At the end of July, Retirement Planning Bond Fund ranked third of all 148 general government funds tracked by Lipper and Selected Government Income was sixth.  Venture Muni Plus was first of 34 high yield municipal bond funds.  The fourth fund, Venture Income Plus, was 13th out of 91 high-yield funds.

Stamper mixes defensiveness with a willingness to buy small, overlooked issues.   Unlike most of his competitors he battened down when he saw interest rates at record lows last year.  "This can't last," he concluded.  As a result, his worst performing fund fell only 1 percent by the end of July.  His best performer, Venture Muni, with a positive return of 1.5 percent before deducting the sales charge, was one of only two funds of its type not to lose money.

Having survived so well, he has become a little more aggressive.  All four funds are fully invested and maturities have been lengthened somewhat.  Overall, however, he remains cautious, expecting to see a lot of volatility but not significant trend in interest rates for some months.  He hopes to take advantage of these short-term fluctuations to buy bonds in any of the markets whenever they are cheap.

In high-yields he is staying right at the top of the quality range for such funds, fearing the economy is a lot weaker than most people think.  "Lower quality companies could be very vulnerable in an economic turndown," he comments.

Meanwhile, the income from all four funds is "healthy," he comments, with the municipal fund yielding almost 6 percent, tax-free, and Venture Income Plus 8.5 percent.

Managing four funds demands constant attention but it has benefits too, Stamper says.   "When I saw the first signs of what was happening to bonds in the market last fall and then saw it starting in the others, I sensed this was going to be a severe setback.  The daily involvement in widely different bonds convinced me to go against the prevailing opinion."