ranked second. US News and World report ranked the two funds first and third, respectively, in the foreign large value category.
Morningstar awarded both funds five-star ratings as well, although in the case of the Value Fund, that rating was given to a different share class than the one Kiplinger and US News recognized. Nelson's performance in 2022 was no one-time fluke. He has co-managed the Dividend Income Fund since its inception in 2014 and the Value Fund since April 2010, and their three- and five-year annualized returns are also some of the best in their class.
"It's typically a company that has a long successful operating history and a defensible franchise, but something's happened in the market where investors have turned negative temporarily," he said."Generally from a valuation perspective we're not buying anything that's trading at least 1 standard deviation under its 5 year average."
About half of the Value Fund's assets are dedicated to either defensive consumer-facing companies or basic materials makers. The Dividend Income is somewhat more diversified, with 15% to 20% of holdings devoted to consumer defensive, basic materials, and energy companies, with healthcare, utilities, and communication services companies each getting 10% to 15%.