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Mutual Funds Weekly Roundup: May 11

Brian Mathews May 11, 2017

MutualFunds.com provides weekly information 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 all had gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 21,007.

The best-performing fund so far for 2017 is Wasatch Emerging India Institutional (WIINX).

Europe equities is the best-performing rolling-one-month mutual fund subcategory.

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

Market Wrap-Up

U.S. Equities – U.S. equity markets showed gains again this week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average increasing by 0.32% to 21,007. This is the second time it has gone above the 21,000 mark and remains up 6.30% year-to-date. The S&P 500 increased 0.63% for the week, closing at 2,399. The NASDAQ Composite Index was this week’s best-performing index, up 0.88% for the week to 6,101. For the third week in a row, the U.S. equity markets continued their upward trend as a result of positive economic and corporate earnings data.

The information technology sector was this week’s top-performing area again, up 1.39%. The sector is up 17.02% on a year-to-date basis and is the best-performing sector. This is led by companies like Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOG), which are both up over 32% and 26%, respectively, on a YTD basis.

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

International Equities – International equities, like the U.S. equity markets, also showed gains and ended in the positive for the week. The MSCI Developed Index had an increase of 1.86%, while the MSCI Emerging Index had a more modest gain of 0.08% for the week. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 continued its third week of gains, up 1.30% and closing at 19,446.

Commodities – The commodity sector showed big declines this week, with crude oil falling $3.11 per barrel and closing at $46.22 per barrel. The price of gold declined $41 per troy ounce to close at $1,225. Copper was also down $0.08 per pound to close at $2.53.

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

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields jumped this week, with the two-year Treasury yield increasing by 5 bps to 1.31%. The 10-year and 30-year bonds saw an increase in yields of 7 bps and 4 bps, respectively.

Municipal Bonds – These remained mostly flat, with 30-year bonds showing a moderate rise in yield of 2 bps. While muni bonds continued on its fourth week of net positive fund flows, credit spread increased. The spread between the 5-year Treasury and AAA-rated muni bonds widened to 44 bps; however, 30-year AAA-rated muni bonds managed to yield 5 bps more than its Treasury counterpart.

You can also read about essential tax tips for mutual funds so you are aware of key strategies to limit your tax burden.

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 the 1-month return generated as of May 5, 2017.

Category	Top Subcategory	1-Month Subcategory Return (%)	Top Subcategory Performer	Ticker	MTD Fund Return (%)	Performance Rationale
U.S. Equity Fund	Large Cap Growth	3.20%	Zevenbergen Genea Institutional	ZVGIX	7.61%	The fund's largest holding is Amazon, Inc. (AMZN), which is up over 26% on a YTD basis.
International Equity	Europe Equities	6.36%	Columbia Acorn European Z	CAEZX	9.47%	The fund invests in European-based companies, like those invested in the Euro STOXX 50 Index that is up over 8% month-to-date.
Commodities	Broad Basket	-4.34%	Catalyst Hedged Commodity Strategy I	CFHIX	-0.37%	With commodities falling again this week, this fund was protected by being invested in 39% cash and 26% bonds as a hedge.
Taxable Bonds	Emerging Markets Bonds	1.19%	Ashmore Emerging Mkts Corp Debt A	ECDAX	2.66%	WIth bond yields gaining this week, emerging markets bonds did not decline as much as U.S.-based funds.
Municipal Bonds	High Yield Municipal Bonds	0.75%	Oppenheimer Rochester® High Yld Muni B	ORNBX	1.28%	With yields staying flat this week, high-yield bonds were the best-performing area of the municipal bond sector.

Performance Snapshot: Top Fund

Top-performing fund: Wasatch Emerging India Institutional (WIINX)

This fund’s largest holding is in MakeMyTrip Limited (MMYT), which is up more than 66% YTD.

Top 5 Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis, as of May 5, 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.

Top-Performing Fund	Ticker	Category	YTD Return (%)	Net Expense Ratio (%)	% of Assets in Top 10 Holdings	Net Assets $ (Millions)	Top Sector Invested
Wasatch Emerging India Institutional	WIINX	India Equities	32.00%	2.00%	35.00%	$154	Financial Services
T. Rowe Price Global Technology	PRGTX	Global Equities	24.51%	0.90%	54.60%	$4,030	Technology
Morgan Stanley Inst International Opp I	MIOIX	Foreign Large Cap Growth Equities	23.84%	1.34%	49.30%	$138	Technology
Morgan Stanley Inst Growth IS	MGRPX	Large Cap Growth Equities	22.73%	0.54%	56.90%	$3,510	Technology
Morgan Stanley Inst Global Opp I	MGGIX	Global Equities	22.54%	1.07%	53.50%	$828	Technology