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Analysis: This fund has a new managerial team with Lynette Schroeder and Meighan Harahan now running the show. However, both are with Driehaus Capital of Chicago, which has overseen this fund since the outset, so there is no change in the underlying aggressive style and the focus on small to mid-cap stocks. This approach results in huge NAV swings depending on the fortunes of the market. The fund gained 108% in 1999 and then proceeded to record big drops in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Strong markets helped investors to recoup some of those losses from 2003 to mid-2007 and as a result the fund now shows above-average results over all time frames to June 30/07. The latest one year gain to that date was 22.6% and the three-year average annual compound rate of return was 17.1%. The portfolio is well-balanced regionally, with a 38% weighting in Europe, 29% in North America, 25% in the Pacific Rim, and the rest scattered around. The cash position is very small. There’s no doubt the returns have been very good lately but the volatility here is extremely high. Two numbers illustrate this. In the 12 months to February 2000, the fund gained 151.8%. The next year, over the 12 months to September 2001, it lost 50.5%. Whew! This is a fund to ride while it’s hot but when the markets start to weaken, you need to move on.
