The shortened trading week due to the Fourth of July holiday didn’t stop stocks from moving higher last week.

Strong corporate earnings reports and a steady message from the Federal Reserve helped keep equities in a bullish mode. The latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes showed that officials were happy with the progress in restoring price stability, but needed more confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%. The latest dot plot from the central bank revealed that it now only sees one rate cut this year and four reductions in 2025. A slight uptick in the unemployment rate, to 4.1%, also helped stocks as investors took it as a sign that the economy was slowing, which may bring forward the rate cuts. However, the effects were muted as a strong non-farm payroll figure beat estimates. A bullish Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report also came in above predictions, showing that there is still plenty of work for people. The result was a steady move higher on the week, without big surges.

After the shortened trading session and a deluge of economic data last week, next week will be light. However, investors will be treated to key inflationary data. The latest CPI data unexpectedly slowed to 3.3% in May, marking the lowest reading in three months. Analysts expect the rate to continue holding at 3.1%, rising by just 0.1% in June. Producer prices, however, are forecasted to increase by 0.2%, reversing recent price declines for what manufacturers pay to produce their goods. This data will be key as the Federal Reserve continues to weigh stubborn inflation against its rate-cutting plans. Next week will also see several speeches by the central bank governors, including Chairman Powell, who along with the other governors is expected to toe the line and not specify a date for rate cuts or indicate any policy change.

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.

Oil and palladium strategies outperformed others over the rolling month. Meanwhile, solar, and small-cap strategies struggled.

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 11.71%
• Voya Russell Large Cap Growth Index Portfolio (IRLAX), up 9.14%
• Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF™ (SCHG), up 8.23%
• iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG), up 8.15%

Losing

• SPDR® S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV), down -2.58%
• Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF (RWJ), down -3.42%
• Fidelity® Small Cap Discovery Fund (FSCRX), down -8.05%
• Columbia Small Cap Value Fund II (CRRRX), down -13.11%

Dividend Strategies

Several dividend growth and sector-specific strategies continued to rally over the rolling month.

Winning

• HCM Dividend Sector Plus Fund (HCMNX), up 7.26%
• Fidelity® Dividend Growth Fund (FDGFX), up 4.01%
• WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund (DGRW), up 3.4%
• FlexShares Quality Dividend Index Fund (QDF), up 2.62%

Losing

• Ivy Mid Cap Income Opportunities Fund (IVOSX), down -1.72%
• Janus Henderson Global Equity Income Fund (HFQAX), down -2.19%
• Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers™ ETF (PEY), down -2.99%
• First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index Fund (FGD), down -3.11%

U.S. Fixed Income Strategies

In US fixed income, municipal debt strategies posted positive results for the rolling month, while some longer duration debt strategies struggled.

Winning

• MFS Municipal High Income Fund (MMIIX), up 2.19%
• Nuveen California High Yield Municipal Bond Fund (NCHRX), up 1.92%
• Invesco CEF Income Composite ETF (PCEF), up 1.45%
• SPDR® Nuveen S&P High Yield Municipal Bond ETF (HYMB), up 1.02%

Losing

• iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), down -0.94%
• PIMCO 15+ Year U.S. TIPS Index Exchange-Traded Fund (LTPZ), down -1.29%
• Great-West Core Strategies: Flexible Bond Fund (MXEDX), down -1.82%
• Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund (VEDIX), down -2.3%

Foreign Equity Strategies

Among foreign equities, Indian and Taiwanese equity strategies continued to rally, while French and Chinese equity strategies struggled.

Winning

• WisdomTree India Earnings Fund (EPI), up 11.21%
• iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT), up 10.12%
• Delaware Emerging Markets Fund (DEMRX), up 9.22%
• William Blair Emerging Markets Growth Fund (BIEMX), up 7.79%

Losing

• Oakmark International Fund (OANEX), down -3.98%
• Longleaf Partners International Fund (LLINX), down -4.95%
• WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund (CXSE), down -5.29%
• iShares MSCI France ETF (EWQ), down -6.54%

Foreign Fixed Income Strategies

The majority of the foreign market debt strategies were in the red over the rolling month.

Winning

• VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), up 0.9%

Losing

• DFA World ex U.S. Government Fixed Income Portfolio (DWFIX), down -0.12%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Debt Opportunities Fund (EIDOX), down -0.13%
• iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB), down -0.31%
• iShares International Treasury Bond ETF (IGOV), down -1.09%
• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX), down -1.28%
• PIMCO International Bond Fund Unhedged (PFUNX), down -1.74%
• Templeton Global Bond Fund (TGBAX), down -2.56%

Alternatives

Among alternatives, several commodity strategies posted strong results over the rolling month, while agriculture-focused strategies struggled.

Winning

• iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG), up 5.63%
• iShares GSCI Commodity Dynamic Roll Strategy ETF (COMT), up 5.44%
• Fidelity® Contrafund® Fund (FCNKX), up 5.39%
• Janus Henderson U.S. Managed Volatility Fund (JRSDX), up 4.41%

Losing

• PIMCO TRENDS Managed Futures Strategy Fund (PQTIX), down -1.84%
• PIMCO RAE Worldwide Long/Short PLUS Fund (PWLBX), down -2.65%
• Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA), down -4.57%
• ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), down -8.22%

Sectors

Among the sectors and industries, oil, palladium, and tech strategies were the top performers, while solar and rare earth metal strategies struggled.

Winning

• United States Oil Fund, LP (USO), up 14.32%
• Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF (PALL), up 12.69%
• Virtus AllianzGI Technology Fund (DRGTX), up 10.76%
• BlackRock Technology Opportunities Fund (BGSAX), up 10.7%

Losing

• Vanguard Utilities Index Fund (VUIAX), down -4.86%
• Gabelli Utilities Fund (GABUX), down -5.18%
• VanEck Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (REMX), down -12.12%
• Invesco Solar ETF (TAN), down -14.49%

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.