(MONEY Magazine) – In general we like to recommend new funds after they've proved themselves. And we prefer that managers stick to their areas of expertise. So we really shouldn't like Wasatch Heritage Growth, the first large-company fund launched by small-company investing expert Wasatch.

But Heritage Growth, which invests in companies with market caps of $3 billion to $20 billion, looks intriguing. First there's the fund family's track record: Five of the eight equity funds run by the Salt Lake City fund firm boast five-year returns that rank in the top 5% of their categories. Wasatch managers have also been shown to be responsible with shareholders' money. They consistently close funds before assets grow so much that they can't direct funds to their best bets; indeed, only two of the company's small-cap funds are currently open to new investors. The firm's success in picking small-cap stocks also bodes well for Heritage, since many of its holdings are graduates of Wasatch's other funds, bumped up simply because of their larger market caps. Finally, although expenses at new funds can be steep, Heritage's are just 0.95%, at least until January 2005. --CYBELE WEISSER