View Fund Performance
Quarterly Review1
For the third quarter, Columbia International Value Fund underperformed the MSCI EAFE Value Index, which gained 22.13% in the period.
Gains were widespread in the third quarter, with advances for positions in the diversified telecommunication services, commercial banks and pharmaceuticals industries. Few holdings experienced negative performance in the third quarter. Among the select positions registering modest declines were Mizuho (Japan — commercial banks) and Aiful (Japan — consumer finance).
From a country perspective, share price appreciation for securities based in France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands tended to have the greatest impact on performance. Among the holdings from these countries posting gains were Alcatel-Lucent (France — communications equipment), HSBC (United Kingdom — commercial banks), and Aegon (Netherlands — insurance). In addition, Germany- and Italy-based holdings tended to advance during the quarter.
During the quarter, we purchased shares of Canon (Japan — office electronics), Cemex (Mexico — construction materials) and Astellas Pharma (Japan — pharmaceuticals) at prices that we considered attractive.
As of September 30, 2009, the fund’s most significant weightings were in the diversified telecommunication services industry and in Japan.
Current Strategy
While we monitor short-term events in international equity markets, our investment philosophy focuses on a company-by-company analysis. We take a long-term perspective and believe that none or very little of the short-term market news provides useful information to investors.
Performance data quoted represents past performance, and current performance may be lower or higher. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Brandes Investment Partners, LP is an unaffiliated, SEC-registered investment adviser.
Please read and consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses for any fund carefully before investing. For a prospectus, which contains this and other important information about the fund, contact your Columbia Management representative or financial advisor or go to www.columbiamanagement.com.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia, Far East (MSCI EAFE) Value Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index, and constituents of the index include securities from Europe, Australasia and the Far East. The index generally represents approximately 50% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization of the underlying MSCI EAFE Index, and consists of those securities classified by Morgan Stanley Capital International, Inc. (MSCI) as most representing the value style, such as higher book-value-to-price ratios, higher forward earnings-to-price ratios, higher dividend yields and lower forecasted growth rates than securities representing the growth style.
Unlike mutual funds, indices are not investments, do not incur fees or expenses and are not professionally managed. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
1Determinations of contributors and detractors are based on performance relative to the fund’s benchmark.
Effective 4.1.09 the benchmark changed from MSCI EAFE index to MSCI EAFE Value Index.
Since economic and market conditions change frequently, there can be no assurance that the trends described here will continue or that the forecasts will come to pass. The views and opinions expressed are those of the portfolio managers and analysts of the affiliated advisors of Columbia Management Group, are subject to change without notice at any time, may not come to pass and may differ from views expressed by other Columbia Management associates or other divisions of Bank of America. These materials are provided for informational purposes only and should not be used or construed as a recommendation of any security or sector.
There is no assurance that any securities discussed herein will remain in an account’s portfolio at the time you receive this report or that securities sold have not been repurchased. It should not be assumed that any securities transactions or holdings discussed were or will prove to be profitable, or that the investment recommendations or decisions made in the future will be profitable or will equal the investment performance of the securities discussed herein.
Columbia Management Group, LLC (“Columbia Management”) is the investment management division of Bank of America Corporation. Columbia Management entities furnish investment management services and products for institutional and individual investors. Columbia Funds are distributed by Columbia Management Distributors, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Columbia Management Distributors, Inc. is part of Columbia Management and an affiliate of Bank of America Corporation. |