Ronald Sloan of AIM Charter Fund

Quick Take: AIM Charter Fund/A (CHTRX) seeks stable, competitive returns from companies that have temporarily fallen on hard times but still have sound fundamentals. As of October 29, the $1.8 billion fund held 75 stocks, out of its universe of 350 large-cap stocks.

For the three years through last month, the fund returned 5.2%, annualized, nearly twice its peers’ 2.7% gain. Year to date through October, it rose 2.3%, while its peers were up 1.8%. The fund is slightly less volatile than its peers, and has significantly lower portfolio turnover, 28% versus 65%. Its expenses of 1.30% compare with the peer average of 1.15%.

Ronald Sloan manages the fund in the same fundamental research approach he uses in running AIM Mid Cap Core Equity Fund/A (GTAGX) and AIM Premier Equity Fund/A (AVLFX). He feels the Charter Fund can offer stability to an investor with more volatile holdings.

James Aber, an AIM spokesman, also participated in the interview.

The Full Interview:

S&P: The AIM Charter Fund has existed since 1968. Did you make any changes in the fund when you took it over in January 2002?

When I became manager, the fund had large-cap growth characteristics. Given its disappointing performance in 2001 and 2002, we decided to recreate it as a core fund, with an investment process similar to that of AIM Mid Cap Core Equity Fund.

S&P: How would you describe your investment philosophy?

SLOAN: The fund is a core portfolio around which investors can build a more substantive, expansive portfolio. We want to provide something for folks to hang onto through thick and thin.

Core funds provide ballast in an investor’s overall portfolio and offer consistent, competitive returns. Steady as you go performance does not go up as much in strong markets, but it also doesn’t go down as much in weaker markets.

S&P: Could you describe your investment strategy?

SLOAN: Being a core fund, we follow a fundamental, research-driven style. Our research process has two parts. In the destruction phase of reading 10-Ks and 10-Qs, we try to understand what a company has done in the past. In the constructive phase, we build forward-looking models and talk to companies, industry experts, and Wall Street analysts. We come up with different price targets, which are a function of traditional valuation measures, such as price to earnings, price to book, and discounted cash flow. We get an idea of a company’s earning power going forward.

Basically, we look from the bottom up for stocks that are cheaply priced, compared with their growth rates or future returns.

As lead manager, I make all of the buy/sell decisions. I have a team of five analysts who cover different sectors: consumer staples and pharmaceuticals; energy and media; retail and nonpharma health care, such as hospitals; industrials; and tech and telecom.

S&P: Do you buy out-of-favor stocks?

SLOAN: We look for lower-risk companies with some future growth for a few years. When you pay less for growth, you’re generally buying stocks that are out of favor.

S&P: What are your buy criteria for stocks?

SLOAN: We want companies with projected returns on invested capital greater than their cost of capital. The price target should be significantly above the current price.

The company should be in a business that we can understand. Because we buy things that aren’t necessarily in favor, the better we understand the business, the better our analysis is likely to be.

We look for a catalyst, such as something that has hurt short-term returns, but is likely to be temporary. Management should be fully committed to boosting the company’s returns going forward. We aren’t interested in managements that drive companies into the ground.

S&P: What are your sell criteria?

SLOAN: First, we have happy sales, where everything works. The stock reaches our target price, so we sell it for good money. We don’t have to sell at the top tick to be happy.

S&P: What about the unhappy sales?