• U.S. equities were all down while international equities were all up 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 all declined this week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by 1.54% to close at 24,957 and now up 0.92% on a year-to-date basis. The S&P 500 also had a decline of 1.24% for the week, to close at 2,752, and is up 2.93% year-to-date. The NASDAQ Composite decreased 1.04%, to close at 7,482. The NASDAQ is the best-performing index among major indices on a year-to-date basis and is up 8.38%.

This week’s best-performing sector was utilities, up 2.64%. This sector consists of companies like NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE:NEE), which was up over 3.50% for the week.

International Equities – Unlike the U.S., international markets were up this week, with the MSCI Developed Market Index gaining 0.22%, to close at 2,044. The MSCI Emerging Market Index had an increase of 0.52%, to close at 1,213. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also saw an increase this week of 0.97%, to close at 21,677.

Commodities – The commodities markets were all down this week with the exception of crude oil, which increased by $0.30 per barrel to close at $62.34. The price of gold decreased by $11 per troy ounce, to close at $1,311. Copper also decreased by $0.03, to close at $3.11.

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields were all down this week, with the exception of the 2-year Treasury, which increased by 4 bps and now yields 2.30%. The 10-year Treasury yield fell by 4 bps and now yields 2.85%. The 30-year Treasury decreased by 8 bps and now yields 3.08%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields also fell this week, with the exception of the 2-year AAA-rated bonds, which increased by 1 bps to yield 1.58%. The 10-year AAA-rated bonds saw a decrease of 1 bps, while the 30-year AAA-rated bonds decreased by 3 bps to yield 3.09%. Municipal bond funds saw inflows of $263 million this week. The largest credit spread for the two-year securities increased to 72 bps for the week.

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

In this context, you can also read about essential tax tips for mutual funds, so that you are aware of key strategies to limit your tax burden.

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 16, 2018.

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

One of the the fund’s largest holdings is MasterCard Inc. (NYSE:MA), which is up over 19% 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 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.

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