NEW YORK (CNNfn) - While some parts of Wall Street are under water or writhing in volatility this year, fund manager Clare Brody is riding returns of nearly 90 percent.
The difference is Brody's Deutsche European Equity Fund can ignore the uncertainty in the U.S. market and capitalize on soaring telecoms, media companies, and other stocks in Europe.
"We can invest across all market caps in Europe," Brody said recently. "What's driven performance in the past quarter is good exposure to very good stocks in large caps, mid caps and small caps."
 The fund, with $23 million in assets, is ranked first among all European stock funds for year-to-date performance, according to Morningstar.
The fund has a coveted five-star Morningstar rating. It is up 88.57 percent this year as of April 24, Morningstar said.
Also in this column: An Internet analyst opens a new Net fund; an IPO fund reopens; and tech funds are back on top in latest weekly performance figures from Morningstar.
The fund is first in its category over three months, one year and three years, Morningstar said.
In the first quarter, when the fund was up as much as 103 percent, IPOs and several deals helped fuel growth, said Brody, one of a team of managers. Other winners are holdings like Finland's Nokia (NOK: Research, Estimates).
"Earnings momentum is quite good and valuations compared to the U.S. are quite attractive," Brody said. "One of the most exciting reasons to invest in Europe is it's going through a transformation. There's privatization, consolidation, restructuring. Investors are beginning to see there's a real equity culture developing in Europe."
Steve Harmon became an Internet analyst back in 1994 when most people barely knew about the 'Net. So he's not exactly nervous about launching e-Harmon Internet Fund amid massive Nasdaq volatility.
"The volatility is the result of speculation bursting over," Harmon said. "But the potential I saw six years ago and that I see everyday is that the Internet is growing globally and is changing commerce and communications."
The fund is selling shares for $10 each during a subscription period through May 15, he said. Investors can also watch a video presentation on the new fund at his Web site.
While he declined to talk about specific stocks, Harmon said he'll focus on infrastructure and e-commerce companies. He'll steer clear of unproven ideas and so-called "e-tailing" stocks.
The fund can invest up to 25 percent of its assets in international stocks, and up to 15 percent in private companies.
Besides Harmon, the management team includes Lisa Cavallari, who previously worked for Barclays Global Investors; and Randy chin, who was an e-commerce analyst at Deutsche Banc Alex Brown.
One of the two mutual funds that invests in IPOs is reopening to new investors after getting hit with redemptions during the Nasdaq's recent slide.
H&Q IPO and Emerging Company Fund started selling shares on Tuesday.
The fund, which debuted Oct. 29, 1999, was up about 116 percent until March 10 when the Nasdaq peaked, said Paul Herbert, an analyst at Morningstar. Since then, the fund has plunged more than 50 percent.
The problem is manager Ross Sakamoto was hit with redemptions as the fund started losing money. Sakamoto had trouble taking new positions while meeting the redemptions, Herbert said. (Efforts to reach Sakamoto for comment were unsuccessful).
The fund is still up about 5 percent since it first launched, Herbert said.
While IPOs are obviously risky, Herbert said it's a good fund for a small piece of your portfolio.
"I do like the manager," Herbert said. "It's a fund for someone to devote a little money to, but not make it a core holding."
Technology funds got hammered during recent market turmoil that left the Nasdaq with its biggest one-day point loss in history for the week ending April 14. But the category was the top performer in the week ending April 21, according to new figures from Morningstar.
Tech funds gained an average of 12.61 percent for the week ending April 21, with Firsthand Technology Innovators Fund earning 22.24 percent and PBHG Technology & Communications Fund up 19.41 percent. RS Internet Age Fund, managed by Jim Callanan, Morningstar's 1999 manager of the year, up 17.34 percent.
Mid-cap growth funds gained an average of 10.07 percent for the week, while small growth funds added 9.04 percent.
At the other end of the list, Asia funds that exclude Japan were the biggest losers, giving up 4.99 percent for the week. Precious metals were down 4.27 percent. 
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