Mutual Funds Weekly Roundup: September 21

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. and international equities all saw large gains this week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting an all-time high.

• The best-performing fund so far for 2017 continues to be the Neuberger Berman Greater China Eq Instl (NCEIX).

• Latin America Equities is the best-performing mutual fund subcategory based on the rolling month.

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

Market Wrap-Up

U.S. Equities – U.S. equity markets all saw big gains this week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average increasing 2.16% to close at an all-time high of 22,268. The S&P 500 also had an increase of 1.58% for the week, closing at 2,500. The NASDAQ Composite Index had an increase of 1.39%, to close at 6,448. The NASDAQ is the best-performing major index on a year-to-date basis, up 19.79%.

The telecom sector was this week’s top-performing area, up 3.89%. The sector is composed of companies like AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), which were up 5.14% and 3.89%, respectively, during the week.

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

International Equities – International markets also saw positive gains with the MSCI Developed Index increasing 0.56% to close at 1,964. The MSCI Emerging Index had a gain of 1.06% for the week and remains the best-performing index on a year-to-date basis, up 30.48%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 bounced back from last week’s decline, gaining 3.29% to close at 19,910.

Commodities – The commodity sector saw declines except for oil. Crude oil saw gains for the second week in a row, up $2.41 per barrel and closing at $49.89 per barrel. The price of gold decreased $26 per troy ounce to close at $1,320. Copper was also down for the week, decreasing by $0.09 to close at $2.95.

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

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields saw big increases this week. The 2-year Treasury increased 12 bps to yield 1.38%. The 10-year Treasury yield gained 15 bps, while the 30-year Treasury yield moved up 10 bps to 2.77%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields also gained across all maturities this week. The 2-year AAA-rated bonds increased 3 bps to yield 0.87%. The 10-year AAA-rated bonds increased 9 bps, while the 30-year AAA-rated bond gained 8 bps and yields 2.79%. Municipal bond funds saw inflows of $313 million for the third week in a row. The largest credit spread for the five-year securities increased by 9 bps to settle at 62 bps for the week.

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 September 15, 2017.

Performance Snapshot: Top Fund

Top-performing fund: Neuberger Berman Greater China Eq Instl (NCEIX)

The fund’s largest holding is in Tencent Holdings Ltd (HKG:0700), which is up over 78% on a year-to-date basis.

Top 5 Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis as of September 15, 2017. Only those funds that are rated five stars by Morningstar and that generated YTD returns greater than or 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.