Taking the long view pays off in short term too

New York

PATIENCE paid dividends for three of the top-performing US mutual funds of the fourth quarter.

The managers of the trio - the Matthew 25 fund, the Hotchkis & Wiley Small Cap Value fund and the Oakmark Global fund - cling to investments longer than competitors. Their turnover ratios - the percentage of holdings they replace each year - are lower than average. The typical actively managed stock fund tracked by Morningstar sloughs nearly 65 per cent of its portfolio annually. Not one of these three hits that rate.