• U.S. and international equities all saw large declines this week.

• The best-performing fund for 2018 on a year-to-date basis is the Leland Thomson Reuters Vntr Cptl Idx I (LDVIX).

• Small Cap Growth 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.

U.S. Equities – U.S. equity markets turned back to negative territory after two weeks of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 3.05%, to close at 24,538, and is now down 0.73% on a year-to-date basis. The S&P 500 also had a decline of 2.04% for the week, to close at 2,691, and is up 0.66% year-to-date. The NASDAQ Composite decreased 1.08%, to close at 7,258. The NASDAQ is the best-performing index among most major indices on a year-to-date basis and is up 5.13%.

This week’s best-performing sector again this week is telecommunications, which was down 0.62%. This sector consists of companies like Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which was down 0.77% for the week.

International Equities – International markets were also down this week, with the MSCI Developed Market Index falling 2.86%, to close at 2,005. The MSCI Emerging Market Index had a decrease of 2.80%, to close at 1,182. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also saw big losses this week by 3.25%, to close at 21,182.

Commodities – The commodities markets were also all down, with crude oil decreasing by $2.30 per barrel to close at $61.25. The price of gold fell $7 per troy ounce, to close at $1,321. Copper also decreased by $0.09, to close at $3.12.

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields were mostly down this week, with the exception of the 2-Year Treasury, which saw no change and continues to yield 2.24%. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped 1 bps and now yields 2.86%. The 30-year Treasury yield decreased by 2 bps and now yields 3.14%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields saw little change, with the 2-year AAA-rated bonds, increasing 2 bps to yield 1.56%. The 10-year AAA-rated and the 30-year AAA-rated bonds saw no change and both continue to yield 2.48% and 3.08%, respectively. Municipal bond funds saw large outflows of $592 million this week. The largest credit spread for the two-year securities increased to 68 bps for the week.

Be sure to read 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.

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 March 2, 2018.

Top-performing fund: Leland Thomson Reuters Vntr Cptl Idx I (LDVIX).

One of the the fund’s largest holding is MasterCard Inc. (NYSE:MA), which is up over 17% on a year-to-date basis.

Top 5 Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis as of March 2, 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.

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