Internet fund managers buying
Internet Fund Managers Buying Their Favorites
Associate Editor: Len Hollie
Internet stocks are down but not out.
That's the predictable opinion of the top Internet mutual fund managers, who, of course add that they are in for the long-term and that recent stock price slides have been buy opportunities.
'We haven't sold much, we've been buying,' says Dave Kugler, president of the Bethesda, Md.-based Monument Internet Fund (NASDAQ:MFITX - news) . 'We like to keep the money invested. Our fund is pretty straightforward. It's an Internet fund. We invest in leading companies in the Internet sector and have 52 Internet companies in the portfolio. They've been under a lot of pressure lately, and as they go up and down, so do we.'
Kugler says he has been using the recent rout to add to his favorite issues, especially America Online (NYSE:AOL - news) , Internet venture fund CMGI (NASDAQ:CMGI - news) and RealNetworks, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNWK - news) , which rank among his five top holdings.
The other two are Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO - news) and CNET Inc. (NASDAQ:CNET - news) .
'When we buy Internet stocks, we're looking for a clear path to profitability, and a company that is a leader in its field,' says Kugler. 'We don't bottom-fish, and we don't buy third-tier players. With leaders, the upside is better and the downside is better. We're also looking for strong management.'
For example, he says he likes AOL because it is a leader in its field, it has a great business model, it's a well managed company, and it has 16 million users paying monthly fees before they even touch a button. 'They are the number one Internet company in their field, and they have access to capital that will allow them to expand,' Kugler adds.
Kugler says he likes RealNetworks, which provides software and services that enable the delivery of streaming media content over the Internet and intranets, because he believes it will be the leader as the Internet moves into its next phase. 'The Internet is in a nascent stage right now. But the next phase will encompass true multi-media applications such as broadband access and streaming video. |
