such portion of the goods has not been manufactured nor is in process of manufacture at the time the Purchaser’s notice of cancellation arrives at the Manufacturer’s plant.

9.    Warranty. The Seller guarantees that the goods will generate or utilize electrical energy to their rated capacities without undue heating, and will
do their work in a successful manner, provided that they are kept in proper condition and operated under normal conditions, and that their operation is
properly supervised. THE WARRANTIES SPECIFIED IN THIS CONTRACT ARE IN LIEU OF ANY AND ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

10.    Inspection. The Purchaser may inspect the goods at the Manufacturer’s plant, and such inspection and acceptance shall be final. Reasonable facilities shall be afforded to inspectors representing the Purchaser to make the inspection, and to apply, before shipment from the Manufacturer’s plant, tests in accordance with the specifications contained in paragraph 1. If the Purchaser fails to inspect the goods, the failure shall be deemed an acceptance of the goods, and any acceptance shall be deemed a waiver of any right to revoke acceptance at some future date with respect to any defect that a proper inspection would have revealed.

11.    Claims. The Seller shall not be liable for any claims unless they are made promptly after receipt of the goods and due opportunity has been given for investigation by the Seller’s representatives. Goods shall not be returned except with the Seller’s permission.

12.    Country of importation. The Purchaser represents that the goods are purchased for the purpose of exportation to Peru, and the Purchaser covenants that the goods will be shipped to that destination, and shall furnish, if required by the Seller, a landing certificate duly executed by the customs authorities at the port of importation, certifying that the goods have been landed and entered at that port.

13.    Duties. All drawbacks of duties paid on materials entering into the manufacture of the goods shall accrue to the Seller, and the Purchaser shall
furnish the Seller with all documents necessary to obtain payment of such drawbacks, and to cooperate with the Seller in obtaining such payment.

14.    Cancellation by purchaser. The Purchaser may cancel this contract, as to any goods not manufactured or in process of manufacture at the time the Purchaser’s notice of cancellation arrives at the Manufacturer’s plant, in any of the following events:
a.    if the country of importation becomes involved in civil or foreign war, insurrection, or riot, or is invaded by armed forces; or if, as a result of war, treaty, or otherwise, it is added to or becomes a part of the domain of any other sovereignty; or
b.    if a countervailing duty is declared or imposed on the goods by the country of importation; or
c.    if by reason of an embargo the goods cannot be exported from the United States; or
d.    if the Purchaser is unable to obtain an export shipping license for the purpose of exporting the goods to Peru.

15.    Benefit. This agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties, their legal representatives, successors, and assigns,
provided that the Purchaser shall not assign this contract without the prior written consent of the Seller.

16.    Construction. This contract shall be construed under the laws of New York.

In witness whereof the parties have executed this contract.
Corporate Seal    Panoramic Export Company,
Attest:    Inc. by ………………….
President
…………………………     …………………… (L.S.)
Secretary                      Miguel Vellos

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