Stocks continued to move towards record highs last week, reversing April’s losses.

Economic data this week was light, with only jobless claims and the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment report being released. The number of weekly jobless claims rose to 231,000, the highest number reported since August 2023, giving investors reason to believe that the economy was starting to soften and that the Federal Reserve would be able to cut interest rates as expected. Consumer sentiment, however, remained strong. This, coupled with strong corporate profits and a historic wave of share buyback announcements, helped lift the Dow Jones and other major indexes throughout the week.

Last week’s data-light nature will give way to some heavy-hitting metrics next week, with inflation data expected to drive the market. The annual inflation rate has started to accelerate, hitting 3.5% in March and representing the second straight month of increases. With analysts now predicting the CPI to stay at 3.5% for April, the Federal Reserve’s ability to cut interest rates is seriously being questioned. However, higher prices don’t seem to be influencing consumer spending, with retail sales figures expected to show a 0.3% increase in April. Finally, closing out the week will be housing data. Both building permits and housing starts figures have been surprisingly bullish considering high mortgage costs, and analysts expect them to stay strong in April.

Given this economic backdrop, let us see how this impacts the performance of various investment strategies.

Overall, major U.S. stock indices were up slightly for the rolling month.

Chinese equity strategies continued to post positive returns for the rolling month. Meanwhile, growth strategies, especially tech continued to struggle.

U.S Equity Strategies

Among U.S. equities, several value strategies continued to outperform their growth counterparts for the rolling month.

Winning

• Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund (TBGVX), up 3.24%
• Nuance Mid Cap Value Fund (NMAVX), up 2.88%
• iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (IJT), up 0.97%
• SPDR® S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF (SLYG), up 0.96%

Losing

• iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF (IWR), down -1.14%
• iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP), down -2.51%
• Spyglass Growth Fund (SPYGX), down -5.62%
• Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund, Inc. Growth Portfolio (MSEGX), down -6.66%

Dividend Strategies

Several dividend funds reversed course and posted moderate gains for the rolling month.

Winning

• ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV), up 2.7%
• Federated Hermes Strategic Value Dividend Fund (SVAIX), up 2.15%
• First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index Fund (FGD), up 2.15%
• Hartford Dividend and Growth HLS Fund (HIADX), up 1.78%

Losing

• FlexShares Quality Dividend Index Fund (QDF), down -0.78%
• Invesco BuyBack Achievers ETF (PKW), down -1.22%
• Pioneer Equity Income Fund (PEQIX), down -1.4%
• DWS CROCI Equity Dividend Fd (KDHSX), down -1.48%

U.S. Fixed Income Strategies

In US fixed income, long duration debt strategies continued to struggle.

Winning

• ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), up 2.19%
• BlackRock High Yield Municipal Fund (MAYHX), up 1.35%
• Thompson Bond Fund (THOPX), up 1.09%
• iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT), up 0.78%

Losing

• SPDR® Portfolio Long Term Corporate Bond ETF (SPLB), down -1.57%
• iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), down -1.73%
• Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund (VEDIX), down -2.31%
• PIMCO Extended Duration Fund (PEDPX), down -2.65%

Foreign Equity Strategies

Among foreign equities, Chinese equity strategies continued to post solid performances, while Saudi Arabian and Japanese stragies struggled.

Winning

• iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI), up 10.84%
• SPDR® S&P China ETF (GXC), up 9.76%
• Fidelity® China Region Fund (FHKCX), up 5.52%
• Fidelity Advisor® Focused Emerging Markets Fund (FAMKX), up 4.14%

Losing

• iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ), down -3.46%
• JOHCM International Select Fund (JOHIX), down -3.64%
• Matthews Japan Fund (MJFOX), down -3.7%
• iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (KSA), down -4.77%

Foreign Fixed Income Strategies

Majority of foreign fixed income strategies were in the red, with several emerging debt strategies struggling.

Winning

• VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), up 0.42%

Losing

• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Debt Opportunities Fund (EIDOX), down -0.51%
• DFA World ex U.S. Government Fixed Income Portfolio (DWFIX), down -0.71%
• VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), down -1.06%
• iShares International Treasury Bond ETF (IGOV), down -1.69%
• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX), down -1.75%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Local Income Fund (EEIIX), down -2.02%
• Templeton Global Bond Fund (TGBAX), down -2.89%

Alternatives

Among alternatives, gold strategies posted strong results over the rolling month, while preferred share strategies struggled.

Winning

• Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), up 3.06%
• iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Eurozone ETF (HEZU), up 2.81%
• iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF (HEFA), up 2.46%
• JPMorgan Hedged Equity 3 Fund (JHQDX), up 1.97%

Losing

• Invesco Balanced-Risk Commodity Strategy Fund (BRCCX), down -1.95%
• PIMCO TRENDS Managed Futures Strategy Fund (PQTIX), down -2.51%
• Invesco Preferred ETF (PGX), down -2.95%
• SPDR® ICE Preferred Securities ETF (PSK), down -3%

Sectors

Among the sectors and industries, Chinese equity strategies continued to post strong performance, while some tech and palladium strategies struggled.

Winning

• Invesco China Technology ETF (CQQQ), up 11.69%
• KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), up 11.37%
• Fidelity® Select Utilities Portfolio (FSUTX), up 8.98%
• Vanguard Utilities Index Fund (VUIAX), up 8.15%

Losing

• Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU), down -8.08%
• American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation Fund (ADNYX), down -8.99%
• Fidelity® Select IT Services Portfolio (FBSOX), down -10.18%
• Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF (PALL), down -10.96%

Every week, MutualFunds.com provides a snapshot of the performance of some key mutual funds and ETFs to highlight the trending investment strategies across different sectors, geographic regions, asset classes and themes. MutualFunds.com uses a proprietary system to scan through thousands of relevant mutual funds and ETFs. Fund performance data is calculated for the trailing one month, based on the change in NAV.


Here is a summary of the different strategies covered in this article:

• U.S. equity strategies typically cover different equity investing styles (growth/value/blend) and market capitalizations (small/mid/large).
• Dividend strategies focus on generating income via different equity routes (high yield/dividend growth/foreign dividend/quality dividend)
• U.S. fixed income strategies focus on debt securities issued by U.S. entities and can cover different types of debt (corporate/municipal/high-yield/investment-grade/government/asset-backed) and maturity profiles (short/medium/long).
• Foreign equity strategies cover equity strategies applied to non-U.S. markets based on the level of economic growth (emerging/developed), regions (Asia/Europe/Africa), and market capitalizations (small/mid/large).
• Foreign fixed-income strategies focus on debt securities issued outside the U.S. markets and can cover different regions (Asia/Europe/Africa) and regions based on the level of economic development (emerging/developed).
• Alternative strategies cover non-traditional investments (currencies, hedge funds strategies, derivatives, volatility-based), real estate, and commodities.
• Sector strategies cover dedicated exposure to various sectors of the U.S. economy including technology, healthcare, financial, and industrial among others.