Mutual Funds Weekly Roundup: February 16

MutualFunds.com provides weekly information (Feb.6 to Feb.10) 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.

• U.S. markets hit all-time highs with the DJIA closing at 20,269.

• The best-performing fund so far for 2017 is First Eagle Global I (FEGIX).

• India Equities is the best month-to-date performing mutual fund subcategory.

• Make sure to check out the previous edition of the Weekly Roundup to keep track of changing trends.

U.S. Equities – U.S. equity markets hit new all-time highs this week, with the DJIA increasing 0.99% to 20,269. The S&P 500 gained 0.81% for the week, hitting 2,316. Among the major U.S. indices, the NASDAQ also saw the week’s largest increase, up 1.19% for the week to 5,734 and up 6.52% year-to-date. This indicates that the market continues to rally amid the political turmoil of President Trump’s tenure.

Industrials was the week’s best performing sector, up 1.65% for the week and 3.48% year-to-date. This sector is one of the areas expected to benefit from Trump’s plans to increase the country’s infrastructure spending.

Explore our Mutual Fund Education section to learn more about important mutual fund concepts.

International Equities – The MSCI Developed Index showed little movement again, down by 0.02%, while the MSCI Emerging Index demonstrated a relatively large gain, up 1.25% for the week. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 rebounded from last week’s decline and was one of the best performing major international indices for the week, up 2.44% to close at 19,379.

Commodities – The commodity sector showed a positive gain, with oil increasing $0.03 per barrel, or 0.05%, and closing at $53.86 per barrel. The price of gold increased $16 per troy ounce to reach $1,234. Copper also had a big increase of $0.15 per pound, or 5.57%, and closed at $2.77.

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

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields fell drastically across all maturities. The 2-year Treasuries fell 1 bps while the 10-year and 30-year fell 5 bps and 8 bps, respectively.

Municipal Bonds – However, municipal yields remained relatively stable with the 2-year AAA-rated yields dropping 4 bps, and the 10-year and 30-year AAA-rated yields remaining unchanged from the week before.

In this context, you can also read about essential tax tips for mutual funds, so that you are aware of key strategies to limit your tax burden.

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 the month-to-date (MTD) fund return generated as of February 10, 2017.

Top-performing fund: First Eagle Global I (FEGIX)

This fund is heavily invested in gold, which is up over 5% year-to-date.

Top 5 Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis, as of February 10, 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.