Driven by slightly slower inflation and the prospect of an accommodating Federal Reserve, stocks surged last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record 40,000, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ both finished higher on the week. The consumer price index (CPI) eased to 3.4% in April, matching forecasts and down from a 3.5% reading in March. Adding fuel to the week’s rally were comments made by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who mentioned that he felt that the current interest rate level was doing its job and that a hike was most likely off the table. Investors believe that the economy would make a soft landing and that a surprise cut this summer could be on the table again, with the FedWatch tools showing increased odds of such a cut. Other economic data supported this idea, with both building permits and housing starts coming in lower than expected. Month-over-month retail sales came in flat at 0% for April, showing that the consumer may finally be tapped out under the pressure of higher borrowing costs.

After last week’s record-setting stock market performance, next week investors will likely remain cautious as they will get to peek into the Federal Reserve’s thought process. This includes a series of speeches by various central bank governors as well as the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes. Policymakers kept benchmark interest rates the same at the last meeting but did acknowledge that inflation remains elevated. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, however, did mention that he did not foresee a hike as likely. Nonetheless, the minutes could show dissent among the governors and could throw cold water on recent rallies in stock markets. Investors will also be tuned into durable goods orders, which are only expected to grow by 0.3% in April, as well as initial jobless claims, which have edged up in recent weeks. Both metrics could help provide enough ammo in either direction to make the central bank’s decision that much harder.

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

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

Chinese equity strategies continued to post positive returns for the rolling month. Meanwhile, some agriculture and oil strategies struggled.

U.S Equity Strategies

Among U.S. equities, several small cap strategies continued to post solid performance for the rolling month.

Winning

• Vulcan Value Partners Small Cap Fund (VVISX), up 9.78%
• Goldman Sachs Small Cap Value Insights Fund (GSATX), up 9.18%
• SPDR® S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV), up 7.88%
• iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (IJS), up 7.76%
• iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP), up 3.59%
• Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF (PWB), up 3.55%

Losing

• Voya Russell Small Cap Index Portfolio (IRSIX), down -1.41%
• Voya Russell Mid Cap Index Portfolio (IRMCX), down -5.68%

Dividend Strategies

Several dividend strategies continued to post solid gains for the rolling month.

Winning

• First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index Fund (FGD), up 10.11%
• ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV), up 9.49%
• Federated Hermes Strategic Value Dividend Fund (SVAIX), up 8.47%
• Janus Henderson Global Equity Income Fund (HFQAX), up 8.22%
• First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY), up 4.23%
• JPMorgan Equity Premium Income Fund (JEPRX), up 2.82%
• Invesco BuyBack Achievers ETF (PKW), up 2.49%
• Principal Global Diversified Income Fund (PGBAX), up 1.53%

U.S. Fixed Income Strategies

In US fixed income, long duration debt strategies reversed course and posted positive results for the rolling month.

Winning

• PIMCO StocksPLUS® Long Duration Fund (PSLDX), up 9.46%
• PIMCO Extended Duration Fund (PEDPX), up 6.28%
• Invesco CEF Income Composite ETF (PCEF), up 4.42%
• PIMCO 15+ Year U.S. TIPS Index Exchange-Traded Fund (LTPZ), up 4.33%

Losing

• T. Rowe Price Dynamic Global Bond Fund (TRDZX), down -0.77%
• AlphaCentric Income Opportunities Fund (IOFCX), down -0.92%
• iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT), down -2.33%
• ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), down -3.74%

Foreign Equity Strategies

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

Winning

• iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI), up 20.94%
• WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund (CXSE), up 18.67%
• Fidelity® China Region Fund (FHKCX), up 14.35%
• PGIM Jennison Emerging Markets Equity Opportunities Fund (PDEZX), up 11.93%
• Matthews Japan Fund (MJFOX), up 1.25%
• iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ), up 0.68%
• T. Rowe Price Japan Fund (RJAIX), up 0.42%

Losing

• iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (KSA), down -2.69%

Foreign Fixed Income Strategies

Majority of foreign fixed income strategies reversed course and posted positive results for the rolling month.

Winning

• Invesco International Bond Fund (OIBIX), up 5.07%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Local Income Fund (EEIIX), up 3.92%
• VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), up 3.89%
• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF (EBND), up 3.54%
• iShares International Treasury Bond ETF (IGOV), up 2.66%
• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX), up 2.18%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Debt Opportunities Fund (EIDOX), up 1.93%
• DFA World ex U.S. Government Fixed Income Portfolio (DWFIX), up 1.44%

Alternatives

Among alternatives, gold and low volatility strategies posted strong results over the rolling month, while agriculture and managed futures strategies struggled.

Winning

• ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), up 19.14%
• Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), up 7.85%
• Invesco S&P SmallCap Low Volatility ETF (XSLV), up 7.05%
• Janus Henderson Contrarian Fund (JCNCX), up 5.38%

Losing

• iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG), down -2.29%
• AQR Managed Futures Strategy Fund (AQMIX), down -3.44%
• PIMCO TRENDS Managed Futures Strategy Fund (PQTIX), down -4.85%
• Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA), down -6.26%

Sectors

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

Winning

• KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), up 25.87%
• Invesco China Technology ETF (CQQQ), up 20.82%
• Fidelity® Select Utilities Portfolio (FSUTX), up 16.57%
• Vanguard Utilities Index Fund (VUIAX), up 15.21%

Losing

• Vanguard Energy Index Fund (VENAX), down -0.47%
• Fidelity® Select Energy Portfolio (FSENX), down -0.69%
• Invesco DB Oil Fund (DBO), down -4.53%
• United States Oil Fund, LP (USO), down -6.25%

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.