These are the top funds in five major categories, ranked according to three-year returns. We primarily consider funds with managers in place for at least three years; the only exceptions are managers with at least three years’ experience in a similar capacity. We don’t rank funds with front or back-end loads greater than 3 percent or funds that are closed to new investors, have less than $25 million in assets, have minimums of $10,000 or more, have trust restrictions or are single-state muni-bond funds. All data as of 11/30/09.

Source: Morningstar, Bloomberg

The Louis Rukeyser Honor Roll

Funds that have been on The Rukeyser 100 more than 80 percent of the past three years (at least 29 out of 36 months) make it onto The Louis Rukeyser Honor Roll. Their names are in green and marked with laurels.

On the Move

– Fairholme (FAIRX) is no longer eligible for inclusion in the Rukeyser 100 after the fund’s board approved a dramatic increase in its minimum initial investment, which jumped from $2,500 to $10,000 for both regular and IRA accounts as of Dec. 1, 2009. Manager Bruce Berkowitz asked for the increase to minimize the fund’s trading costs. Despite the increase we still very much like the fund and Berkowitz’s investment style, which won’t change just because minimums increased. We also believe the fund is still appropriate for new investors whose portfolio size can absorb the large initial purchase now required.

– Fidelity Select Materials (FSDPX) has joined the elite funds of the Rukeyser 100 after we gave manager Tobias Melo a pass on our three-year tenure requirement based on his past experience. Materials funds dominated the rankings in our initial performance screens for the Industry Sector category but were cut for qualitative reasons. But their recent outperformance is a reminder that as the global recovery continues to gain steam, materials and commodities plays will continue to do well. I expect materials to dominate this category in coming months.

Funds Added This Month

American Century Heritage
American Century Infl-Adj Bond Inv
Ameristock
Auxier Focus
Baird Intermediate Muni Bond
Fidelity Select Materials
Fidelity Select Medical Equip & Systems
Loomis Sayles Global Bond Retail
Managers Global Bond
Oakmark Equity & Income I
Roosevelt Multi-Cap
Royce Premier
T Rowe Price Health Sciences
Wasatch Small Cap Growth
Wells Fargo Advantage Municipal Bond
Westcore Select

Funds Dropped This Month

AllianceBern Muni Income National
American Century International Bond
Aston/Optimum Mid-Cap N
Berwyn
Fairholme
Fidelity Select Computers
Fidelity Select Consumer Staples
Guinness Atkinson Global Energy
Hussman Strategic Growth
Northern Global Fixed Income
Northern Intermediate Tax-Exempt
Perkins Mid-Cap Value J
Perkins Small Cap Value
Rydex Govt Long Bond 1.2X
T Rowe Price Personal Strat Income
Transamerica Premier Focus