Stocks last week continued to see marked volatility, with the major averages ending mixed by the end of trading on Friday.

So far, earnings have been fairly disappointing overall despite a few bright spots. Among the positive results, Starbucks and JetBlue surprised analysts and showed that the consumer economy is still robust. Tech stocks, however, failed to meet investor expectations. As expected, the Federal Reserve kept rates at 5.5%, citing further progress toward its 2% inflation goal. However, inflation is still elevated and recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. While FedWatch tools still predict a cut in September, some analysts have now postulated that it won’t be until 2025 before we see easing from the central bank.

Next week, the deluge of earnings season continues with plenty of additional bellwethers reporting. Guidance here will be key for the market. As for economic data, though, it will be pretty light. The ISM Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) will be released. The measure of services has tumbled into contraction, indicating that consumers and businesses have started to cut back. Analysts expect the latest number to rebound into expansion territory. Investors will also tune into weekly jobless claims to gauge the central bank’s other mandate (aka employment) and judge how soon the Federal Reserve might come through with interest rate cuts.

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

Overall, for the rolling month major market indexes continued to be in the red, especially the technology sector.

Real estate, home construction and regional banking strategies outperformed others over the rolling month. Meanwhile, semiconductor strategy performance took a nosedive.

U.S Equity Strategies

Among U.S. equities, several small cap strategies posted solid performances for the rolling month, while large cap strategies struggled.

Winning

• Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF (RWJ), up 11.01%
• Goldman Sachs Small Cap Value Insights Fund (GSATX), up 10.09%
• Vanguard Russell 2000 Value Index Fund (VRTVX), up 9.51%
• iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (IJS), up 9.51%

Losing

• iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG), down -4.52%
• iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG), down -4.9%
• Touchstone Sands Capital Select Growth Fund (TSNCX), down -9.55%
• BlackRock Advantage Large Cap Growth Fund (BMCKX), down -12.05%

Dividend Strategies

Several dividend growth strategies continued to rally over the rolling month.

Winning

• ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV), up 11.89%
• WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund (DES), up 9.32%
• Federated Hermes Strategic Value Dividend Fund (SVAIX), up 8.29%
• DWS CROCI Equity Dividend Fd (KDHSX), up 5.54%
• WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund (DGRW), up 0.66%
• Fidelity® Dividend ETF for Rising Rates (FDRR), up 0.25%

Losing

• Fidelity® Dividend Growth Fund (FDGFX), down -2.32%
• HCM Dividend Sector Plus Fund (HCMNX), down -2.75%

U.S. Fixed Income Strategies

In US fixed income, long duration strategies staged a strong rebound while some interest rate hedged and floating rate bond strategies struggled.

Winning

• PIMCO Extended Duration Fund (PEDPX), up 7.41%
• Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund (VEDIX), up 7.22%
• iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), up 5.19%
• SPDR® Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF (SPTL), up 5.17%

Losing

• Invesco Senior Floating Rate Fund (OOSAX), down -0.3%
• T. Rowe Price Dynamic Global Bond Fund (TRDZX), down -0.78%
• ProShares Investment Grade—Interest Rate Hedged (IGHG), down -0.97%
• ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), down -4.88%

Foreign Equity Strategies

Among foreign equities, small-cap equity strategies continued to rally, while developing market strategies continued to struggle.

Winning

• Oakmark International Small Cap Fund (OAZEX), up 5.79%
• Oakmark International Fund (OANEX), up 5.78%
• SPDR® Dow Jones International Real Estate ETF (RWX), up 5.12%
• iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF (EWL), up 4.24%

Losing

• WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ), down -4.16%
• iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT), down -4.8%
• Delaware Emerging Markets Fund (DEMRX), down -6%
• Artisan Developing World Fund (APHYX), down -7.09%

Foreign Fixed Income Strategies

The majority of the foreign market debt strategies were slightly up over the rolling month.

Winning

• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX), up 3.93%
• iShares International Treasury Bond ETF (IGOV), up 3.92%
• Janus Henderson Developed World Bond Fund (HFARX), up 3.87%
• Templeton Global Bond Fund (TGBAX), up 3.53%
• VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), up 1.69%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Local Income Fund (EEIIX), up 1.52%
• VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), up 1.26%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Debt Opportunities Fund (EIDOX), up 0.13%

Alternatives

Among alternatives, gold was the top performer over the rolling month, while hedged Japanese equity strategies struggled.

Winning

• Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), up 10.4%
• ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), up 8.64%
• Invesco S&P SmallCap Low Volatility ETF (XSLV), up 8.31%
• SEI Institutional Investments Trust U.S. Managed Volatility Fund (SVYAX), up 4.36%

Losing

• PIMCO CommoditiesPLUS® Strategy Fund (PCLAX), down -5.47%
• Credit Suisse Commodity Return Strategy Fund (CRSAX), down -5.84%
• iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF (HEWJ), down -8.67%
• WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ), down -8.78%

Sectors

Among the sectors and industries, real estate and home construction were the top performers while semiconductors took a backseat.

Winning

• iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (REM), up 50%
• iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB), up 20.5%
• John Hancock Regional Bank Fund (FRBAX), up 12.84%
• Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund (ETAHX), up 10.88%

Losing

• iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), down -12.66%
• Fidelity Advisor® Semiconductors Fund (FIKGX), down -12.67%
• Fidelity® Select Semiconductors Portfolio (FSELX), down -12.84%
• Invesco Dynamic Semiconductors ETF (PSI), down -16.82%

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.