- U.S. equities, international equities and commodities all bounced back after the major market sell-off.
- The best-performing fund for 2018 on a year-to-date basis is the Leland Thomson Reuters Vntr Cptl Idx I (LDVIX).
- Latin American Equities is the best-performing mutual funds subcategory based on the rolling-month returns.
- 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
This week’s best-performing sector is information technology, which was up 5.90%. This sector consists of companies like Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which was up 10.24% for the week.
International Equities – International markets were also up this week. The MSCI Developed Market Index increased 4.28%, to close at 2,076. The MSCI Emerging Market Index had an increase of 5.04%, to close at 1,200. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also gained this week by 1.58%, to close at 21,720.
Commodities – Like the equity markets, the commodity sector saw gains. Crude oil increased $2.48 per barrel to close at $61.68. The price of gold increased $40 per troy ounce, to close at $1,353. Copper increased by $0.22, to close at $3.25.
Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields were up this week, with the exception of the 30-year Treasury. The 2-Year Treasury gained 12 bps to yield 2.19%. The 10-year Treasury yield increased by 2 bps and now yields 2.87%. The 30-year Treasury yield declined by 3 bps and now yields 3.13%.
Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields all saw increases, with the exception of the 2-year AAA-rated bonds, which remained unchanged and continues to yield 1.55%. The 10-year AAA-rated bonds saw an increase of 2 bps, while the 30-year AAA-rated bonds saw an increase of 6 bps to yield 3.07%. Municipal bond funds broke a five-week trend of inflows and saw outflows of $383 million this week. The largest credit spread for the five-year securities increased to 66 bps for the week.
Be sure to read our important tips on how to invest in the right commodity-based mutual fund.
Explore our Mutual Funds Education section to learn more about important mutual funds concepts.
Performance Snapshot: Top Fund Category
Category | Top Subcategory | MTD Subcategory Return (%) | Top Subcategory Performer | Top Subcategory Performer | MTD Fund Return (%) | Performance Rationale |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Equity Fund | Large Cap Growth Equities | -0.06% | Zevenbergen Genea Institutional | ZVGIX | 7.73% | The fund's largest holding is Amazon.com Inc. (NYSE: AMZN), which is up over 23% YTD. |
International Equity | Latin America Equities | 3.68% | Fidelity Advisor® Latin America I | FLFIX | 4.13% | The fund's second-largest holding is Itau Unibanco Holding SA (NYSE:ITUB), which is up over 20% YTD. |
Commodities | Broad Basket | -0.81% | Credit Suisse Commodity Acss Strat I | CFHIX | 3.10% | With oil seeing big gains this week, the fund benefited by being invested in 19% oil. |
Taxable Bonds | Emerging-Markets Taxable | 1.45% | Barings Emerging Markets Local Ccy Dbt I | BXLIX | 2.79% | With global interest rates increasing, emerging markets bonds saw the biggest gains. |
Municipal Bonds | National Munis | -0.20% | Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Muni Inc I | EILMX | 0.22% | With muni yields rising this week, floating rate muni bonds managed to post marginal gains. |
Performance Snapshot: Top Fund
The fund’s largest holding is MasterCard Inc. (NYSE:MA), which is up over 16% on a year-to-date basis.
Top Five Performers
The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis as of February 16, 2018. 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.
Name | Ticker | Category | YTD % | Net Expense Ratio | % of Assets in Top 10 Holdings | Total Assets $ (Millions) | Top Sector Invested |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leland Thomson Reuters Vntr Cptl Idx I | LDVIX | Large Blend | 14.63% | 1.74% | 28.7% | $ 29 | Technology |
Prudential Jennison Focused Growth Z | SPFZX | Large Cap Growth Equities | 10.37% | 1.18% | 48.4% | $ 441 | Technology |
Transamerica Capital Growth I | TFOIX | Large Cap Growth Equities | 9.91% | 0.96% | 52.4% | $ 883 | Technology |
Morgan Stanley Inst Growth I | MSEQX | Large Cap Growth Equities | 9.84% | 0.63% | 51.3% | $ 4,610 | Technology |
Neuberger Berman Greater China Eq Instl | NCEIX | China Equities | 9.39% | 1.69% | 52.5% | $ 146 | Financial Services |