Vice Fund
 |
This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (March 2010) |
The Vice Fund (MUTF: VICEX) is a mutual fund investing in companies that have significant involvement in, or derive a substantial portion of their revenues from the tobacco, gambling, defense/weapons, and alcohol industries. A primary focus of stock selection is the ability of a company to pay and grow dividends.
The fund has received a great deal of media coverage[1][2][3] even in Non-english magazines.[4]
“Is it Better to be Naughty or Nice,” by Shank cites a study that compared portfolios made up of top socially responsible funds and that made up of top vice funds. Analysis of alpha regression models found that in the short-term, differences between the two portfolios’ performance was negligible. Only the SRI funds had any significant positive risk-adjusted performance. For the five and ten year period, only the SRI portfolio had positive and significant alpha value, suggesting that the market valued the features of the companies in the SRI portfolio. For the same periods, the vice portfolio showed no significant excess return. These findings indicate that the market valued the features of the SRI portfolio over the longer time horizons, while not valuing the vice funds for any period, and it was the SRI portfolio that had superior risk-adjusted performance.[5]
In addition, the Free Enterprise Action Fund, which performed worse than both the S&P 500 and most socially responsible mutual funds[clarification needed], files shareholder resolutions which oppose the general trend of socially responsible investing, for example by asking GE to "justify lobbying for global warming regulation." [6]
Contents |
[edit] History
The current fund manager is Jeff Middleswart (since Feb. 2010).
The fund was organized in March 2001 by USA Mutuals, which at the time was known as Mutuals.com. Dan Ahrens originally managed the fund in Texas.
[edit] Holdings
Top ten investments as of July 31, 2010:[7]
| % | Company | Area |
|---|---|---|
| 12.24 | Philip Morris International, Inc. | Cigarettes |
| 9.20 | Lorillard, Inc. | Cigarettes |
| 6.52 | Altria Group, Inc. | Cigarettes |
| 5.73 | Carlsberg Group | Beverages |
| 5.52 | Diageo plc | Beverages |
| 5.40 | Lockheed Martin Corp. | Aerospace/Defense |
| 4.80 | SABMiller PLC | Beverages |
| 4.36 | Grupo Casa Saba | Distribution |
| 3.87 | British American Tobacco PLC | Cigarettes |
| 3.79 | Northrop Grumman Corp. | Aerospace/Defense |
[edit] Fund Performance
The funds performance per July 2007[8][9]:
| Year | Annual returns (in %) |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 12.71 |
| 2008 | -41.57 |
| 2007 | 17.76 |
| 2006 | 23.15 |
| 2005 | 6.41 |
| 2004 | 24.37 |
| 2003 | 34.33 |
| Average | 11.02 |
[edit] Capital
Capital in the fund per 31 March.[10]
| Year |
Capital (in Million USD) |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 180.58 |
| 2007 | 103.03 |
| 2006 | 50.53 |
| 2005 | 31.48 |
| 2004 | 10.38 |
[edit] References
- ^ God vs. Satan Who's the better investor? in Slate (2005-07-29) "By contrast, the much-smaller Vice Fund actively embraces companies that profit from human fallibility. And it has profited handsomely from doing so, crowing that it ranks in the top 1 percent of funds in its category. Here's a chart of the Vice Fund against the S&P 500 since its inception in 2002."
- ^ Does Vice Pay? in The Independent (2003-04-04) "“Vices are not crimes,” wrote 19th-century anarcho-capitalist philosopher Lysander Spooner. We still can legally invest in vice industries that have not been completely criminalized by the state. The Vice Fund (www.vicefund.com), created seven months ago, invests in alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and national defence. The presence of defence in the list of sins reminds us that what is a vice for some is a virtue for others."
- ^ Vice beats virtue in the battle for high returns in Financial Times (2006-12-18) "The Vice Fund (VICEX) is really an alternative sector strategy that focuses on the alcohol, tobacco, gaming and defense industries, and we do so because we believe they offer true investment merit."
- ^ Focus Money Online
- ^ Shank, Todd M., Daryl K. Manullang, and Ronald Paul Hill. “Is it Better to be Naughty or Nice?” The Journal of Investing. Fall 2005: 82 – 87
- ^ http://www.freeenterpriseactionfund.com
- ^ VICEX: Holdings for VICE FUND on Yahoo! Finance
- ^ Official website - Fund Prospect dated 30 July 2007
- ^ http://story.tarunj.com/2009/04/13/do-you-know-about-the-vice-fund-vicex.aspx
- ^ Official website
[edit] External links
- VICE FUND Fact Sheet Release Date: 11-30-2007
- Official site
- Interview with Vice Fund portfolio manager
