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September 13, 2003

That's Gonna Leave A Mark

Morningstar isn't happy with some mutual funds:

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Fund-rating firm Morningstar issued an unusually critical report Friday recommending that investors consider selling their stakes in the mutual funds run by Janus, Strong, Bank of America, and Banc One.

The report, the first of its kind from Morningstar, comes in the wake of allegations that, if true and if widespread, point to one of the biggest scandals in the history of the mutual fund industry.

I've only ever owned a fund with one of those companies, Janus, right before and during the tech wreck. Ah, the glory days of seeing my investment soar 50% in three weeks, only to come crashing down a couple of months later to where I almost broke even.

It seems that Morningstar is being particularly harsh with Janus, especially when this report opens with the line:

We think that the Janus fund family does not deserve investors' confidence.

Well, without that, they've got nothing (ok, aside from some large institutions). This will be interesting to watch unfold.

I realize I don't normally blog about news like this, and I've probably just bored all six of you to tears. My apologies.