The views in these article excerpts and hyperlinks were those of the Fund manager as of each article's publication date and may be subject to change. For the period ending June 30, 2008 the Fund's 1-, 5-, 10-year and since inception (7/1/89) average annual returns were -24.48%, 11.53%, 7.50% and 10.32%, respectively. Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.  Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost. Please click here for the Fund's most recent month end performance and related information. The article excerpts and hyperlinks reference individual securities that may or may not currently be held by the Fund. Click here to view a recent listing of the Fund's top 10 holdings.  Furthermore, please see additional disclosure at the end of this section. 

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Motley Fool Champion Funds

" All-Star Fund Manager: Bernie Horn"

December 2005

As manager for the Polaris Global Value Fund, Mr. Horn invests heavily in the funds he manages and beyond that, he's a stock picker devoted to a commonsense approach to asset allocation. The Polaris Global Value Fund is hardly an international-only affair; at the end of December 2005, roughly 40% of the fund's assets were devoted to U.S. equities. The Q&A with Fund Manager Bernard Horn describes asset allocation and buy decisions, and the resulting positive effects on the Fund. 

Morningstar

"Polaris Global Value Has Taken Advantage of the Possibilities"

November 16, 2005

Bernard Horn and his investment team at the Polaris Global Value Fund view all the world's stocks as one big pool from which to choose. They do keep in mind a company's location, particularly if it resides in an emerging market. But Fund management allows the overall country and regional allocations to fall wherever they may, depending on which 75 or so companies seem most attractive after their research. The approach uses quantitative screens to narrow the field, and then it uses fundamental analysis combined with insights about overarching economic trends and buy decisions, and the resulting positive effects on the Fund. 

The Fund's healthy allocation of smaller stocks -- which have historically outperformed - have given it a leg up on rivals in the past few years in this wide-ranging category that tends to focus more on larger securities.

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The Polaris Global Value is run by Bernie Horn, a manager who believes in both his investing process and in the necessity of allocating assets worldwide. The Fund's performance has proved admirable, handily outperforming many of its peers since inception. The Fund's standard deviation, a gauge of how far performance has swung relative to its mean, has frequently been lower than that of the S&P.

Mr. Horn hews to a stock-picking process that seeks to provide a measure of mitigating risk. Namely, he likes discounted but high-quality stocks. A key part of the Fund's stock-selection strategy involves quantitative screening, a process that whittles down the vast universe of stocks to a reasonable, not to mention reasonably priced, number. From there, Mr. Horn and his team use bottom-up, fundamental analysis to make their picks, homing in on (among other things) balance sheets, profitability, and the quality of a company's management team as they go about the business of assembling the Fund's portfolio.

Reuters

"Investing: Asia--so far, so good.  But so risky, so be careful"

October 10, 2005

There are good growth and investment opportunity in Asia, according to Bernie Horn, manager of the Polaris Global Value Fund (PGVFX).  He claims that the difficulty lies in picking the best stocks and sorting through the myriad conflicting issues encountered when investing in Asia.  Mr. Horn attempts to profit from China's growth without buying Chinese stocks.  Instead, he has been investing in western companies that sell to China, thus seeking to capitalize on the growth without getting over invested in companies that might not be ready.

Richard E. Band's Profitable Investing

"FOCUS ON FUNDS: Bigger Bang with Smaller Funds"

October 2005

The Polaris Global Value Fund (PGVFX) roams the world.  Bernie Horn, manager of the Fund, spread his stock picks widely, with no single stock typically accounting for as much as 2% of the portfolio.  The Fund has performed admirably, beating the S&P year-to-date, as well as over the past five years (date as of 9/30/05).

The Wall Street Journal

"SmartMoney Fund Screen: Global Funds"

August 23, 2005

There is an argument to be made for buying funds that seek to buy the best stocks, irrespective of geography, according to The Wall Street Journal.  And global funds, which Lipper Inc. defines as those that invest at least 75% of assets in U.S. and international equities, may be the best equipped to employ that approach. 

SmartMoney.com

"Around The World In 80 Stocks"

August 19, 2005

Bernard Horn, manager of the Polaris Global Value Fund, noted that the Fund's U.S. allocation has been at the lowest point since inception. The reason: Mr. Horn believes some pockets of value still exist in the U.S., but most are international. In picking stocks that comprise the Fund's portfolio, the management team scans a universe of more than 24,000 stocks across 40 countries. Once stock choices are made, Mr. Horn and his team apply the Fund's capital democratically, spreading assets evenly among the holdings instead of loading up on favorites. 

The Fund has seen a sharp increase in popularity, echoing a growing investor preference for funds that invest abroad.  Mr. Horn believes people might be preparing for the day when the majority of investing is global.

MSN Money

"Company Focus: Stocks That Will Ride Europe’s Next Boom"

August 17, 2005

Bernie Horn, manager of the Polaris Global Value Fund (PGVFX), discussed international stocks that are likely to thrive in the near future.  He points to ENI, an Italian energy company, which has a lot of refining capacity - an advantage since tight production capacity has driven up refining margins.

Another pick has been Dublin, Ireland-based CRH, which supplies many of the basic building blocks of construction, like cement, asphalt, glass stone and gravel.  The company has low-cost sources for raw materials, says Mr. Horn, noting that the company also has a knack for growing through acquisition.

Morningstar.com
"Polaris Global Value Proves That Simple Can Be Sweet"
May 19, 2005

To determine stock selections for the Polaris Global Value Fund, the management team runs quantitative screens to narrow the field of stocks, and then chooses approximately 75 based on the numbers and other factors such as company management. The Fund leans toward value and typically owns a significant portion of small cap stocks. Yet, the value bent doesn’t restrict the Fund to the most conservative sectors or countries.

The investing method works admirably, with performance that exceeds the world-stock category average from the Fund's 1998 inception to date. According to Morningstar.com senior analyst Gregg Wolper, the Fund can be a rewarding choice if you keep expectations reasonable.

The Wall Street Journal
"SmartMoney Fund Screen: Small Mutual Funds"
May 10, 2005

The publication highlighted the mutual fund "gems" with fund assets under management in the range of $50 million to $200 million. The funds listed have managed to post above-average returns (over the past 3- and 5-year time periods) with reasonable expenses despite the smaller asset levels. Most of the fund products are from smaller shops succeeding in a big-shop world. Among the 10 funds selected was the Polaris Global Value Fund, which ranked as one of the better performers in the global multi-cap value category.

Boomer Market Advisor
Should The Falling Dollar Matter?
May 2005

(Byline Highlights -- Author Bernard R. Horn Jr.)

• Global or international investments should be made to achieve diversification around the world, not to serve as a short-term currency play. Over long periods of time, the impact that currency gains and losses have on total equity returns is immaterial (approximately 0.1% over the last 10 or more years).
  
  
• To properly assess the benefits of global diversification, investors must review long-term data that has weathered different market cycles.
  
  
• In comparing returns, non-U.S. investments outperformed U.S. investments for most of the 60s, 70s and 80s as defined by the S&P 500 and MSCI-EAFE Indices, while U.S. stocks outperformed in the 1990s. In the future investors will likely experience periods when U.S. stocks outperform international equities and vice versa. However, over time, returns of broad stock indexes have been similar.
  
  
• Broad investment values now exist in many areas of the world. In response to tough global competition, companies worldwide are aggressively restructuring. In many cases, foreign stocks now have significantly lower price/cash earnings (P/CE) ratios than their U.S. counterparts. Price to cash earnings ratio is the value of a company's stock price relative to its cash earnings.
  

Richard E. Band's Profitable Investing
"FOCUS ON FUNDS: The Best Little Mutual Funds You've Never Heard Of"
March 2005

Bernard Horn, manager of the Polaris Global Value Fund, roams the world seeking values and uncovering them. The Fund has performed admirable, beating the average global stock fund and doubling the S&P 500 index return during the past year. While past performance is not an indicator of future results, the Fund follows the tried-and-true formula that has worked for the highly-rated value funds over the years: only buy statistically cheap stocks. Look for businesses with strong balance sheets and a sustainable competitive advantage, and keep turnover down.

Investment News

"Investment Outlook: Prognosticators Offered Their Forecasts For 2005"

January 10, 2005

Investors looking for higher returns in 2005 would be smart to look outside the United States, according to Bernie Horn, president and portfolio manager of Polaris Capital Management.  A manager who identifies companies that he feels are undervalued relative to their peers, Mr. Horn believes returns in the U.S. will continue to be modest and that outperformance remains within the international arena.  He outlines the price to cash earnings (P/CE) basis, where non-U.S. companies are trading at 8.6x compared with 12.4x for U.S. companies.  The disparity in multiples is huge, according to Mr. Horn, partially due the 1990s market activity.

The New York Times

"For Value Funds, A Tough Act To Follow"

January 9, 2005

Bernard Horn Jr., who runs the Polaris Global Value Fund in Boston, notes domestic blue-chip stocks now trade at a 50% premium to their foreign equivalents on a price-to-cash earnings (P/CE) basis.  Accordingly, the firm's management team has cut Polaris' portfolio exposure in domestic stocks to 36%.  Overseas, Polaris has bought shares of George Wimpey P.L.C., a British homebuilder whose P/CE multiple of six is half that of American competitors, Mr. Horn said.  The fund is also accumulating shares of Japanese utilities like Kansai Electric Power and Tokyo Electric Power that are finally "getting religion" by curbing capital spending to deliver free cash flow to shareholders.

Bloomberg Television

"Morning Call: Bernie Horn Transcript"

January 3, 2005

Funds invested overseas are positioned to do well in 2005, according to Bernie Horn, president of Polaris Capital Management.  In describing Polaris' investment strategy, Mr. Horn and the fund management team look for companies that have good free cash flow and that can be bought at a good price.  Mr. Horn and his team are looking overseas to areas of the world that are growing rapidly - noting that the job market is much stronger in low-cost countries. Outside the U.S., Polaris likes Japanese utility companies including Tokyo Electric Power, Swedish air-bag maker AutoLiv, and an old favorite, German auto parts maker Continental AG.

Financial Planning

"Global Goodies"

January 2005

(Byline Highlights -- Author Bernard R. Horn Jr.)

• To properly assess the benefits of international diversification, investors must review long-term data that has weathered different market cycles.  Consider an historical market perspective, with data gleaned from January 1969 to June 2004 (414 monthly observations).  This data illustrates that the beta (measure of volatility) of the MSCI - EAFE Index versus the S&P 500 Index is 0.59 when measured using monthly returns from this 35-year period.  Measured this way the benefits of international diversification still exist. 

• In comparing returns, non-U.S. investments outperformed U.S. investments for most of the 60s, 70s and 80s as defined by the S&P 500 and MSCI-EAFE Index, while U.S. stocks outperformed in the 1990s.  Investors should experience periods when U.S. stocks outperform international equities and vice versa.    The weak U.S. dollar has also advanced foreign stocks held by U.S. investors - all other things being equal foreign stocks become more valuable as the underlying foreign currencies appreciate. 

• CHEAP STOCK PICKS -The global economy is reawakening as companies shed excess financial baggage in favor of efficient environments.  Following lackluster stock performance coupled with corporate restructuring, foreign stocks now have substantially lower price/cash earnings (P/CE) ratios than U.S. counterparts. 

• Countries like Germany, France and South Africa are trading at a little less than 9x expected 2004 cash earnings (for the trailing 12 months), while many U.S. stocks (especially large-caps) remain overvalued. To justify the high P/CE ratio in the U.S. market, corporate earnings would have to grow 50% faster than foreign market companies.  U.S. growth is likely to outpace that of Europe and Japan, but not by 50%; and many Asian economies, such as Korea and China, have actually been growing faster than the U.S.