Q: I have seen stories lately about Molson Coors Brewing Co. How about that as a stock investment? B.G., via the internetA: You might not have expected Russians to be drinking Coors Light this winter, but that beer was a recent product rollout of this giant global brewer.The company also bought a 51 percent interest in a new joint venture with China’s Si’hai Beer Co. which will produce Coors Light under a Chinese name that translates as “silver bullet”.This Denver-based company that resulted from the merger of Adolph Coors Brewing Co. with Canada’s Molson Inc. in 2005 has cut its costs since that deal and improved efficiency through synergy. It has had a joint venture called MillerCoors with SAB Miller’s US business since 2008 as well.Through famous name brands such as Molson, Coors, Carling, Keystone and Blue Moon, it holds about 40 percent of the beer market in Canada, about 30 percent of the US market and nearly 20 percent of the UK market.Shares of Molson Coors (TAP) recently were down about eight percent this year, partially due to a drop in fourth-quarter earnings. Class A shares have voting rights and are 84 percent controlled by the Molson and Coors families, while class B shares have little influence on how the firm is run.Hopes for alcohol stocks have direct ties to the restaurant industry, which is expected to show improvement as economies rise. Brewers have been able to increase the prices of products and move consumers upscale to more premium beers. Yet they always must wage a balancing act between retaining market share and increasing profits.Consensus analyst rating of Molson Coors shares is between “buy” and “hold”, according to Thomson Reuters, consisting of two “strong buys”, five “buys” and seven “holds”.Competition among beers is brutal. Despite its impressive size, Molson Coors must go up against giants such as AB InBev (BUD), the company that resulted from the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by Belgium-based InBev.Because beer remains a mature, slow-growth market, some discussion about the investment potential of Molson Coors always involves whether it might be an acquisition target for another brewer, such as SAB Miller. That speculation is likely to continue for as long as the company remains independent.Molson Coors earnings are expected to rise eight percent in 2011 compared to 19 percent for the beverage and brewer industry. The expected five-year annualised growth rate of nine percent compares to a projected 14 percent industry-wide.Q: I am a shareholder in T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund. Please give an opinion of its prospects. K.G., via the internetA: It should provide no surprises which is a good thing.This fund focuses on high-quality companies and portfolio manager Larry Puglia has been in charge of it since its 1993 inception. That should encourage investor confidence in its long-term stability.The $12 billion T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund (PABGX) is up 30 percent over the past 12 months and has a three-year annualised return of three percent. Both results rank in the top one-third of large growth funds.“This fund features market leaders well positioned in their industries, such as Apple and Google, and is diversified among many (139) companies,” said Katie Rushkewicz, mutual fund analyst with Morningstar Inc. in Chicago. “We consider it a good long-term core holding for an investor.”Puglia looks for stocks of companies with sustainable earnings growth, strong management and leading market positions. Though it is a large growth fund, its portfolio is split between lower-priced financials and growth-oriented technology and healthcare stocks. Turnover is modest. According to filings, Puglia has between $500,000 and $1 million of his own money invested in the fund.Nearly 20 percent of the portfolio is in consumer services, with other concentrations in industrial materials, telecommunications and financial services. Top stock holdings besides Apple Inc. and Google Inc. were recently Amazon.com, Danaher Corp., Schlumberger Ltd., Franklin Resources, Express Scripts, Praxair Inc., Qualcomm inc. and Starbucks Corp.The T. Rowe Price family of funds has a reputation for putting investor interests first, exhibiting investment discipline and providing reliable returns from disciplined stock picking. The stability of its investment personnel, track record of moving executives up through the ranks and analyst expertise have produced an ongoing positive culture.“Like most large growth funds, T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth had a rough decade, but its 10-year record outpaces a lot of its peers,” said Rushkewicz. “It is reasonably-priced and the manager has the support of a really strong analyst team.”This “no-load” (no sales charge) fund requires a one percent annual expense ratio and requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500.Q: What ways are there to invest in currencies? Are there funds that do this? P.M., via the internetA: The foreign exchange market, or Forex, trades in world currencies around the clock through a global network of banks, corporations and individuals. If you’ve followed the movement of currencies, however, you know there is considerable risk.To get involved in that market, you could open an account with a broker to trade currencies, in which you make bets that they will either go up or go down. That requires considerable homework and understanding past history, trends and technical aspects.A more reasonable alternative is to invest in one of a number of single and multiple currency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or exchange-traded notes (ECNs). This gives you the benefit of expert professional managers who are more knowledgeable about currency markets than you are.“I’ve been in this business more than 20 years and I would never recommend that a retail investor trade currencies on his or her own,” cautioned David Gilmore, partner in Foreign Exchange Analytics in Essex, Connecticut. “It is a highly mercurial market with a lot of moving parts, in which you can make a lot and lose a lot.”Andrew Leckey answers questions only through the column. Address inquiries to Andrew Leckey, 555 N. Central Ave., Suite 302, Phoenix, Arizona 85004-1248, USA or by e-mail at andrewinv@aol.com.