Dodge & Cox Funds 2013 Year in Review

Updated on

Dodge & Cox analysts discuss their 2013 equity year in a video here.

Below is a transcript of the video.

Charles Pohl: Welcome. I’m Charles Pohl, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Dodge & Cox. I’m joined today by my longtime colleague, Diana Strandberg, our Director of International Equities.

Diana Strandberg: Hi, Charles.

Charles Pohl: Hi, Diana. 2013 was a year of very strong performance in the equity markets. It was also a year of strong performance by the Dodge & Cox Funds. All five of our funds significantly outperformed their benchmarks, adding to their strong, long performance record. We were honored that Morningstar® chose to nominate four of the five funds for Manager of the Year in the respective categories. Today we’re going to talk about what happened in 2013, our market outlook and where we’re seeing values and opportunities over the next three to five years.

Diana Strandberg: Charles, you mentioned that the funds posted strong returns and the Stock Fund was up 41%, which was extraordinary.

Charles Pohl: Yes, in fact it was its best year since 1965 when the fund was founded. And the S&P 500 was up 32% for the year and ended the year at an all-time high. In fact every sector of the S&P was in positive territory for the year. We continue to see the economy recovering at a moderate pace, the job market improving and consumer wealth is building, partly due to a recovery in the housing markets.

Diana Strandberg: You know, we’re seeing a similar picture in the developed markets. The EAFE was up 23% for the year and every country in the EAFE Index posted positive returns. Europe was especially strong. We’re starting to see signs of economic recovery there. In fact, manufacturing reached a 31-month high in 2013 in Europe.

Charles Pohl: And how about the emerging markets?

Continue reading here.

Leave a Comment