Quick Take: With a total return of 12.8% in the first quarter this year, CornerCap Group of Funds:Small Cap Value Fund (CSCVX) was the top performer in the small cap value category. In 2001, the fund returned 23.6%, versus 14.1% for the peer group. The fund's longer-term record is also attractive. For the three years ended in March, CornerCap Small Cap Value rose 20.2%, versus 18.7% for the average small cap value fund.
Managers Thomas Quinn and Richard Bean look for inexpensive stocks of companies they think can expand their bottom lines. Two sectors where they have been finding stocks of companies they like: health care and capital goods.
The Full Interview:
When the market is placing its bets in one place, Thomas Quinn and Richard Bean are likely to be looking elsewhere.
"We're very contrarian-oriented," Quinn said of himself and his colleague, who look for undervalued stocks that other investors are shunning for the CornerCap Small Cap Value Fund.
For some of their latest investments, the managers have been shopping among health care stocks because they say stock prices in the sector seem beaten down more than earnings prospects merit.
A recent addition to the fund is Syncor Intl (SCOR), which makes products for diagnosing and treating disease. In addition to an attractive price-to-earnings ratio of 17 times projected 2002 earnings, the company looks good because of its niche position as a provider of radiopharmacy services, the managers say. They originally bought the stock in late February at $24.80 per share; it closed today at $33.21.
A few weeks before investing in Syncor, the managers bought a stake in Haemonetics Corp (HAE), which makes automated systems for collecting blood. The stock's P/E ratio of about 25 is one of the highest in the portfolio, but it also has been one of the fund's top performers lately, Bean noted. Haemonetics's shares were priced at $28 when the managers first purchased them. They have have since risen to about $33.
