Q. What’s your opinion of Alliance Premier Growth B Shares? I’ve owned shares in this fund for a couple of years and am thinking of moving on to greener pastures.
A.S., Chicago
A. Once a premier choice among large-company stock funds, this fund has made a series of bad calls in recent years.
For example, it stayed too conservative at a time when growth stocks were flying high. It also moved into technology stocks at the wrong time.
And, oh yes, it bet heavily on the stock of Enron and continued buying it even after regulators sounded alarms. Everyone knows how that one turned out.
As a result, the $4.6 billion Alliance Premier Growth B suffered a decline of 29 percent in value over the past 12 months and posted a three-year annualized decline of 15 percent. Both results rank in the lowest 15 percent of all large-company growth funds.
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Alfred Harrison, manager of the fund since its inception in September 1992, turned in some good-performing years with it during the early bull market. He has run institutional money for more than 20 years and relies on Alliance’s quality team of analysts.
However, Harrison’s approach involves looking for leading growth stocks that have fallen to their lows, then investing when sentiment is sour and the company appears to be poised for recovery. That’s a very tricky business in a bear market.
Dan Culloton, analyst with the Morningstar Inc. research firm, said investors who want to stick with the fund “should realize that it has a fairly aggressive strategy that calls for some bold calls on some individual issues.”
Nearly one-third of the fund’s assets are invested in financial stocks. Other significant groups are services, technology and health care. The fund’s top holdings recently included MBNA, Kohl’s and Citigroup.
Alliance Premier Growth B has a 4 percent load, or sales charge, and requires a $250 minimum initial investment.
Q. I have 15 different stocks. My wife is deceased and I have no children. I would like to name two beneficiaries to inherit my stock. What’s the best way to go about doing this?
D.H., Chicago.
A. “Transfer on death” registration allows you to pass securities you own directly to another person or entity upon your death without going through probate.
As a result, the executor or administrator of your estate needn’t take action to ensure the transfer is completed. The beneficiary just needs to send a copy of the death certificate to the transfer agent and re-register the stock.
State law governs the way securities may be registered. Most states, such as Illinois, have adopted the Uniform Transfer on Death Security Registration Act, though some have modified it. Be aware that some brokerage firms may choose not to offer transfer on death registration.
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Andrew Leckey answers questions Sunday in Business and Tuesday in Your Money. Address inquiries to Andrew Leckey, P.M.B. 184, 369-B Third St., San Rafael, Calif. 94901-3581, or by e-mail at [email protected].