This week, U.S. stocks started on a cautious note due to uncertainties surrounding the presidential election and the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions

However, markets surged following the election of Donald Trump, with the Dow Jones climbing by as much as 1,200 points at a point. Investors reacted positively to the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates by another 0.25%. Despite the rate cut, bond yields spiked amid concerns that the incoming government’s policies could lead to higher long-term inflation. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell echoed these inflation concerns, stating that the central bank is “not on any pre-set course” and may pause interest rate cuts in December. Consumer sentiment remained strong, as reflected in the University of Michigan’s report, indicating satisfaction with the lower inflationary trend.

Looking ahead to next week, investors will closely monitor the latest inflation report for indications of a potential pause in interest rate cuts. Core inflation is expected to remain steady at 3.3% for October, exceeding the central bank’s target. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech is also anticipated for further insights into monetary policy direction. As the holiday spending season ramps up, retailers have started launching deals to attract consumers. Within that context, consumer economy will be in focus with the release of the latest retail sales data, projected to grow by 0.3% month-over-month in October.

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

Overall, for the rolling month the broader markets continued to post moderate gains.

Financial strategies were some of the best performers over the rolling month, while real estate and Chinese equity strategies struggled.

U.S Equity Strategies

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

Winning

• Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund, Inc. Growth Portfolio (MSEGX), up 14.99%
• Brown Capital Management Small Company Fund (BCSIX), up 10.98%
• iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC), up 10.85%
• SPDR® S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV), up 10.08%
• iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV), up 3.26%
• Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF™ (SCHV), up 3.13%

Losing

• Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund (TBGVX), down -2.38%
• Vanguard Developed Markets Index Fund (VDIPX), down -3.37%

Dividend Strategies

Small cap dividend strategies posted robust gains, while several international dividend strategies continued to be in the red for the rolling month.

Winning

• ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV), up 9.82%
• WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund (DES), up 8.97%
• HCM Dividend Sector Plus Fund (HCMNX), up 6.29%
• Principal Small-MidCap Dividend Income Fund (PMDIX), up 5.93%

Losing

• Janus Henderson Global Equity Income Fund (HFQAX), down -2.5%
• SPDR® S&P International Dividend ETF (DWX), down -3.1%
• iShares International Select Dividend ETF (IDV), down -3.68%
• Matthews Asia Dividend Fund (MIPIX), down -5.56%

U.S. Fixed Income Strategies

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

Winning

• ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), up 5.12%
• iShares Convertible Bond ETF (ICVT), up 2.93%
• Miller Convertible Bond Fund (MCIFX), up 1.55%
• Fidelity® Capital & Income Fund (FAGIX), up 0.98%

Losing

• SPDR® Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF (SPTL), down -4.65%
• iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), down -4.88%
• Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund (VEDIX), down -6.23%
• PIMCO Extended Duration Fund (PEDPX), down -6.42%

Foreign Equity Strategies

Among foreign equities, emerging market strategies posted decent gains while Chinese equity strategies struggled.

Winning

• First Trust International Equity Opportunities ETF (FPXI), up 3.04%
• iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT), up 2.89%
• PGIM Jennison Emerging Markets Equity Opportunities Fund (PDEZX), up 2.28%
• Artisan International Fund (APHIX), up 1.58%

Losing

• Fidelity Advisor® Focused Emerging Markets Fund (FAMKX), down -7.46%
• Fidelity® China Region Fund (FHKCX), down -7.85%
• KraneShares Bosera MSCI China A ETF (KBA), down -19.08%
• Xtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (ASHR), down -20.8%

Foreign Fixed Income Strategies

Several emerging market debt strategies continued to struggle over the rolling one month period.

Winning

• T. Rowe Price Dynamic Global Bond Fund (TRDZX), up 0.64%

Losing

• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Debt Opportunities Fund (EIDOX), down -0.25%
• VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), down -1.06%
• iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB), down -1.7%
• VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), down -3.4%
• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX), down -3.44%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Local Income Fund (EEIIX), down -4.4%
• Templeton Global Bond Fund (TGBAX), down -5.81%

Alternatives

Among alternatives, low volatility strategies posted moderate gains over the rolling month, while some commodity strategies struggled.

Winning

• Invesco S&P SmallCap Low Volatility ETF (XSLV), up 7.97%
• Janus Henderson Contrarian Fund (JCNCX), up 5.28%
• Invesco S&P MidCap Low Volatility ETF (XMLV), up 5.01%
• Catalyst/Millburn Hedge Strategy Fund (MBXAX), up 4.16%

Losing

• PIMCO CommoditiesPLUS® Strategy Fund (PCLAX), down -4.24%
• iShares GSCI Commodity Dynamic Roll Strategy ETF (COMT), down -4.49%
• Credit Suisse Commodity Return Strategy Fund (CRSAX), down -4.69%
• ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), down -13.33%

Sectors

Among the sectors and industries, financial strategies were the top performers while real estate struggled.

Winning

• SPDR® S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE), up 20.63%
• ProShares Ultra Financials (UYG), up 19.7%
• American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation Fund (ADNYX), up 13.38%
• Invesco Technology Fund (ITYAX), up 8.03%

Losing

• Fidelity® International Real Estate Fund (FIRCX), down -7.22%
• iShares Developed Real Estate Index Fund (BARDX), down -18.94%
• AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS), down -27.66%
• 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.