Implications of "Best Interest" Rule for Annuities
Aaron Levitt
|
With broker-dealers and agents now acting in favor of clients, investors may be...
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Financials were up the most for the week, showing a sectoral return of 4.86%. With the Fed meeting this week and the expectation that interest rates will rise, financials are bound to benefit the most. Also, with President Trump’s expected plans to loosen regulations of the financial industry, the sector continues to bounce back. Explore mutual funds that invest in the financial sector.
International Equity – International markets also bounced back similar to U.S. markets, with the MSCI Developed Index up 2.91% and the MSCI Emerging Index up 2.92%. Japan’s NIKKEI Index was also up 3.10%; however, it remains down 0.20% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.
Commodities – After last week’s huge gains, commodities had little movement, with oil decreasing $0.18 per barrel or -0.34%. The price of gold came down $16/troy ounce or -1.37%. Copper, on the other hand, experienced a minor gain of $0.02/pound or 0.75%.
Be sure to check out important tips on how to invest in the right commodity-based mutual fund.
Taxable Bonds – Given the high likelihood of a hike in interest rates this week, Treasury bond prices continued to decrease, pushing up yields across all maturities. Yields for the 10-year and 30-year Treasuries grew 7 bps and 9 bps, respectively. Learn how to rebalance your portfolio based on interest rate hikes.
Municipal Bonds – After last week’s rally, municipal bond prices increased, causing yields to decrease across the board.
The 10-year AAA bond yield decreased by 21 bps and the 30-year AAA bond yield decreased 20 bps from the week before. Municipal fund flows continued the massive outflow trend for the fourth straight week, with over $2 billion for the week and over $9 billion over the last four weeks. Again, investors continued the trend of pulling out of bond funds and into investments not affected by rising interest rates.
Category | Top Subcategory | MTD Subcategory Return (%) | Top Subcategory Performer | MTD Fund Return (%) | Performance Rationale |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Equity Fund | Small Value | 14.33% | TDVFX | 22.80% | Small value continues to rally with the total market. This fund has 23% in energy, which had a very big week, up 2.64%. |
International Equity | Japan Stock | 4.85% | BAJAX | 4.85% | Fund has 1/3 invested in the U.S., which has done well over the last month. The remainder is invested in cash and international markets. |
Commodities | Broad Basket | 4.00% | GCCUX | 8.15% | With commodities down for the month, the fund has been protected by staying in Treasuries but quickly reinvested in oil, which had a strong return the week prior. |
Taxable Bonds | High Yield | 1.43% | FOCIX | 13.13% | Fund invests in high-yield bonds and preferred stocks, which increased greatly last week. |
Municipal Bonds | Muni National Short | -1.00% | USMTX | 0.04% | Bond funds with longer durations move to the ultra-short funds to protect them from interest rate fluctuations. |
This fund continues to see strong YTD performance, primarily by having nearly 13% invested in the energy sector, which is up over 27% for the year. The top holding is Texas Pacific Land Trust (TPL), which is up over 166% for the year.
The following table provides the top performing mutual funds on a YTD basis, as of December 9, 2016. Only those funds that are rated 5 stars by Morningstar and that generated YTD return greater than that achieved by the S&P 500 are included.
Name | Ticker | Category | YTD % | Net Expense Ratio | % of Assets in Top 5 Holdings | Total Assets $ (Millions) | Top Sector Invested |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hodges Institutional | HDPIX | Mid Cap Blend Equities | 44.54% | 1.00% | 28.05% | $ 306 | Consumer Cyclical |
Williston Basin/Mid-North America Stk A | ICPAX | Energy Equities | 39.91% | 1.44% | 22.61% | $ 664 | Energy |
Tortoise MLP & Pipeline Instl | TORIX | Master Limited Partnerships | 39.29% | 0.99% | 37.23% | $ 2,340 | Energy |
Wadell & Reed Energy Y | WEGYX | Energy | 38.52% | 1.10% | 22.42% | $ 243 | Energy |
First Eagle Gold I | FEGIX | Precious Metals | 37.51% | 1.03% | 40.49% | $ 1,028 | Basic Materials |
Receive email updates about best performers, news, CE accredited webcasts and more.
Aaron Levitt
|
With broker-dealers and agents now acting in favor of clients, investors may be...
Justin Kuepper
|
Let’s take a look at what sets China apart from other emerging markets,...
News
Iuri Struta
|
Check out the latest edition of mutual fund scorecard.
Find out why $30 trillon is invested in mutual funds.
Download our free report
Find out why $30 trillon is invested in mutual funds.
Download our free report
Find out why $30 trillon is invested in mutual funds.
Mutual Fund Education
Justin Kuepper
|
Let's take a closer look at how ESG investments have outperformed during the...
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Daniel Cross
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While CITs and mutual funds share many similarities, there are some key differences...
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Sam Bourgi
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The phrase ‘bear market’ has been thrown around a lot lately, but it...
Financials were up the most for the week, showing a sectoral return of 4.86%. With the Fed meeting this week and the expectation that interest rates will rise, financials are bound to benefit the most. Also, with President Trump’s expected plans to loosen regulations of the financial industry, the sector continues to bounce back. Explore mutual funds that invest in the financial sector.
International Equity – International markets also bounced back similar to U.S. markets, with the MSCI Developed Index up 2.91% and the MSCI Emerging Index up 2.92%. Japan’s NIKKEI Index was also up 3.10%; however, it remains down 0.20% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.
Commodities – After last week’s huge gains, commodities had little movement, with oil decreasing $0.18 per barrel or -0.34%. The price of gold came down $16/troy ounce or -1.37%. Copper, on the other hand, experienced a minor gain of $0.02/pound or 0.75%.
Be sure to check out important tips on how to invest in the right commodity-based mutual fund.
Taxable Bonds – Given the high likelihood of a hike in interest rates this week, Treasury bond prices continued to decrease, pushing up yields across all maturities. Yields for the 10-year and 30-year Treasuries grew 7 bps and 9 bps, respectively. Learn how to rebalance your portfolio based on interest rate hikes.
Municipal Bonds – After last week’s rally, municipal bond prices increased, causing yields to decrease across the board.
The 10-year AAA bond yield decreased by 21 bps and the 30-year AAA bond yield decreased 20 bps from the week before. Municipal fund flows continued the massive outflow trend for the fourth straight week, with over $2 billion for the week and over $9 billion over the last four weeks. Again, investors continued the trend of pulling out of bond funds and into investments not affected by rising interest rates.
Category | Top Subcategory | MTD Subcategory Return (%) | Top Subcategory Performer | MTD Fund Return (%) | Performance Rationale |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Equity Fund | Small Value | 14.33% | TDVFX | 22.80% | Small value continues to rally with the total market. This fund has 23% in energy, which had a very big week, up 2.64%. |
International Equity | Japan Stock | 4.85% | BAJAX | 4.85% | Fund has 1/3 invested in the U.S., which has done well over the last month. The remainder is invested in cash and international markets. |
Commodities | Broad Basket | 4.00% | GCCUX | 8.15% | With commodities down for the month, the fund has been protected by staying in Treasuries but quickly reinvested in oil, which had a strong return the week prior. |
Taxable Bonds | High Yield | 1.43% | FOCIX | 13.13% | Fund invests in high-yield bonds and preferred stocks, which increased greatly last week. |
Municipal Bonds | Muni National Short | -1.00% | USMTX | 0.04% | Bond funds with longer durations move to the ultra-short funds to protect them from interest rate fluctuations. |
This fund continues to see strong YTD performance, primarily by having nearly 13% invested in the energy sector, which is up over 27% for the year. The top holding is Texas Pacific Land Trust (TPL), which is up over 166% for the year.
The following table provides the top performing mutual funds on a YTD basis, as of December 9, 2016. Only those funds that are rated 5 stars by Morningstar and that generated YTD return greater than that achieved by the S&P 500 are included.
Name | Ticker | Category | YTD % | Net Expense Ratio | % of Assets in Top 5 Holdings | Total Assets $ (Millions) | Top Sector Invested |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hodges Institutional | HDPIX | Mid Cap Blend Equities | 44.54% | 1.00% | 28.05% | $ 306 | Consumer Cyclical |
Williston Basin/Mid-North America Stk A | ICPAX | Energy Equities | 39.91% | 1.44% | 22.61% | $ 664 | Energy |
Tortoise MLP & Pipeline Instl | TORIX | Master Limited Partnerships | 39.29% | 0.99% | 37.23% | $ 2,340 | Energy |
Wadell & Reed Energy Y | WEGYX | Energy | 38.52% | 1.10% | 22.42% | $ 243 | Energy |
First Eagle Gold I | FEGIX | Precious Metals | 37.51% | 1.03% | 40.49% | $ 1,028 | Basic Materials |
Receive email updates about best performers, news, CE accredited webcasts and more.
Aaron Levitt
|
With broker-dealers and agents now acting in favor of clients, investors may be...
Justin Kuepper
|
Let’s take a look at what sets China apart from other emerging markets,...
News
Iuri Struta
|
Check out the latest edition of mutual fund scorecard.
Find out why $30 trillon is invested in mutual funds.
Download our free report
Find out why $30 trillon is invested in mutual funds.
Download our free report
Find out why $30 trillon is invested in mutual funds.
Mutual Fund Education
Justin Kuepper
|
Let's take a closer look at how ESG investments have outperformed during the...
Mutual Fund Education
Daniel Cross
|
While CITs and mutual funds share many similarities, there are some key differences...
Mutual Fund Education
Sam Bourgi
|
The phrase ‘bear market’ has been thrown around a lot lately, but it...