Mutual Funds Weekly Roundup: June 15

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.

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.

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.

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.

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