Mutual Funds Weekly Roundup: November 16

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. equities were all down this week, snapping a six-week trend of gains.

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

• Japan stock is the best-performing mutual funds 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.

U.S. Equities – U.S. equity markets all fell this week, snapping the six-week trend of gains in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.50% to close at 23,422. The S&P 500 also had a decrease of 0.21% for the week, to close at 2,582. The NASDAQ Composite Index was also down 0.20% to close at 6,751. The NASDAQ continues to be the best-performing major U.S. index on a year-to-date basis, up 25.41%.

The real estate sector was this week’s top-performing sector, up 3.22%. The real estate sector consists of companies like Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:SPG), which was up almost 4% for the week.

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International Equities – International markets were mostly up, with the exception of the MSCI Developed Index, which was down 0.40%, to close at 2,000, but is still up 22.20% on a year-to-date basis. The MSCI Emerging Index had an increase of 0.22% for the week and remains the best-performing index on a year-to-date basis, up 33.78%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 had its ninth week of gains in a row, up 0.63%, to close at 22,681.

Commodities – The commodity sector was mostly up this week except for copper. Crude oil saw a gain of $1.10 per barrel and closed at $56.74 per barrel. The price of gold increased $6 per troy ounce, to close at $1,272. On the other hand, copper saw a decrease of $0.04, to close at $3.08.

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

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields saw gains this week, with the 2-year Treasury increasing 4 bps to yield 1.65%. The 10-year Treasury yield increased 7 bps, while the 30-year Treasury yield also increased 7 bps to 2.88%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields all fell across the board except for the 2-year AAA-rated bonds, which increased 5 bps to yield 1.17%. The 10-year AAA-rated bonds decreased 2 bps, while the 30-year AAA-rated bonds decreased 8 bps and now yield 2.76%. Municipal bond funds turned back to inflows this week, seeing an increase of $427 million in assets under management. The largest credit spread for the five-year securities decreased by 5 bps to settle at 47 bps for the week.

The following table provides a list of the top-performing mutual funds 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 November 10, 2017.

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 104% on a year-to-date basis.

Top 5 Performers

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