Mutual Funds Weekly Roundup: January 26

MutualFunds.com provides weekly information (Jan. 13-Jan. 20) about any material impact on the mutual funds industry due to major economic and corporate events around the world. In addition, performance statistics on the top funds and fund categories are also provided.

• Dow Jones Industrial Index (DJIA) declined, but S&P 500 and NASDAQ showed marginal gains.

• Markets bounced back on Friday, as Donald Trump took office.

• The best-performing fund for 2017, so far, is the Invesco Gold & Precious Metals Investor (FGLDX).

• Make sure to check out the previous edition of the Weekly Roundup to get the whole picture.

Market Wrap-Up

U.S. Equity – U.S. equities showed little movement for the week, with the DJIA decreasing 0.32% for the week to 19,827. The S&P 500 was up slightly, gaining 0.04% for the week, and is at 2,271. The NASDAQ was one of the best performing U.S. indexes, up 0.14% for the week at 5,555 and up 3.20% year-to-date. All three indexes were down for the week through the close of Thursday. On Friday, the market saw a slight uptick as Donald J. Trump officially became the 45th president of the United States.

The consumer staples sector was the week’s best performer, up 2.05% for the week and up 1.62% for the year. As investors worry about the economy’s future, consumer staples are considered one of the more defensive sectors in the market.

International Equity – International markets were also sluggish for the week, with the MSCI Developed Index decreasing 0.47% for the week and the MSCI Emerging Index down 0.30%. Japan’s NIKKEI showed little gain, up only 0.02% for the week.

Commodities – The commodity sector was mixed, with oil declining $0.59 per barrel, or -1.11%, and closing at $52.42 per barrel. The price of gold continued its positive trend for the fourth week in a row and was up $5 per troy ounce. Copper, on the other hand, declined $0.05 per pound, or -1.88%.

Be sure to check our important tips on how to invest in the right commodity-based mutual fund.

Taxable Bonds – Long-term Treasury bond yields increased for the week, while the 2-year Treasury remained flat. Both the 10-year and 30-year Treasuries increased 7 bps and 6 bps, respectively. Now that the Fed has finally raised interest rates, it’s a good time to become familiar with how to rebalance your portfolio based on interest rate hikes.

Municipal Bonds – Short-term AAA-rated 2-year municipal yields dropped 1 bps to 1.12%. The 10-year and 30-year AAA-rated municipals both increased their yields by 12 bps from the week prior. Municipal fund flows showed second consecutive week of inflows, with a $546 million increase of assets.

Performance Snapshot: Top Fund Category

The following table provides a list of the top-performing mutual fund subcategories for the previous week within the broader categories of the industry. In each of these subcategories, we have listed the top mutual funds based on month-to-date (MTD) fund return generated as of January 20, 2017.

Performance Snapshot: Top Fund

Top-performing fund: Invesco Gold & Precious Metals Investor (FGLDX)

This fund is heavily invested in gold mining companies, with the top holding Torex Gold Resources Inc (TXG) which is up over 32% year-to-date.

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis, as of January 20, 2017. 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.

We provide this report on a weekly basis. To stay up to date with mutual fund market events, return to our News section.