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 | Monthly Performance | Mutual Funds | ETFs | 1-month Ret (%) |
| Sector | Utilities and healthcare have been the best performers as investors flee to safety. At the other end of the spectrum are the cannabis industry and technology. | VUIAX: Vanguard Utilities Index Fund | 3.6% | |
| AMREX: American Growth Cannabis Fund | -98.0% | |||
| PEX: ProShares Global Listed Private Equity ETF | 114.3% | |||
| BOIL: ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas | -49.6% | |||
| U.S. Broad | Mega-caps have outperformed over the past month, along with the total bonds and consumer staples sectors. Meanwhile, small caps and consumer discretionary were hammered. | VMVLX: Vanguard Mega Cap Value Index Fund | 0.6% | |
| MCJZX: MM Russell 2000® Small Cap Index Fund | -24.9% | |||
| SMIN: iShares MSCI India Small | 4.5% | |||
| UMDD: ProShares UltraPro MidCap400 | -16.0% | |||
| Fixed Inc | Long-term bonds and telecom bonds have posted strong performance. Inflation bonds have underperformed. | VEDTX: Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund | 3.6% | |
| PEDIX: PIMCO Extended Duration Fund | -16.9% | |||
| LTL: ProShares Ultra Telecommunications | 7.4% | |||
| OLD: The Long-Term Care ETF | -15.9% | |||
| Alts | Market-neutral funds and real estate-focused funds have recorded solid gains, while natural gas and cryptocurrencies underperformed. | CPIEX: Counterpoint Tactical Equity Fund | 9.8% | |
| WLVOX: Wells Fargo Low Volatility U.S. Equity Fund | -41.5% | |||
| REM: iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF | 21.1% | |||
| BOIL: ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas | -49.6% | |||
| Foreign | Latin American stocks and Chinese utilities and energy stocks recorded small gains. Meanwhile, Turkish shares saw losses of more than 20% as the country is grappling with high inflation. | SLARX: DWS Latin America Equity Fund | 2.4% | |
| WFGDX: Wells Fargo Emerging Growth Fund | -37.5% | |||
| CHIU: Global X MSCI China Utilities ETF | 14.0% | |||
| TUR: iShares MSCI Turkey ETF | -20.5% |
Fund performance data for the period between November 18, 2021 and December 17, 2021.
Key Economic Indicators
Check out our quick take on the key economic indicators across North America, Europe and Asia.
| Economic Indicators | Comments |
| Monetary Policy | U.S. inflation has advanced to 6.8% in 2021, the highest level since 1982. This has triggered a wave of worries the Federal Reserve has been caught wrongfooted and might be forced to raise rates precipitously. Gasoline prices, which rose more than 58% in November, were mostly to blame for the high headline figure. Core consumer price index, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose 4.9%, up from 4.6% in the prior month. As a result, the Federal Reserve has now signaled plans to start raising interest rates as soon as the bond-buying program ends in March. The U.S. policymakers now expect two to three rate increases next year. The Fed has abruptly changed its stance on interest rates, after just a month ago it was calling for patience. Some policymakers said the cost of higher inflation could outweigh the benefits. The Bank of England was the first big central bank to raise interest rates as galloping inflation across the world has put pressure on the bank to act. The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to 0.25% from 0.1% previously. The policymakers have dismissed threats about the Omicron variant, which could lead to another lockdown. Inflation in the UK rose to 5.1% in November, up from 4.2% in the prior month and 30 basis points more than analysts had expected. Core CPI, meanwhile, increased from 3.7% to 4%. |
| Consumer Spending | U.S. crude oil inventories have declined for the third consecutive week, in a sign demand for oil remains solid. Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales largely disappointed in November, rising by 0.3% compared with 1.8% growth in the prior month. Supply chain issues could be partly to blame. |
| Employment | U.S. unemployment claims remain at pre-pandemic lows, in a further sign the economy is reaching its full potential. |
| Manufacturing Sector | European manufacturing purchasing managers' index declined slightly in December, but remained well in expansion territory. |
| Services Sector | Services purchasing managers' index (PMI) declined to a nine-month low to 53.3 amid fears the Omicron variant will lead to another lockdown across Europe. |
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.