MarketWatch

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Holly Hooper-Fournier, editor of the Mutual Fund Strategist newsletter, says that the vast majority of the stock market is not worth owning right now, and said that investors should focus investments on gold and precious metals, domestic bonds and cash.

In a radio interview, Hooper-Fournier noted that just two of her service’s 17 timing models — gold and U.S. bonds — are on buy signals, although she said that international bonds appear likely to trigger a buy and she likes the look of some health-care funds.

Hooper-Fournier told Chuck Jaffe, MarketWatch senior columnist, that even in worthwhile categories investors should be cherry-picking the best performers. Further, she said that investors who follow an asset-allocation strategy — where they typically commit a portion of their money to a category like emerging markets or small-cap value — might instead move that segment of their money to cash.

People tend to get restless, but we would recommend you save [that portion of your asset allocation] in the relative safe haven of a money-market fund, Hooper-Fournier said. Cash should be viewed as your friend right now.

Backing up the cherry-picking idea, Hooper-Fournier put a hold on Evergreen Precious Metals EKWBX, +0.31% and Oppenheimer Gold & Special Minerals OPGSX, -0.08% saying that while both generated buy signals based on the Mutual Fund Strategist’s timing system, she far preferred the StreetTracks Gold exchange-traded fund GLD, +0.14% Fidelity Select Gold FSAGX, +0.06% or, for particularly aggressive investors, ProFunds Precious Metals UltraSector PMPIX, -1.75%

With bonds, she put a sell on JP Morgan Bond Select JBSEX noting that while the intermediate-bond fund should synch up well with our timing model, the fund has actually been a laggard, and has not shown the kind of performance that resulted in the timing model triggering a buy signal for U.S. bonds on July 7. Hooper-Fournier suggested AIM US Government AGIVX, +0.00% or, for aggressive investors, Direxion 10-Year Note Bull 2.5 DXKLX, -0.32% as buys in the bond space.

During her appearance on Your Money with Chuck Jaffe, Hooper-Fournier also noted that health-care funds look interesting again, having passed the initial measure her newsletter uses — based on a 50-day moving average — but lacking the longer-term signals used to confirm a buy recommendation.

With concerns such as the presidential election and its impact on health care and pharmaceuticals likely to keep the picture unclear for the foreseeable future, Hooper-Fournier suggested cautious buying — including stops to make sure that losses can’t pile up — among health care funds. ICON Healthcare ICHCX, -0.15% Schwab Health Care SWHFX, -0.11% and Vanguard Health Care VGHAX, -0.25% are possible buys.

During her interview, Hooper-Fournier also put buy ratings on Merk Hard Currency MERKX, -0.85% and Fidelity Strategic Real Return FSRRX, -0.44% and sells on Kinetics Small Cap Opportunity KSCOX, -0.90% and Janus Mid Cap Value JMCVX, -0.70%

Jaffe’s radio show regularly features expert reviews of stocks and mutual funds suggested by MarketWatch readers; to request a stock or mutual fund for review, send your name, hometown and the ticker symbols that interest you to cjaffe@marketwatch.com.