I have heard or read of the fund name, but never own it. So, out of curiosity I look it up, and do not know which is "the" Acorn fund.
The one I am talking about is Columbia Acorn class Z (ACRNX). I think they were once "Liberty". They have different share classes (and loads). I couldn't get Z through normal ways (it's offered in our 457).
Yes, that's the one I've owned for many years with stellar performance. Alas, as most actively managed funds, it seems the magic disappears over time. In this particular case, the long time manager Ralph Wanger retired in 2003 and the people he trained stayed on for several more years (Chuck McQuaid )but then time marches on and mediocrity sets in.
One additional nugget I forgot to mention. I don't know if causality can be shown or not but the period of mediocrity seems to be roughly correlated in time with the purchase of this fund (among others run by Columbia Management) by Ameriprise Financial...
Yes, ACRNX's long term performance is good because it truly was an extraordinary fund before things turned. The attached chart shows performance since 2009 vs the IJK ETF you mentioned. Thank you. https://www.google.com/finance?q=MUTF:ACRNX&ei=Ghi-U6jyG8GIjAKWj4DADQI've had my eye on IJK, an S&P Mid-Cap 400 index ETF. Though ACRNX looks like it has done much better over the long term.
For an active fund, I'm using OAKGX. They all match up pretty well over some time periods, so take your choice.
One additional nugget I forgot to mention. I don't know if causality can be shown or not but the period of mediocrity seems to be roughly correlated in time with the purchase of this fund (among others run by Columbia Management) by Ameriprise Financial...