To: Jim Battaglia who wrote (836 ) 6/15/1998 5:47:00 AM From: Bernie Kaplan Respond to
The reason for ALL STAR'S unsuccessful position in Energy Services was that it was recommended for purchase as it reached the top range of a price channel, just when it was due for a pullback to support levels. It was, from a technical standpoint, doomed from the start due to an improperly judged entry point, regardless of the strong short-term momentum and ranking it was exhibiting at the time. This is always a risk when one attempts to buy high and sell higher, since by the time a fund's trend is established enough to move it to the upper rankings in the Select Fund family, it's upside momentum may have already been exhausted or it may be at a poor spot from the standpoint of a chartists. However, his single sector is now in Retailing, which is the strongest of the Selects by a wide margin. The entry into this fund was, however, extremely late, and missed the fund's strongest momentum cycle which occurred weeks before his entry. I have been in the fund, and continued to recommend it, since 12/31/97, and am quite pleased with its 25% return this year which is now #1 in the family.
