Motley Fool Asset Management's Motley Fool Independence Fund debuted on Morningstar with a five-star overall rating.

MFWire wrote about the Motley Fool's antics at last month's Morningstar conference. Antics aside, Morningstar has awarded the $206.04 million fund a significant imprimatur.

When the fund was first released three years ago, critics blasted it. Chuck Jaffe of Marketwatch named the fund the "Stupid Investment of the Week." Peter Jacobstein, president of Motley Fool Asset Management, addressed the industry skepticism in the press release. "As a frequent critic of the fund industry, The Motley Fool took some serious heat when we created the Independence Fund," he said. "Ultimately, we decided to get in the game because a lot of investors asked us to create a fund that aligned with their interests." Bill Mann, PM of the Motley Fool Funds, told MFWire.com that they understood that it "was a leap of faith for shareholders to invest in a firm without a track record."

"We do things best for shareholders when it isn't optimal for business," Mann said. "One of the dark secrets of the fund industry is that the fund can be dramatically impacted by shareholders buying and selling at the wrong time. The key was being open with people, with what shareholders would be better with us or with other companies."

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COMPANY PRESS RELEASE

First Mutual Fund Created by Fools Debuts with Five-Star Overall Morningstar Rating™ (Among 706 Word Stock Funds as of 6/30/2012, based on risk-adjusted return) Motley Fool Independence Fund’s track record of low risk and high returns leads to top marks from Morningstar

Alexandria, VA – July 16, 2012 – The Motley Fool Independence Fund (FOOLX) – the first fund created by Motley Fool Asset Management—has debuted with a Five-Star Overall Morningstar Rating™.

Based on risk-adjusted performance, The Motley Fool Independence Fund—a World Stock Fund—shares this distinction with only the top 10 percent of the 706 funds in its Morningstar Category as of June 30, 2012. Since its inception, the Motley Fool Independence Fund has delivered 15.22 percent annualized returns, beating the MSCI's return of 11.61 percent as of June 30, 2012.

Said Peter Jacobstein, President of Motley Fool Asset Management, "We're absolutely thrilled that our first fund debuted with a five-star rating from Morningstar. As a frequent critic of the fund industry, The Motley Fool took some serious heat when we created the Independence Fund. Ultimately, we decided to get in the game because a lot of investors asked us to create a fund that is aligned with their interests. With a commitment to Foolish investing principles, fulcrum-fee pricing, and radical transparency, Fool Funds are our sincere answer to requests to provide mutual funds that put shareholders first."

All Motley Fool Funds start with a long-term value-investing approach. Some of the many ways Fool Funds are aligned with shareholders’ interests include a fulcrum fee, unmatched transparency, and the goal to help educate shareholders to become better overall investors. In addition to the Motley Fool Independence Fund, investors seeking a Foolish approach to mutual funds can also invest in the Motley Fool Great America Fund (TMFGX)—a domestic small-mid cap fund—and the Motley Fool Epic Voyage Fund (TMFEX)—a foreign fund.

Said Bill Mann, portfolio manager, "We made a conscious choice when we launched FoolFunds that we would do things differently than the average fund company. We ignore our benchmark allocations, we make decisions based on the long-term, we focus on companies and not on share prices, we seek shareholders who share our philosophy rather than aim to maximize our assets under management.

"We've made some good decisions over the first three years, and the five-star rating is a reflection of those decisions. However, our goal is to win for our shareholders over decades—not just years. While we're happy about the top rating, we won't shorten our time horizons in an attempt to maintain it, as that could come at the cost of long-term performance."

 

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