Don Hodges is a mutual fund manager who I've been following with one eye for quite a few years - he runs Hodges Fund (HDPMX) ; we are similar in the "go anywhere" approach, and a quite concentrated portfolios - for his fund there are currently about 50 positions with a high asset concentration in the top 10 positions: >40%. I respect that approach rather than "being the market" (buying 200+ stocks and not being concentrated in anything) as most mutual funds are. Like most long only managers Mr. Hodges has had a very rough year in 2008 (-50%), and 2009 thus far has not been to kind either (-14% year to date). As the story in the Wall Street Journal says, assets have been obliterated down from $750M to $250M, from a combination of stock losses and then withdrawals.

Looking at his top positions at 12/31/08, 14% (top 2 positions) were in airlines Continental Airlines (CAL) and AMR Corp (AMR) and then a very heavy emphasis on energy in the bottom 5 of the top 10.

In the latest update, as of 2/28/08 which does not have weightings but shows top 25 positions we see a continued major emphasis on energy - Transocean (RIG), Chesapeake Energy (CHK), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Schlumberger (SLB), and still a sizable exposure to the airlines. Quite interesting because the market has been trading the 2 sectors against each other - when oil runs, usually airlines suffer and vice versa. Some quality names he owns outside of those groups are Flowserve (FLS), and Cummins Engine (CMI).

Here is the WSJ article and it definitely shows the human toll this market has taken on mutual fund managers. (Mar 12, 2009: First Pacific Advisors - Rob Rodriquez to take 1 Year Sabbatical)

• For many years, Donald Hodges ran one of the top-rated stock-focused mutual funds in the country. He also has lost money for his investors over the past decade. A $10,000 investment in Hodges Fund made 10 years ago would be worth around $9,015 today, compared with $7,720 if it was invested in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index.