• U.S. equities were up, while international equities were down this week.

• The best-performing fund for 2018 on a year-to-date basis is Leland Thomson Reuters Venture Capital Index Fund (LDVIX).

• Small cap growth equities 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 industry.

U.S. Equities – U.S. equity markets were all up this week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average increasing by 0.15% to close at 24,753. The Dow is now up 0.14% on a year-to-date basis. The S&P 500 also gained 0.31% for the week to close at 2,721, which is up 1.78% year-to-date. The NASDAQ Composite increased 1.08% to close at 7,434. NASDAQ is still the best-performing major index among major indices on a year-to-date basis and is up 7.68%.

The best-performing sector was utilities, up 3.11% for the week, but it still remains negative on a year-to-date basis, down 3.36%. This sector consists of companies like NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE), which was up 3.82% for the week.

International Equities – The international markets were all down this week, with the MSCI Developed Market Index falling 1.51% to close at 2,015. The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.01% to close at 1,137. Finally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 saw this week’s biggest decline with a 2.09% drop to close at 22,451.

Commodities – The commodities markets were all up this week, with the exception of crude oil, which fell $3.40 per barrel to close at $67.88 The price of gold increased by $13 per troy ounce to close at $1,303. Copper prices also increased by $0.01 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 were down this week, with the 2-year Treasury decreasing by 7 bps to now yield 2.48%. The 10-year Treasury yield saw this week’s largest decline of 13 bps and now yields 2.93%. The 30-year Treasury decreased 11 bps to yield 3.09%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields were all also down this week, with the 2-year AAA-rated bonds decreasing by 4 bps to yield 1.82%. The 10-year AAA-rated bonds saw a decrease of 4 bps, while the 30-year AAA-rated bonds also decreased by 10 bps, to now yield 3.03%. Municipal bond funds saw its third week of inflows, with an increase of $128 million in assets under management. The largest credit spread for the five-year securities decreased to 70 bps for the week.

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 May 25, 2018.

Top-performing fund: Leland Thomson Reuters Venture Capital Index Fund (LDVIX)

One of the fund’s largest holdings is Adobe Systems Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE), which is up over 38% on a year-to-date basis.

Top 5 Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis as of May 25, 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.