Feast or famine
From The Wall Street Journal
When it comes to small cap performance there is a large gap between the winners and losers. The average small-cap growth fund has returned 56.45% during the past 12 months through last week, according to Lipper Inc. But investors in small-cap value funds may be feeling hunger pains with the typical fund up a modest 7.7%. At different times, the growth and value styles of investing have outperformed each other depending on which style is in favor. Generally, value has outperformed growth in the small-cap universe, said analysts at Morningstar Inc. While the gap has been as wide in the past as it is now, slight differences have been more common, such as a percentage point or so.

"The New Millennium!"
From The Wall Street Journal
Y2K might seem like problems to some but others are looking to take advantage of the non-event. Putnam Investments and the mutual funds unit of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. are both planning fund rollouts in coming weeks that would use a new millennium theme. Plans for MSDW New Millennium Growth Fund were unveiled in a SEC commission filing this month, while Putnam has an aggressive growth fund in development that may be offered to the public next year under a name stressing the new century. Fund execs are jumping on the trend because they see the millennium as a way to highlight young investing themes in technology and the Internet.

International small caps soaring
From The Boston Globe
International funds specializing in small companies are beating their large-company counterparts by a considerable margin. According to Lipper, the average small-company international equity fund has a year-to-date total return of 52.10% as of Nov. 18, compared with 23.72% for the average large-company international stock fund. One fund manager said the wave of restructuring has improved the performance of large-cap international stocks and is just starting to take root in small caps.

Y2K, no sweat
From CBS MarketWatch
Fund managers expressed confidence that they're ready to weather Y2K and other year-end technological uncertainties. Managers from asset management firms said they aren't taking profits from the market's recent rally. Nor are they taking defensive measures such as increasing their cash positions.  

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