Thomas H. Forester (born December 15, 1958)[1] is an American mutual fund manager.
He was the only long-focused United States stock mutual fund manager to make a profit in 2008.
[2][3][4][5] He turned a profit in the third quarter of 2002, during the stock market downturn of 2002[6] and was first in his asset class year-to-date through November 1, 2004.
[12] Due to Forester's investing style of buying stocks with low price–earnings ratios and good earnings prospects, he has been compared to Warren Buffett.
[13] Forester loosely quotes Buffett at times such as in Barron's when he said: "It's When The Tide Goes out that you find out who's swimming without a bathing suit.
"[14] Forester maintains previous employer Sir John Templeton as his role model.
He later worked for Wells Fargo in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Scudder Investments in New York City.
[22] In 2008, there were 8,200 diversified United States stock mutual funds, and they averaged a negative 39% rate of return.
[4][5] His fund held positions in countercyclical stocks that perform well in recessions.
He made his first television appearance in December and newspapers from as far away as Chile's El Mercurio have requested interviews with him.
[30] In April 2012, he falsely believed that the stock market rally was closer to the end than the beginning.
[31] In 2015, he falsely predicted that China would be in a recession, increased his cash position to 30% and hedged his portfolio.
[32] Forester moved to Libertyville, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, in 1998 when he purchased a home in the town.
In 2004, he attempted to run on a Republican slate of delegates for United States President George W. Bush.