Fairholme, American Funds Rebound in 2012

Morningstar today gave props to a few funds that that the research firm said went from worst to first in 2012.

For example, the Fairholme (FAIRX) and Schneider Small Cap Value (SCMVX) funds “had great returns in 2010, appalling losses in 2011, and awesome gains again in 2012,” according to Morningstar.

Fairholme has a 33.6% gain for the year to date and Schneider has a 34.4% gain.

But Fairholme wasn’t the only unpopular fund that had a strong year, according to Morningstar. American Funds Growth Fund of America (AGTHX) was hit with $33 billion in outflows last year but returned 18.6% in 2012. American Funds Capital World G/I A (CWGIX) shed $9 billion to outflows in 2011 but gained 17.9% this year.