A couple of weeks ago we posted a video of an interview with Vanguard founder Jack Bogle in which we asked whether Bogle was now a dinosuar?  In a recent Chuck Jaffe at Marketwatch commenting on recent changes at the Fidelity Magellen fund asked a similar question in regards to so-called “star fund managers.”  He writes:

No one needs a star manager to reach their goals. For people who wish they had one — who want a name they trust at the top — the stars of the future will be managers who deliver to investor expectations, rather than the ones who, like Lynch, show results beyond investors’ wildest dreams.

In today’s markets the star fund managers are now those who run hedge funds.  Conferences that include the hedge fund managers now garner minute-by-minute media coverage.  On the other hand there are a few star mutual fund managers who still merit that sort of attention.  Up until recently that would also have included Bruce Berkowitz manager of the Fairholme Fund.  As of September 16, 2011 the Fairholme Fund is down 21.5% YTD and is trailing the S&P 500 by 19.7% YTD.

For now Berkowitz is sticking to his guns despite large fund redemptions.  He continues to hold large positions in the controversial financial sector. In a recent interview with Consuelo Mack at Wealthtrack Berkowitz talked about his fund’s recent disappointing performance.