Fundsters interested in broad mandate mutual funds with the ability to time the market may want to take a look at Eleanor Laise's Fund Track column in the Thursday edition of the Wall Street Journal. Laise highlights the pros and cons of investing in a number of broad, flexible mandate funds, including: Encompass; Intrepid Small Cap; Ivy Asset Strategy; John Hancock Technical Opportunities; Legg Mason Permal Tactical Allocation and Quaker Small-Cap Growth Tactical Allocation.

Joel Sauber, head of U.S. products at Legg Mason, and Eric Cinnamond, manager of Intrepid Small Cap, both weigh in to defend such flexibility. Anders Ekholm, an adjunct professor at Hanken School of Economics, and Karin Anderson, a mutual fund analyst at Morningstar, both worry about the risks and higher trading fees associated with such "market-timing" funds. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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