Though T. S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, it was good to most balanced funds. Some are eking out a positive return for the first time this year. That includes T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation (PRWCX), which is now solidly in the first quintile, trailing only two funds. An interesting side note: According to the T. Rowe Price web site, Capital Appreciation’s turnover rate is a whopping 123%. Also, its equity holdings, not long ago at slightly below 60%, is now almost 70%. Someone has been a busy little bee, and seems to be betting on a stock market upturn. We’ll see if it pays off down the road.

My apologies for not posting earlier—it took some time to get my DSL going. By the way, my new internet provider seems eerily interested in each little detail of my life, requesting everything short of a urine sample before hooking me up.

The following results are as of May 2:

first quintile
Oakmark Equity & Income I (OAKBX): +2.68%
John Hancock Balanced A (SVBAX): +1.78%
T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation (PRWCX): +1.21%
Janus Balanced (JABAX): +0.95%
State Farm Balanced (STFBX): +0.40%
Mairs & Power Balanced (MAPOX): +0.35%
GAMCO Westwood Income AAA (WESRX): +0.01%
Value Line Income & Growth Fund (VALIX): -0.04%
Buffalo Balanced (BUFBX): -0.19%
Vanguard Wellington (VWELX): -0.19%
Ivy Asset Strategy Y (WASYX): -0.47%

second quintile
Nuveen Balanced Stock & Bond R (NNSRX): -0.49%
AARP Moderate Report (AAMDX): -0.54%
DFA Global 60/40 I (DGSIX): -1.02%
Vanguard Balanced Index (VBINX): -1.07%
GE Moderate Allocation Fund (GMALX): -1.12%
Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 (VTXVX): -1.15%
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2010 Fund (TRRAX): -1.30%
T. Rowe Price Balanced (RPBAX): -1.51%
Elfun Diversified (ELDFX): -1.57%
Manning & Napier Extended Term (MNBAX): -1.62%
Dodge & Cox Balanced (DODBX): -1.65%

third quintile
Fidelity Balanced (FBALX): -1.67%
Vanguard STAR (VGSTX): -1.77%
AARP Aggressive (AAGSX): -1.82%
**Vanguard 60/40: -1.88%
Fidelity Freedom 2020 (FFFDX): -2.21%
Russell LifePoints Growth Strategy S (RALSX): -2.40%
Pax World Balanced (PAXWX): -2.77%
Fidelity Puritan (FPURX): -2.98%
First Eagle Global A (SGENX): -3.22%*
Loomis Sayles Global Markets Y (LSWWX): -3.66%
TIAA-CREF Inst Managed Alloc II Retail (TIMRX): -3.79%

fourth quintile
Transamerica Premier Balanced Inv (TBAIX): -4.16%
American Funds Capital Inc Bldr C (CIBCX): -5.59%*
Waddell & Reed Adv Asset Strategy A (UNASX): -5.68%*
MFS Total Return B (MTRBX): -6.39%*
Dreyfus Premier Balanced Opportunity A (DBOAX): -6.66%*
Calvert Social Investment Balanced A (CSIFX): -7.06%*
Putnam Asset Allocation Balanced A (PABAX): -7.89%*
Morgan Stanley Strategist B (SRTBX): -7.92%*
Eaton Vance Balanced A (EVIFX): -8.00%*
Morgan Stanley Strategist Fund A (SRTAX): -8.18%*
Lord Abbett Balanced Strategy A (LABFX): -8.62%*

fifth quintile
Calamos Growth & Income A (CVTRX): -8.62%*
Oppenheimer Quest Balanced B (QGRBX): -8.64%*
Delaware Balanced A (DELFX): -8.77%*
Franklin Templeton Growth Target A (FGTIX): -8.78%*
AFBA Five Star Balanced A (AFSAX): -8.85%*
Legg Mason Partners CapInc A (SOPAX): -9.28%*
American Funds American Balanced A (ABALX): -9.32%*
Wells Fargo Advantage Growth Balanced A (WFGBX): -9.59%*
American Funds Capital Inc Bldr A (CAIBX): -10.08%*
Evergreen Asset Allocation A (EAAFX): -11.05%*
Van Kampen Equity and Income A (ACEIX): -13.01%*

disqualified horses
Permanent Portfolio (PRPFX): +3.69%
Fairholme (FAIRX): +3.08%
FPA Crescent (FPACX): +2.85%
Leuthold Core Investment (LCORX): +2.50%
Leuthold Asset Allocation (LAALX): +2.07%
Utopia Core (UTCRX): -0.30%
Vanguard Tax Managed Balanced Fund (VTMFX): -0.66%
Greenspring (GRSPX): -0.68%
Auxier Focus (AUXFX): -2.97%
Marsico Flexible (MFCFX): -3.64%
BlackRock Global Allocation A (MDLOX): -4.53%*
Fidelity Magellan (FMAGX): -4.88%
Bruce (BRUFX): -5.14%
BlackRock Asset Allocation Inv A (PCBAX): -6.90%*
American Century Equity Income A (TWEAX): -7.08%*

(The disqualifed horses have failed to meet criterion of large cap with between 50-75% equities—they’re included here by request.)

*load adjusted return
**portfolio of three Vanguard index funds:
    45% Total Stock Market (VTSMX) $38.35
    15% Total International (VGTSX) $19.89
    40% Total Bond (VBMFX) $10.16