MutualFunds.com provides weekly information about any material impact on the mutual funds industry due to major economic and corporate events around the world. Performance statistics on the top funds and fund categories are also provided.

• U.S. and international equities mostly saw declines for the week.

• The best-performing fund for 2018 on a year-to-date basis is the PRIMECAP Odyssey Aggressive Growth (POAGX).

• Long Government Taxable Bonds is the best-performing mutual funds subcategory based on 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 were all down with the exception of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up by 0.61% to close at 24,103 and is down 2.49% on a year-to-date basis. The S&P 500 had a decline of 0.11% for the week to close at 2,641, and is down 1.22% year-to-date. The NASDAQ Composite decreased 1.44% to close at 7,063. The NASDAQ is the best-performing index among major indices on a year-to-date basis and is up 2.32%.

This week’s best-performing sector was consumer staples, up 2.23%. This sector consists of companies like Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG), which was up 1.30% for the week.

International Equities – The international markets were also down except the MSCI Developed Market Index, which saw an increase of 0.90% to close at 2,002. The MSCI Emerging Market Index had a decrease of 0.15% to close at 1,169. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also saw a decrease this week of 2.00% to close at 21,159.

Commodities –The commodities markets were all up this week, with the exception of gold. Crude oil increased by $0.64 per barrel to close at $64.94. The price of gold decreased by $4 per troy ounce to close at $1,323. Copper prices increased by $0.01 to close at $3.03.

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields were all down this week, with the exception of the 2-year Treasury that gained 2 bps and now yields 2.27%. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 7 bps and now yields 2.74%. The 30-year Treasury decreased 9 bps and now yields 2.97%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields also moved down this week, with the exception of the 2-year AAA-rated bonds that increased 1 bps to yield 1.68%. The 10-year AAA-rated bonds saw a decrease of 4 bps, while the 30-year AAA-rated bonds decreased 6 bps to yield 3.01%. Municipal bond funds saw small inflows of $200,000 this week, marking the fourth consecutive week of net inflows. The largest credit spread for the two-year securities increased to 59 bps for the week.

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

Explore our Mutual Fund Education section to learn more about important mutual fund 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 29, 2018.

Top-performing fund: PRIMECAP Odyssey Aggressive Growth (POAGX)

One of the fund’s largest holdings is Nektar Therapeutics Inc. (NAS: NKTR), which is up over 72% 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 29, 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.