I had some interesting feedback on my Saturday column on Francis Chou.  The volume of emails was not noteworthy, but the diversity of views and the temperature level had the widest range I’ve experienced. 

There were a few investors that wanted more information on the funds (www.choufunds.com).  One advisor (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) castigated me when he said “could you and the rest of the Globe team please stop pimping Chou and his funds.”  He wanted to get more of his clients into the funds before they got “bloated”.

The column drew a couple of negative reviews from existing Chou fund holders.  It pushed a recent client over the edge – “I would rather be invested in Suncor, CNQ, EnCana, and bank stocks rather than his collection of junk that is going nowhere.”  This client was disappointed that I hadn’t highlighted Francis’ short-term difficulties, which is fair enough.  I did note to him, however, that Rob Carrick’s article in the Globe Investor magazine, which my piece was intended to complement, covered that off well.

There is a feature of the Chou Funds that I should have mentioned however.  Because Francis is so out of sync with what other managers are doing, his funds are a great diversifier for a portfolio (some advisors and clients have noted the same thing about our Small-Cap Fund, which is managed by Wil Wutherich who also marches to a different drummer.)  Francis had big years in 2001 and 2002 when most people’s portfolios were heading south.  He has had sub-par returns over the last year or two when markets were good.

If you think that Francis is going to deliver the goods over the long term, which is a key assumption, then his funds are a great complement to more conventional funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). They will increase long-term returns and smooth out the portfolio’s ride.