Last week, the US stock markets remained volatile, starting strong before declining mid-week due to earnings reports from key tech companies like Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon.

These companies reported high spending on artificial intelligence initiatives, which contributed to a downturn in the NASDAQ and other tech indexes. A strong US Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) reading, rising by 0.3% from the previous month, signaled persistent inflation. This led investors to believe that the Federal Reserve might not cut interest rates as aggressively as previously anticipated. Better-than-expected Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data and a robust GDP rate reinforced this sentiment. By Friday, bargain hunting helped lift major equities markets.

Looking ahead to next week, investors will focus on the upcoming interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve. With inflation still running strong and the economy performing well, expectations for the depth of a rate cut have become uncertain. FedWatch tools now suggest a 0.25% rate cut instead of the previously anticipated 0.50%. The central bank’s press conference will be closely monitored for insights into future rate cuts. Additionally, the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment report is expected to show a marked increase in confidence, providing further information on the health of the consumer economy.

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

Overall, for the rolling month the broader markets were slightly up.

Precious metal strategies were some of the best performers over the rolling month, while real estate and long-duration bond strategies struggled.

U.S Equity Strategies

Among U.S. equities, several growth strategies continued to post decent gains for the rolling month.

Winning

• Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund, Inc. Growth Portfolio (MSEGX), up 7.24%
• Alger Focus Equity Fund (ALZFX), up 4.24%
• First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX), up 3.78%
• iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP), up 3.36%

Losing

• iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (IJT), down -1.89%
• SPDR® S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF (SLYG), down -1.91%
• Vanguard Developed Markets Index Fund (VDIPX), down -4.44%
• Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund (GABSX), down -6.76%

Dividend Strategies

Quality US dividend strategies posted marginal gains, while international dividend strategies continued to be in the red for the rolling month.

Winning

• First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY), up 1.35%
• Goldman Sachs U.S. Equity Dividend and Premium Fund (GIDWX), up 1.26%
• ClearBridge Dividend Strategy Fund (SOPYX), up 1.18%
• Fidelity® Dividend ETF for Rising Rates (FDRR), up 1.17%

Losing

• Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund (VDIGX), down -2.75%
• iShares International Select Dividend ETF (IDV), down -4.47%
• SPDR® S&P International Dividend ETF (DWX), down -4.51%
• Matthews Asia Dividend Fund (MIPIX), down -5.1%

U.S. Fixed Income Strategies

In US fixed income, convertible bond and floating rate strategies posted nominal gains, while long-duration bond strategies continued to struggle.

Winning

• ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), up 6.46%
• iShares Convertible Bond ETF (ICVT), up 0.98%
• Fidelity Advisor® Floating Rate High Income Fund (FIQSX), up 0.54%
• DFA Two Year Global Fixed Income Portfolio (DFGFX), up 0.41%

Losing

• SPDR® Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF (SPTL), down -5.68%
• iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), down -5.91%
• Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund (VEDIX), down -5.92%
• PIMCO Extended Duration Fund (PEDPX), down -7.71%

Foreign Equity Strategies

Among foreign equities, emerging market strategies posted decent gains.

Winning

• PGIM Jennison Emerging Markets Equity Opportunities Fund (PDEZX), up 3.39%
• First Trust International Equity Opportunities ETF (FPXI), up 2.15%
• iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT), up 1.6%
• WCM Focused Emerging Markets Fund (WCMEX), up 1.41%

Losing

• iShares MSCI Sweden ETF (EWD), down -7.14%
• Columbia Acorn International Fund (ACINX), down -7.41%
• Invesco International Small-Mid Company Fund (OSCIX), down -7.44%
• SPDR® Dow Jones International Real Estate ETF (RWX), down -7.83%

Foreign Fixed Income Strategies

Several emerging market debt strategies struggled over the rolling one-month period.

Winning

• T. Rowe Price Dynamic Global Bond Fund (TRDZX), up 1.3%

Losing

• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Debt Opportunities Fund (EIDOX), down -0.5%
• VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), down -1.26%
• iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB), down -2.27%
• VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), down -5%
• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX), down -5.22%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Local Income Fund (EEIIX), down -6.02%
• Templeton Global Bond Fund (TGBAX), down -7.65%

Alternatives

Among alternatives, gold continued to post solid gains over the rolling month, while some mortgage and natural resource strategies struggled.

Winning

• Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), up 5.63%
• Catalyst/Millburn Hedge Strategy Fund (MBXAX), up 3.08%
• WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ), up 2.57%
• iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF (HEWJ), up 2.51%

Losing

• AlphaSimplex Managed Futures Strategy Fund (AMFAX), down -3.47%
• Columbia Mortgage Opportunities Fund (CLMAX), down -3.56%
• SPDR® S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (GNR), down -3.81%
• VanEck Vectors Agribusiness ETF (MOO), down -4.58%

Sectors

Among the sectors and industries, precious metal strategies inc. palladium, silver, and gold were the top performers.

Winning

• Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF (PALL), up 15.19%
• Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL), up 12.88%
• Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Fund (FGPMX), up 7.75%
• Fidelity® Select Brokerage & Invmt Mgmt Portfolio (FSLBX), up 7.28%

Losing

• Fidelity® Select Health Care Services Portfolio (FSHCX), down -7.77%
• Invesco Solar ETF (TAN), down -9.81%
• iShares Developed Real Estate Index Fund (BARDX), down -19.62%
• iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (REM), down -33.33%

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.