Farming and portfolio management are more alike than you might think. There are times to buy stocks, and there are times for sowing seeds. There are times to sell stocks, and there are times for reaping harvests. Just as a good farmer knows when his crops are ripe, a successful money manager knows when an investment has reached maturity.

Ron Muhlenkamp was raised on a farm, and he applies the lessons he learned growing up to investing. He knows that different investments grow in different environments; he understands that not every planted seed will bear fruit. This philosophy has helped him consistently outperform the market over the long run.

Since graduating from Harvard Business School in 1968, Muhlenkamp has devoted his professional life to portfolio management and the study of investment philosophies. In 1977, he founded Muhlenkamp & Company, and he launched the no-load Muhlenkamp Fund in November 1988. At its height in 2005, the fund had more than $3 billion in assets under management.

Muhlenkamp Fund

Expense Ratio

1.18%

Assets Under Management

$743.7 million

1-year return

23.8%

5-year annualized return

(1.1%)

10-year annualized return

5.6%

Source: Morningstar.

Top Five Holdings
As of Sept. 30, 2009

% of Net Assets

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)

6.49%

Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO)

5.81%

General Electric (NYSE: GE)

4.67%

Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM)

4.61%

Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL)

4.28% Continued...