MutualFunds.com provides a snapshot of the performance of some key mutual funds and ETFs, trying to capture investor interest in specific areas of the financial markets. The report is aimed at providing a quick overview of the sectors, regions and asset classes that moved in a meaningful manner in the last 30 days. In addition, the report also highlights some of the key economic indicators for major geographies, reminding you to adjust your portfolios if required.
MutualFunds.com generates this report every fortnight. In order to select the mutual funds and ETFs highlighted in this report, MutualFunds.com uses a system to automatically scan through hundreds of relevant securities within different sectors, regions and asset classes. The system only picks up the best and worst performing securities for further manual analysis.
Performance Scorecard
Check out best and worst performers across different sectors, geographies and assset claases.
| Category | Rolling 1-month Performance | Mutual Funds | ETFs | Rolling 1-month Ret (%) |
| Sector | Internet stocks and utilities were among the best performers over the last 30 days in mutual funds. Among ETFs, cryptocurrencies and utilities posted one of the strongest performance. Meanwhile, crude oil and Chinese internet-focused funds have been plunging, partly as a result of the Chinese government crackdowns on its internet darlings. | WWWFX: Kinetics Internet Fund | 9.17% | |
| OEPIX: Oil Equipment & Services UltraSector ProFund | -15.69% | |||
| BITQ: Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF | 19.83% | |||
| KWEB: KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF | -20.24% | |||
| U.S. Broad | Mid- and mega-cap funds were among the best performers, while growth stocks, small-caps and Chinese equities were among the worst performers. | VMVAX: Vanguard Mid-cap Value Index Admiral | 1.75% | |
| FISVX: Fidelity® Small Cap Value Index Fund | -7.80% | |||
| PLC: Principal U.S. Large-cap Multi Factor ETF | 7.86% | |||
| PSCE: Invesco S&P SmallCap Energy ETF | -15.05% | |||
| Fixed Inc | Long-term bonds were among the most sought-after securities in the last 30 days, along with telecom bonds in ETFs. Municipal bonds, Chinese bonds and mid-term corporate bonds all posted large losses. | VEDTX: Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund | 2.01% | |
| FMIFX: FMI International Fund II | -2.32% | |||
| UBT: ProShares Ultra 20+ Year Treasury | 2.78% | |||
| HYD: VanEck Vectors High Yield Muni ETF | -16.67% | |||
| Alts | Alternative energy and cryptocurrencies posted among the largest gains in the last 30 days. At the same time, commodities, oil and silver were sold off. | FKUQX: Franklin Utilities Fund | 5.58% | |
| UNWPX: U.S. Global Investors World Precious Minerals Fund | -10.77% | |||
| ETHE: Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETH) | 67.06% | |||
| IGLD: FT Cboe Vest Gold Target Income ETF | -26.09% | |||
| Foreign | Emerging markets like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as well as Ireland, were among the best performers. At the other end of the spectrum were funds focused on China. | IRL: New Ireland Fund | 5.42% | |
| TCWAX: Templeton China World Fund | -14.83% | |||
| ARGT: Global X MSCI Argentina ETF | 7.85% | |||
| CHIC: Global X MSCI China Communication Services ETF | -17.81% |
Fund performance data for the period between July 23, 2021 and August 20, 2021.
Key Economic Indicators
Check out our quick take on the key economic indicators across North America, Europe and Asia.
| Economic Indicators | Comments |
| GDP | Japanese economic output surprised to the upside. Preliminary figures showed Japan's GDP rose 0.3% in the second quarter, beating expectations of 0.1% growth. |
| Monetary Policy | U.S. inflation advanced by 5.4% in July compared to a year ago, surpassing analysts' expectations of 5.3%. Month-over-month, the consumer price gauge rose by 0.5% after a gain of 0.9% in the prior month. The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) was up by 1% compared with expectations of 0.6%. The U.S. Federal Reserve is readying to taper its asset purchase program later this year, minutes of the policymakers' discussion reveals. However, officials said the tapering does not necessarily mean the Fed will hike interest rates. China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1% in July year-over-year, higher than the market's expectations of 0.8%. The Producer Price Index, however, surged by 9% versus 8.6% expected by analysts. |
| Consumer Spending | U.S. consumer sentiment, as gauged by a composite index compiled by the University of Michigan, hit a nine-year low of 70.2. U.S. retail sales disappointed analysts, with the decline of 1.1% in July month-over-month higher than the 0.2% expected by economists. Core retail sales also disappointed, down by 0.4% versus the 0.2% forecasted. U.K. retail sales declined by 2.5% in July month-over-month, disappointing expectations of 0.2% growth. Chinese retail sales were up by 8.5% in July, falling from 12.1% in the prior month and disappointing analysts' expectations of 10.9% growth. |
| Employment | U.S. unemployment claims have continued to trend down, coming in at just a little above 700,000 over the past fortnight. |
| Manufacturing Sector | European manufacturing sentiment is in continued decline. Europe-wide Flash Manufacturing PMI fell from 62.88 to 61.5, hitting a low not seen since February 2021. |
| Service Sector | The European services sector sentiment declined slightly, but remained well in expansion territory at 59.7. |
We provide this report on a fortnightly basis. To stay up to date with mutual fund market events, come back to our news page here.