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 | Healthcare and utilities were the best performers over the last 30 days, while natural gas and technology posted weak returns. | HCPIX: ProFunds UltraSector Health Care Fund | 11.9% | |
| RCGTX: AllianzGI Technology Fund | -50.6% | |||
| UCO: ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil | 24.3% | |||
| BOIL: ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas | -21.0% | |||
| U.S. Broad | Value stocks and mid-cap equities were favored by investors last month, while small-caps and volatility were rather weak. | VSPVX: Vanguard S&P 500 Value Index Fund | 5.0% | |
| MCJZX: MM Russell 2000® Small Cap Index Fund | -16.9% | |||
| UMDD: ProShares UltraPro MidCap400 | 11.2% | |||
| VIXM: ProShares VIX Mid | -7.0% | |||
| Fixed Inc | Muni bonds and mid-term Treasuries recorded strong performances. At the other end of the spectrum are long-term bonds and inflation-linked securities. | ARMRX: Wilmington Maryland Municipal Bond A | 3.0% | |
| PEDIX: PIMCO Extended Duration Fund | -23.0% | |||
| ITE: SPDR® Portfolio Intermediate Term Treasury ETF | 35.3% | |||
| IPE: SPDR® Portfolio TIPS ETF | -9.3% | |||
| Alts | Precious metals, crude oil, and real estate were hot with investors during the past month. Natural gas and crypto assets have swooned. | PMPIX: ProFunds Precious Metals UltraSector Fund | 10.8% | |
| WLVOX: Wells Fargo Low Volatility U.S. Equity Fund | -38.4% | |||
| REM: iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF | 31.8% | |||
| ETCG: Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust (ETC) | -30.7% | |||
| Foreign | Latin American equities and India's small-caps were strong. Meanwhile, China’s Internet stocks and emerging markets suffered. | UNPIX: ProFunds Ultra International Fund | 7.0% | |
| HAEMX: Harbor Emerging Markets Equity Instl | -31.5% | |||
| SMIN: iShares MSCI India Small | 8.6% | |||
| KWEB: KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF | -14.8% |
Fund performance data for the period between December 2, 2021 and December 31, 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. GDP has grown at a pace of 2.3% in the third quarter, a figure that was revised up from 2.1%. This is a clear sign that growth has stalled in the second part of 2021, after a 6.5% rise in the first two quarters. Although consumer demand appeared to be strong, supply chain issues have taken a toll on growth numbers. U.K. third-quarter GDP was revised down to 1.1% from 1.3% previously, showing the U.K. has been recovering slower than its developer world peers. The U.K. central bank was the first major central bank in the world to raise interest rates, which has the potential to choke even this tepid growth |
| Consumer Spending | U.S. consumer confidence is going up. A composite index of U.S. households has increased from 111.9 in November to 115.8 in December. The November figure was also revised up. Crude oil inventories declined for the fifth week in a row thanks to strong demand for fuel. This has led to an increase in oil prices, although pressure on the black commodity remains from the Omicron variant. The new Omicron variant is ravaging the world, threatening once again to knock off track the strong recovery. Countries across Europe and the U.S. are restricting travel and enforcing fresh measures that will inevitably hit the services industry. On the bright side, hospitalizations and fatalities related to Omicron are very low, potentially making the impact less severe than expected. |
| Employment | The U.S. labor market could not be stronger. Unemployment claims continue to hover near pre-pandemic lows of just around 200,000, as many jobs are waiting to be filled. |
| Manufacturing Sector | Durable goods orders picked up 2.5% in November, beating analyst estimates of 1.9%. However, over the past few months, orders have oscillated between small drops and gains. European manufacturing purchasing managers' index declined to 58 in January, the lowest level since March 2020, as the Omicron variant and supply chain issues have hit sentiment. |
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.