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Mutual Funds Weekly Roundup: July 12

Brian Mathews Jul 12, 2018

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

U.S. equities were all up while international equities were all mixed this week.

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

Government 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 industry.

Market Wrap-Up

U.S. Equities – U.S. equity markets all bounced back with gains this week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average moving up by 0.99% to close at 24,456. The Dow is still down 1.06% on a year-to-date basis. The S&P 500 gained 1.60% for the week to close at 2,760 but is up 3.22% year-to-date. The NASDAQ Composite increased 2.46% to close at 7,688. NASDAQ is still the best-performing index among major indices on a year-to-date basis and is up 11.37%.

The best-performing sector was healthcare, up 3.30% for the week and is up 5.03% on a year-to-date basis. This sector consists of companies like UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH), which was up 2.50% for the week and up over 15.06% on a year-to-date basis.

International Equities – The international markets were mostly down this week, with the exception of MSCI Developed Market Index, which gained 0.57% to close at 1,970. The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.68% to close at 1,060. Finally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 saw a loss of 2.17% to close at 21,788.

Commodities – The commodities markets were mixed this week, with crude oil gaining $0.35 per barrel to close at $73.80. The price of gold increased by $7 per troy ounce to close at $1,254. Meanwhile, copper prices saw a decrease of $0.15 and now trades at $2.82.

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

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields were mostly mixed this week. The 2-year Treasury decreased by 2 bps to now yield 2.50%. The 10-year Treasury yield increased 2 bps and now yields 2.88%. The 30-year Treasury decreased 6 bps to yield 2.93%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields were also mostly down this week, with the exception of the 2-year AAA-rated bonds that remain unchanged and continue to yield 1.65%. The 10-year AAA-rated bonds saw a decrease of 1 bps, while the 30-year AAA-rated bonds decreased by 2 bps, to now yield 2.98%. Municipal bond fund flows saw outflows of $175 million after four weeks of inflows. The largest credit spread for the two-year securities decreased to 85 bps for the week.

Explore our Mutual Fund Education section to learn more about important mutual fund concepts.

Performance Snapshot: Top Fund Category

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 July 6, 2018.

Category	Top Subcategory	1-Month Subcategory Return (%)	Top Subcategory Performer	Ticker	1-Month Fund Return (%)	Performance Rationale
U.S. Equity Fund	Small Cap Growth Equities	0.84%	Conestoga Small Cap Institutional	CCALX	4.55%	The fund's largest holding is Neogen Corp (NASDAQ:NEOG), which is up over 35% on a year-to-date basis.
International Equity	World Large Stock	-1.53%	Federated Global Strategic Value Div R6	GVDLX	3.67%	The fund's largest holdings are Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), which were up over 1.5% for the week.
Commodities	Broad Basket	-3.84%	Rydex Commodities Strategy A	RYMEX	1.57%	With commodities and bond prices falling this week, this fund was protected since it had over 89% in cash.
Taxable Bonds	Government Bonds	2.35%	Vanguard Extended Duration Trs Idx Instl	VEDTX	3.37%	With longer-term bond yields mostly falling this week, longer-term bonds saw largest gains in price.
Municipal Bonds	High Yield Muni	0.55%	Oppenheimer Rochester Shrt Dur HY Muni Y	OPIYX	2.23%	High-yield bond funds saw the largest increase in price.

Performance Snapshot: Top Fund

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

One of the fund’s largest holdings is Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), which is up over 112% on a year-to-date basis.

Top Five Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis as of July 6, 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 Cap Growth Equities	29.12%	1.74%	28.10%	$72	Technology
Alger Small Cap Focus Z	AGOZX	Small Cap Growth Equities	28.73%	0.90%	32.10%	$1,140	Technology
Wasatch Ultra Growth	WAMCX	Small Cap Growth Equities	26.72%	1.30%	23.20%	$182	Technology
ClearBridge Select IS	LCSSX	Mid Cap Growth Equities	25.91%	2.02%	23.70%	$126	Technology
Morgan Stanley Multi Cap Growth I	CPODX	Large Cap Growth Equities	25.08%	0.95%	54.00%	$727	Technology