• U.S. equities and international equities were mostly up this week.

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

• Latin America 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 mostly up this week with the exception of the NASDAQ. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained by 1.57% to close at 25,451. The Dow is now up 2.96% on a year-to-date basis. The S&P 500 gained 0.61% for the week to close at 2,819 and is up 5.43% year-to-date. The NASDAQ Composite decreased 1.06% to close at 7,737. NASDAQ is still the best-performing index among major indices on a year-to-date basis and is up 12.08%.

The best-performing sector was energy, up 2.32% for the week. This sector consists of companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. (NASDAQ:XOM), which is up 0.25% for the week.

International Equities – The international markets were also up this week, with the MSCI Developed Market Index gaining 1.35% to close at 2,011. The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 2.15% to close at 1,092. Finally, Japan’s Nikkei 225 saw a slight gain of 0.07%, to close at 22,713.

Commodities – The commodities markets were mostly down this week, with crude oil falling $1.77 per barrel to close at $68.69. The price of gold decreased by $7 per troy ounce to close at $1,223. Meanwhile, copper prices saw an increase of $0.05 and now trade at $2.80.

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

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields were all up this week. The 2-year Treasury increased by 8 bps to now yield 2.67%. The 10-year Treasury yield increased 7 bps and now yields 2.96%. The 30-year Treasury increased 6 bps and now yields 3.09%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields were also all up this week, with the 2-year AAA-rated bonds gaining 4 bps to now yield 1.62%. The 10-year AAA-rated bonds saw an increase of 4 bps, while the 30-year AAA-rated bonds increased by 7 bps, to now yield 3.06%. Municipal bond fund flows had its second week in a row of inflows, increasing by $419 million this week. The largest credit spread for the two-year securities increased to 105 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 July 27, 2018.

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 75% 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 27, 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.