If you could own only one fund…

Figuring out what your fellow advisors are selling to their clients is a fun exercise, but getting the rare opportunity to eavesdrop while they delve into more hypothetical scenarios is even more enjoyable.

The idea was hatched in Advisor.ca’s Town Hall, when an advisor named Henk asked the question: “If you could own only one mutual fund, which one would you choose?”

We decided to join the game by calling advisors and analysts to get their top picks.

Edmonton advisor Ryan Beebe, partner at Caplan, Beebe & Associates says he would probably pick the AGF Dividend Income Fund, an equity fund managed by Marc-Andre Robitaille. “It’s got a great track record; I like the style that Robitaille uses. It has stellar returns and quite frankly, I’ve always liked dividends whether it’s in an individual stock or a fund.”

Malcolm Ross, president of president of Vancouver based Investaflex, echoes some sentiments expressed in the Town Hall with his choice of the Acuity High Income Fund. The balanced fund is managed by David G. Stonehouse, Ian Ihnatowycz and Hugh McCauley. “They’ve got a great proven track record and I really like their management style,” he says. “It’s a good balanced fund approach.”

Mutual fund analysts stepped out a little, recommending the Resolute Growth Fund, but also the Trimark Fund and the CI Canadian Investment Fund.

“If I could hold any fund, regardless of risk? I would probably own the Resolute Growth,” says Mark Chow, analyst at Morningstar Canada. “We’re big fans of the manager, Tom Stanley. Yes, his volatility’s high, but if you look at it over any 12-month period, he’s never lost more than 17% or 18% in one 12-month period.”

Although the fund is risky — Stanley takes large positions sometimes in very illiquid small cap stocks, makes sector bets and doesn’t hold very many positions, “we think he’s done and excellent job,” says Chow. “There are a lot of things that could go wrong but he’s shown over time that he has the skills to avoid that.”

Stanley’s fund is interesting — he began investing in energy before the energy boom began. Before that the fund was invested in biotech and health care. “He’s not a one trick pony. If 10 years down the line energy comes back to where it was before and then goes nowhere, I don’t think you’ll see him in there. He will have gone on to something else that makes more sense at that point,” says Chow.

“It’s just that the fund is much more risky than most. Even though nothing’s happened in the past, it doesn’t mean it couldn’t’ happen in the future. That being said, he’s done just an amazing job to date.”