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.

Mark Mulholland of Matthew 25 is unusually persevering even in dogged company. …