THE NO-LOAD FUND INVESTOR
P.O. Box 3029, Brentwood, TN 37024.
Monthly, 1 year, $199.

The case for growth

        Sheldon Jacobs: "To limit risk, we favor growth-stock funds with moderate betas (volatility caused by market fluctuations). We also prefer growth stock funds or managers that held up better than most others in 2001 and 2002.
The following five growth-stock funds (in alphabetical order) are particularly appealing: Baron Fifth Avenue Growth (BFTHX); Harbor Capital Appreciation (HCAIX); Janus Mercury (JAMRX); Marsico Growth (MGRIX); and T. Rowe Price Growth Stock (PRGFX)."

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EQUITY FUND OUTLOOK
P.O. Box 76, Boston, MA 02117.
Monthly, 1 year, $149.

Fund Focus: Royce Value

        Thurman Smith recently recommended Royce Value (RYVFX) as a buy.
        "Royce Value is a worthy small-mid cap contender that doesn't get much attention: assets are only $83 million. Since its June 2001 inception, its annualized total return of 16.5% topped 90% of small-blend category rivals and all but one Royce sibling. Its comanagers are seasoned veteran Whitney George and relative newcomer Jay Kapla; they aim to own sixty larger small-cap stocks in which they have high conviction. Qualifying firms must have strong balance sheets, solid growth prospects, and good valuations. Due to Royce's practice of overweighting favorite stocks, this fund carries some of the risk of the shop's giant offerings, as many holdings in this fund are also owned by other, much larger Royce funds. The fund's median market capitalization has just slipped over the mid-cap border. If Value were to go the mid-cap route, it would have fewer shared holdings and thus potential to stand out within the Royce lineup. Royce funds are available on most brokerage platforms, but no longer on an NTF basis. (800-221-4268/$2,000/www.roycefunds.com)."

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