Bryan-College Station Eagle from Bryan, Texas • 37

Sunday August 15 1999 Section MH Technology E2 Brazos Business unds can beat stocks Can anything beat common stocks? It is now clear that every one has learned the lesson well: Over the long term common stocks provide the highest return Everyone who has a TV set knows that stocks provide an average return of 112 percent a year twice the 53 percent return of bonds and still better than the 38 percent return of Treasury bills They also know those figures speak with the authority of 72 years of data in the Ibbotson Yearbook That at least is what the abstract indices say But what about actual experi ence with real money and real managers? Could it be different? Could a managed fund that invests in stocks bonds and cash actually produce a higher return than the average stock fund? The surprise answer: Yes! Yes in the last three years Yes through 15 years of roaring bull market To make the search I used Morningstar Principia Pro the software and data product from the Chicago data publishingfirm to develop average perfor mance figures for all domestic equity funds over the last three five 10 and 15 years Then I looked for hybrid funds funds that are supposed to maintain a varied portfolio usu ally a mix of stocks and bonds to see if anv had dpnetbetter Here's the count: Over three years 109 did bet ter Over five years 31 did bet ter Over 10 years nine did bet ter Over 15 years six did better Over both the last three and five year periods 27 did better Over the last three five and Personal inance Scott Burns Boxing match 7 Iht i' tied to when people school year especially in a col Local ABC affiliate planning to boost signal 'ft York and his employees spend late nights for a week and a half preparing for the rush and drive to Austin to pick up extra trucks to fill their parking lot makes for a wreck on your he said usually not that big of a problem just a couple of weeks of The Bryan College Station area is a unique place when it gain other customers fine relying on the stu she said what do you do the rest of the eight months of the I The companies stay packed during the summer months owner Gwynne Edwards said been lucky because i she a familiar sight this time of year roads loaded with moving vans and trailers haul ing possessions from town to town The end of one school year and the beginning of another has left an impact on the moving business in the Bryan College Station area The market contin ues to grow officials said and business always booms during the summer People leaving the area or just moving across the street cause Aggieland Moving Company business to almost quadruple from May to August owner Jason Huff said is a month where leases always seem to be he said The company requires a one hour minimum that many stu dents find useful Huff said People call to have movers load trucks before they head out of town might have 6 or 7 jobs like that a he said Huff who has been in busi ness since 1988 said the market keeps expanding doubled in the last year or he said ive new companies opened in the past two years and some of those owners once worked at Aggieland Huff said competition is created by one company? he said come here they learn the trade and then they start on tfrefr 1 The demand for movers does appear to be slowing Whenever trucks are on the road the phone calls pour in lege he said the College Avenue Stor Mor Garrett said about half of the and Southwest Stor Mor hop business is from May ping to September always has pro vided a pretty stable in and ho QQld When looking for the perfect had a few loyal returns mnvino rnmnanv trip nricfi not said only has to be right but the cus Edwards said she rely tomer also must feel comfort on the students heavily during able with the business Garrett the rest of thoearxandworkstp said Phillip Garrett president ot said rney nave to trust mat their belongings will arrive saie ly Storing possessions for the summer keeps businesses like p1 i Movers call August the busiest month By LAURA HIPP Eagle Staff Writer 1 "'I I Eagle photoButch Ireland riends and family of Texas University student Joseph Canahuatl finish packing up his moving van this week afternoon In College Station economy has been really good which he said just growing like More than half of the yearly business at Haul 519 Texas Ave occurs in May August and December manager Kenneth York said This month is hectic because summer students are leaving the area and othersare arriving comes to themoving business far the fall semester is probably the worst Garrett Transfer and Storage Wfliicp rnminp hack in the he said get both change jobs and tied to the worlds in one month" school year especially in a col 1 'i M' vx "ft VA A 'e i ft Joi rLr 10 year periods combined four did better So it can be done To be sure it been com mon Generally speaking the funds were in the top 10 percent of all hybrid funds But it can be done Since common stocks have pro vided extraordinary perfor mances over the last three and five years I was particularly interested in the 27 hybrid ftinds that did better over both these periods Here are some findings: The top performer in the group is Paine Webber Tactical Allocation fund (Y A and shares) a fund that shifts assets between the 500 Index notes and cash It has kept the bulk of By GENEVA WHITMARSH Eagle Staff Writer Officials at local ABC affiliate KRHD will strengthen the signal next month in an effort to reach an estimated 50000 additional households in and around the Bryan College Station area Currently the majority of local resi dents without cable and those living in surrounding cities such as Caldwell Somerville Navasota and Iola are unable to view Channel 22 In September the station will move to Channel 34 and increase its signal to full power enabling thousands of potential viewers to pick it up by using a standard antenna said Brent Skinner KRHD vice president of advertising The stronger signal will not affect the 80 percent of people in Bryan College Station and Hearne that have cable televi sion Those people will continue to watch the station via Channel 9 The cost of increasing the sig nal is Skinner said and includes placing a new tower antenna and transmitter in nearby Benchley The cost however likely will be offset by an expected increase in advertising' revenue Skinner said is good news for advertisers because we have the potential to reach twice as many he said also good news for viewers who will be able to get public service announcements and news on community Programming changes that will take place in September include the local can cellation of the Waco based 10 pm news which will be replaced by the syndicated comedy Cheers now feeding the local news from Waco and confusing to viewers because they see two different sets of call Skinner said research showed that serve the com munity better with In January the station will launch a live morning news show that will precede Good Morning America and include local news weather and financial information There also are plans for a local newscast that would begin sometime next year The only downside for viewers Skinner said will be the temporary loss of the sta tion for about 48 hours while the new sys tem is set up The dates of the downtime will be announced during a publicity cam paign scheduled to begin in a couple of weeks want to inform the public of happening and let people who watch us now know where they can find Skinner said also want them to know that dur ing the two days of downtime they worry about missing special programming like Monday Night oot Skinner said the goal is to develop more of a by serving the entire community with quali ty programming a local morning show and regular community events and public service announcements trying to become a real home town station instead of just a repeater sta tion out of he said employ people and do business with people in this area so our goal is to serve the area as See BURNS Page E8 See BOOTS Page E3 I H'5 O'E or Nocona a town of 2800 south of the Red River the clos ing of the factory means the end the largest employer and its biggest taxpayer The 160 workers at the factory here make By KATIE AIRBANK Associated Press Justin to close two boot factories Company says fashion changes have slowed their sales Tommye White E3 Ellen James Martin E6 Brenda Lee Sims 7E6 Jack Hunter E7 NOCONA Texas After their dusty cattle drives cowboys a century ago often mosey into this northern Texas town and pick up a pair of handcrafted boots a best friend next to his horse arid his six shooter Boots made in Nocona became famous as much for their history as for their high grade leather and stacked heels that fit in a stir rup But changing consumer tastes have sapped the boot business so much that Justin Industries After he died the Justin family moved his company to ort Worth daughter Miss Enid felt so strongly that her father wanted the business in Nocona that in 1925 she founded a com peting company Nocona Boot Co with seven employees iThe sad thing apart from the loss of jobs is that it was kind of our identity Ricky Howard Nocona Banking Center president AP photo Donna Williams of Gainesville Texas sews on the Inside support for the heel of a boot recently at Nocona Boot Co In Nocona Texas or towns folk the Nocona Boot Co has been not only a primary source of Income but a piece of legend Employees said they're bitter about the decision to move production from Nocona and ort Worth which together have about 260 workers to Justin factories In El Paso and Cassville Mo its portfolio in stocks over the last five years The second best performer is Value Line Asset Allocation with a 70 percent equities alloca tion Third place goes to Eastcliff Total Return und With nearly 80 percent of its portfolio in equities this tiny ($25 million in assets) no load fund is one of the four funds that did better than the average stock fund oyer the last three five and 10 years (The others were Stagecoach Index Allocation A shares Vanguard Asset Allocation and Calamos Growth Income A shares a convertible Stagecoach Index Allocation A shares fourth on the list has96 percent of its portfolio in equi ties and usually does Morningstar classifies it as a large cap equity fund lag Investment Value Builder A shares is fifth! This 45 percent front end load fund is a genuine balanced fund with about 3500 pairs of high end boots each week ranging in price from $200 to $1100 Employees said bitter about the decision to move pro duction to Justin factories in El Paso and Cassville Mo Most of the people on the production lines recently wore was given the stickers sad thing apart from the loss of jobs is that it was kind of our said Ricky How fared as well in the mid to late ard president of Nocona Banking Center Justin Industries said its 1997 In the Lone Star state after all footwear sales including brands some law enforcement officer? such as Nocona Tony Lama and and chief executives still wear Justin Roners fell 16 percent boots while the Professional Ro which owns the Nocona factory from the previous year to $1865 deo Cowboy Association requires and one in ort Worth is clos ing both putting about 260 people out of work Western and Western influenced products been in said Nocona factory million in footwear sales the footwear in the ring Some of the largest Justin started patch cowboy bootmakers have been ing boots on the side while work switching to boots with more of a ing in a barbershop in the 1880s work style such as the flatter heeled ropers Many are making lace up boots although the tire very thing is fashion driven tread like soles do for two and obviously Western is one stepping at the local dance hall fashion either in or out" Cowboy boot sales have always been cyclical Popular in the early 1980s thanks in part to the movie Urban Cowboy traditional 13 inch high dress boots I H'5'l O'E.