This week, the major US stock indices moved flat to lower in a shortened trading week due to the Veterans Day holiday.

The market was influenced by a mixed earnings season and higher inflation readings, coupled with uncertainty surrounding the policy direction of newly elected President Trump. Approximately 91% of firms in the S&P 500 Index reported earnings, with an average growth of 5.2% and 74% beating expectations. Despite these figures, investors viewed the earnings season as lackluster. Inflation data showed the headline consumer price index (CPI) rising by 0.2% in October and 2.6% year-over-year, both in line with expectations. This increase in CPI tempered expectations for larger-than-anticipated rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that “the Fed doesn’t need to be in a hurry in cutting interest rates,” contributing to the markets finishing the week flat to slightly down.

Looking ahead to next week, economic data releases will be relatively light, with a focus on the housing sector. Building permits and housing starts are set to be announced on Monday, with permits expected to increase to 1.49 million following recent rate cuts and progress on inflation. Housing starts are also predicted to rise, and existing home sales are anticipated to show a slight uptick to an annual pace of 3.87 million units. Additionally, initial jobless claims will be released, with forecasts suggesting a continued strong labor market. While this robust employment environment is positive, it may limit the Federal Reserve’s ability to implement further rate cuts.

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

Despite volatility, for the rolling month the broader markets were marginally up.

Tech strategies were some of the best performers over the rolling month, while gold and cannabis strategies struggled.

U.S Equity Strategies

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

Winning

• Spyglass Growth Fund (SPYGX), up 10.45%
• Brown Capital Management Small Company Fund (BCSIX), up 9.3%
• First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX), up 8.04%
• iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP), up 7.18%
• iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV), up 1.1%
• Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF™ (SCHV), up 0.81%

Losing

• Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund (TBGVX), down -3.21%
• Vanguard Developed Markets Index Fund (VDIPX), down -5.69%

Dividend Strategies

Small cap dividend strategies continued to post decent gains, while several international dividend strategies struggled for the rolling month.

Winning

• ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV), up 6.34%
• WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund (DES), up 5.38%
• Principal Small-MidCap Dividend Income Fund (PMDIX), up 3.57%
• HCM Dividend Sector Plus Fund (HCMNX), up 3.12%

Losing

• PGIM Jennison Global Equity Income Fund (JDEZX), down -4.46%
• SPDR® S&P International Dividend ETF (DWX), down -4.89%
• Matthews Asia Dividend Fund (MIPIX), down -6.19%
• iShares International Select Dividend ETF (IDV), down -6.62%

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 4.27%
• iShares Convertible Bond ETF (ICVT), up 2.72%
• Calamos Market Neutral Income (CVSIX), up 0.53%
• Fidelity® Capital & Income Fund (FAGIX), up 0.49%

Losing

• PIMCO 15+ Year U.S. TIPS Index Exchange-Traded Fund (LTPZ), down -4.01%
• iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), down -4.23%
• Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund (VEDIX), down -4.74%
• PIMCO Extended Duration Fund (PEDPX), down -5.47%

Foreign Equity Strategies

Among foreign equities, developing market and Canadian equity strategies posted marginal gains while emerging market strategies struggled.

Winning

• Lord Abbett Developing Growth Fund (LADVX), up 2.51%
• Fidelity® Series Canada Fund (FCNSX), up 1.52%
• iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC), up 1.27%
• iShares MSCI Singapore ETF (EWS), up 1.18%

Losing

• Principal Origin Emerging Markets Fund (POEFX), down -8.3%
• TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Fund (TEMRX), down -8.96%
• SPDR® Dow Jones International Real Estate ETF (RWX), down -9.14%
• iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), down -12.1%

Foreign Fixed Income Strategies

Several emerging market debt strategies continued to struggle over the rolling one-month period.
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• T. Rowe Price Dynamic Global Bond Fund (TRDZX), up 0.26%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Debt Opportunities Fund (EIDOX), up 0.25%

Losing

• VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), down -0.2%
• iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB), down -1.65%
• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF (EBND), down -3.92%
• VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), down -4.06%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Local Income Fund (EEIIX), down -4.42%
• Templeton Global Bond Fund (TGBAX), down -5.73%

Alternatives

Among alternatives, low volatility and convertible security strategies posted moderate gains over the rolling month, while gold struggled.

Winning

• Invesco S&P SmallCap Low Volatility ETF (XSLV), up 4.65%
• Franklin Convertible Securities Fund (FCSZX), up 4.22%
• Invesco S&P MidCap Low Volatility ETF (XMLV), up 4.11%
• Lord Abbett Convertible Fund (LCFVX), up 3.91%

Losing

• BlackRock Commodity Strategies Portfolio (BCSAX), down -3.75%
• SPDR® S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (GNR), down -6.7%
• Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), down -9.93%
• ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), down -16.1%

Sectors

Among the sectors and industries, tech strategies were the top performers while gold struggled.

Winning

• ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), up 20.29%
• ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), up 19.98%
• American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation Fund (ADNYX), up 17.61%
• John Hancock Regional Bank Fund (FRBAX), up 12.85%

Losing

• Invesco Gold & Special Minerals Fund (OPGSX), down -10.07%
• Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Fund (FGPMX), down -11.84%
• iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF (RING), down -12.78%
• AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS), down -26.17%

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.