Stocks spent much of the Juneteenth-shortened trading week moving higher.

The Federal Reserve’s decision to continue to pause rate hikes and its language in the announcement indicated pending rate cuts on the agenda, helping put a bid under tech stocks. Chipmaker NVIDIA became the most valuable company in the world, surpassing a $3.3 trillion market cap. Retail sales were surprisingly bright, coming in ahead of expectations and showing that lower inflationary trends were met with more spending. Meanwhile, housing data on the week was mixed, with building permits and housing starts dropping below estimates.

Next week, investors will see the latest reading of the Federal Reserve’s favorite gauge of inflation, the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index. After dropping in recent readings, the Index has moderated and analysts now expect it to decline further to 0.1% in May, indicating that the central bank’s rate hikes have been working. A bullish reading could send stocks higher on the growing potential of a rate cut. The final GDP numbers for Q1 should show that the economy is slowing to growth of 1.3%. Again, the dip in economic activity could be bullish for rates. Personal spending and income data will provide a window into the consumer economy, which has started to slow in the face of higher prices and borrowing costs.

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

Overall, several major U.S. stock indices continued to be in positive territory for the rolling month.

Semiconductors remained the top performer for the rolling month. Meanwhile, cannabis and Mexican equity strategies remained in the red.

U.S Equity Strategies

Among U.S. equities, several growth strategies continued to post solid performances for the rolling month, while value strategies struggled.

Winning

• HCM Tactical Growth Fund (HCMDX), up 7.95%
• The Hartford Growth Opportunities Fund (HGOCX), up 7.62%
• iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG), up 5.8%
• Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF™ (SCHG), up 5.45%

Losing

• iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN), down -5.38%
• iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC), down -6.47%
• Fidelity® Small Cap Discovery Fund (FSCRX), down -11.18%
• Columbia Small Cap Value Fund II (CRRRX), down -15.44%

Dividend Strategies

Several dividend growth and sector-specific strategies continued to rally over the rolling month, while small cap dividend-paying strategies struggled.

Winning

• HCM Dividend Sector Plus Fund (HCMNX), up 4.12%
• Fidelity® Dividend ETF for Rising Rates (FDRR), up 3.33%
• Lord Abbett Dividend Growth Fund (LAMYX), up 3.16%
• WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund (DGRW), up 2.79%

Losing

• Federated Hermes Strategic Value Dividend Fund (SVAIX), down -3.31%
• Principal Small-MidCap Dividend Income Fund (PMDIX), down -4.18%
• ProShares S&P MidCap 400 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (REGL), down -4.89%
• ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV), down -5.55%

U.S. Fixed Income Strategies

In US fixed income, long-duration debt strategies continued to post positive results for the rolling month, while some high-yielding strategies struggled.

Winning

• Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund (VEDIX), up 3.97%
• PIMCO Extended Duration Fund (PEDPX), up 3.65%
• iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), up 2.59%
• SPDR® Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF (SPTL), up 2.36%

Losing

• Ivy High Income Fund (WHIAX), down -1.48%
• Delaware Ivy High Income Fund (IVHIX), down -1.48%
• iShares Convertible Bond ETF (ICVT), down -1.7%
• ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), down -2.46%

Foreign Equity Strategies

Among foreign equities, Taiwan and Indian equity strategies posted solid performances, while Mexican and Brazilian equity strategies continued to struggle.

Winning

• iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT), up 8.61%
• Delaware Emerging Markets Fund (DEMRX), up 4.86%
• iShares India 50 ETF (INDY), up 3.94%
• William Blair Emerging Markets Growth Fund (BIEMX), up 3.61%

Losing

• Fidelity® SAI International Value Index Fund (FIWCX), down -5.14%
• Columbia Overseas Value Fund (COSZX), down -5.19%
• iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ), down -13.68%
• iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (EWW), down -15.49%

Foreign Fixed Income Strategies

Several developed and emerging market debt strategies continued to post marginal gains for the rolling month.

Winning

• Janus Henderson Developed World Bond Fund (HFARX), up 0.79%
• DFA World ex U.S. Government Fixed Income Portfolio (DWFIX), up 0.48%
• VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), up 0.1%

Losing

• iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB), down -0.25%
• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF (EBND), down -2.88%
• VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), down -3.29%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Local Income Fund (EEIIX), down -4.05%
• PIMCO Emerging Markets Local Currency and Bond Fund (PELPX), down -4.07%

Alternatives

Among alternatives, agriculture and contrarian strategies posted strong results over the rolling month, while cannabis and natural resource-focused strategies continued to be in the red.

Winning

• Fidelity® Contrafund® Fund (FCNKX), up 4.64%
• Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA), up 3.37%
• Columbia Contrarian Core Fund (SMGIX), up 3.24%
• Fidelity® Low Volatility Factor ETF (FDLO), up 1.08%

Losing

• AlphaSimplex Managed Futures Strategy Fund (AMFAX), down -5.24%
• Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), down -6.72%
• SPDR® S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (GNR), down -7.86%
• ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), down -13.66%

Sectors

Among the sectors and industries, semiconductor strategies were the top performers, while cannabis and rare earth metals continued to struggle.

Winning

• VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH), up 14.59%
• Fidelity Advisor® Semiconductors Fund (FIKGX), up 12.1%
• Fidelity® Select Semiconductors Portfolio (FSELX), up 11.65%
• iShares Global Tech ETF (IXN), up 8.87%

Losing

• Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Fund (FGPMX), down -6.42%
• Invesco Gold & Special Minerals Fund (OPGSX), down -6.72%
• VanEck Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (REMX), down -20.14%
• AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS), down -20.89%

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.