Property Rights and Wrongs

As investors in tech stocks and many blue chips watched their wealth evaporate with the demise of the great bull market, holders of real estate stocks were having a grand old time. And none had more fun than shareholders of two unusual no-load funds: Alpine U.S. Real Estate Equity, managed by Sam Lieber, and CGM Realty, run by Ken Heebner. cumulative 37% from July 2005 ...


The funds' post-bubble gains were unreal. From April 2000 through June 2005, CGM (symbol CGMRX; 800-343-5678) returned a resounding 29% annualized. Alpine (EUEYX; 888-785-5578) did even better, gaining 34% per year. Over the period, the average real estate fund earned 21% annualized while Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost an annualized 3%. But after marching in near lock step for years, Alpine and CGM began to part ways in the summer of 2005. In as stark a divergence as you'll ever see, CGM gained a

More Click Here