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Mutual Funds Weekly Roundup: June 15

Brian Mathews Jun 15, 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.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was the only major U.S. equity index that ended this week in positive territory, increasing 0.31% to a new all-time high of 21,272.

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

China 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 were a mixed bag this week, with the Dow being the only index in the positive. DJIA was up 7.64% year-to-date and ended the week at a new all-time high. The S&P 500 decreased 0.30% for the week, closing at 2,432. Among the major indices, the NASDAQ Composite Index was this week’s worst performer, shedding 1.55% to close at 6,208. However, the NASDAQ is still the best-performing index and is up 15.32% year-to-date.

The financials sector was this week’s top-performing area, up 3.60%, and up 4.92% on a year-to-date basis. This was led by top banks like JPMorgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo Co. (WFC), which are both up 5.05% and 4.58% for the week, respectively.

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

International Equities – Like the U.S. markets, international equities were also a mixed bag this week. The MSCI Developed Index had a decrease of 1.16%, while the MSCI Emerging Index rose 0.36% for the week. Japan’s NIKKEI 225 had a decline after two weeks of big gains and is down 0.81% to close at 20,013.

Commodities – The commodity sector was also down, with the exception of copper. Crude oil decreased $1.83 per barrel and closed at $45.83 per barrel. The price of gold decreased $8 per troy ounce to close at $1,269. Copper, on the other hand, was up $0.08 for the week to close at $2.65.

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

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields all gained this week, a reversal from last week’s drop. The 2-year and 10-year Treasuries both increased 4 bps, while the 30-year Treasury yield increased 5 bps to 2.86%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipals remained relatively stable this week. The 2-year AAA-rated bonds increased 1 bps; the 10-year AAA-rated bonds remained flat; and the 30-year AAA-rated bonds increased 1 bps. Municipal bond funds returned to positive this week, with $871 million of inflows. The largest credit spread among Treasury and muni bonds widened to 55 bps for the 5-year securities.

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 one-month return generated as of June 9, 2017.

Category	Top Subcategory	1-Month Subcategory Return (%)	Top Subcategory Performer	Ticker	1-Month Fund Return (%)	Performance Rationale
U.S. Equity Fund	Large Cap Growth	3.04%	Zevenbergen Genea Institutional	ZVGIX	10.79%	The fund's largest holding is Amazon, Inc. (AMZN), which is up over 31% on a YTD basis.
International Equity	China Equities	7.43%	Neuberger Berman Greater China Eq Instl	NCEIX	11.64%	The fund invests in Chinese companies, with its largest holding in Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd (BABA,) which is up over 58% YTD.
Commodities	Broad Basket	-0.31%	Direxion Indexed Cmdty Strategy A	DXCTX	2.69%	This fund can go long in any commodity sector or remain flat (in cash) as a hedge. With oil down, this fund was heavy in cash but long in gold, which has increased.
Taxable Bonds	Government Bonds	3.27%	Vanguard Extended Duration Trs Idx Instl	VEDTX	4.87%	Bonds with longer maturities are increasing more in value than shorter-term bonds.
Municipal Bonds	Single State Municipal Bonds	1.82%	Nuveen CA High Yield Municipal Bond C2	NCHCX	2.82%	With muni yields remaining relatively flat, California muni bond funds showed slight gains.

Performance Snapshot: Top Fund

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

The fund’s largest holding is in Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd (NSE:HDFC), which is up over 30% on a year-to-date basis.

Top 5 Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis as of June 9, 2017. Only those funds that are rated five stars by Morningstar and that generated YTD returns greater than equal to 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	34.22%	2.00%	35.00%	$154	Financial Services
T. Rowe Price Global Technology	PRGTX	Global Equities	33.59%	0.90%	54.60%	$4,370	Technology
Transamerica Capital Growth I	TFOIX	Large Cap Growth Equities	32.23%	0.94%	61.20%	$718	Technology
Neuberger Berman Greater China Eq Instl	NCEIX	China Equities	31.88%	1.76%	51.40%	$93	Financial Services
Morgan Stanley Inst Growth IS	MGRPX	Large Cap Growth Equities	31.14%	0.54%	56.90%	$3,510	Technology