The New Sibling

By Savita Iyer-Ahrestani, Savita Iyer-Ahrestani

September 01, 2008 at 04:00 AM

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Like its predecessor the UMB Scout International Fund, the UMB Scout International Discovery Fund (launched on December 31, 2007, with the ticker UMBDX), looks to invest for the long term in stocks that present good growth prospects at a decent price–stocks of companies that "we can live with," says Jim Moffett, lead manager for both portfolios.

However, unlike its predecessor, the UMB Scout International Discovery Fund invests in small- and mid-cap international stocks, both of which have become more readily available as the global economy has grown to encompass a greater number of nations.

"We had customers who wanted a more focused product," Moffett says. "The Discovery Fund is that; it's the next leg."

Moffett and his team apply the same strategy of striking a balance between countries and industry sectors to picking stocks for the Discovery Fund as they do for the International Fund. The fund is heavily weighted in the consumer discretionary sector, industrials, financials, and information technology, but its energy holdings provided the greatest overall return in the second quarter of this year. Its exposure to Chile and Canada provided the greatest contribution to relative outperformance, and Moffett says the fund also has benefited from exposure to the United Kingdom, Australia, and France.

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