This week, stock markets were volatile but trended higher toward the week’s end, bolstered by strong corporate earnings and mixed economic data.
Major companies like Walmart and NVIDIA reported robust earnings, signaling strength in both the consumer and tech sectors. Despite rising tensions in the Ukraine conflict, the markets remained resilient. Housing indicators such as building permits, housing starts, and existing home sales came in lower than expected, suggesting a cooling off phase in the housing sector. The labor market showed continued strength with initial jobless claims at 213,000, below the anticipated 220,000. This mix of data points provided momentum for equities to climb higher.
Next week, investors will focus on a series of key economic data releases despite the shortened trading week due to the Thanksgiving holiday and Black Friday. The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, is due for release; although it has been trending lower, it remains above the central bank’s target, and a strong reading could affect potential interest rate cuts. Other significant data include personal spending and income figures, critical for assessing the holiday spending season, and quarterly GDP numbers. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes will also be released, offering insights into the central bank’s policy considerations, especially since some governors previously dissented on further rate cuts.
Given this economic backdrop, let us see how this impacts the performance of various investment strategies.
Investment Strategy Scorecard
The broader markets were marginally up for the rolling month.
Growth, especially tech, strategies were some of the best performers over the rolling month, while gold and cannabis strategies continued to struggle.
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 22.55%
- Spyglass Growth Fund (SPYGX), up 13.22%
- First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX), up 8.88%
- iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP), up 7.25%
- Franklin LibertyQ U.S. Equity ETF (FLQL), up 0.65%
- iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV), up 0.65%
Losing
- Franklin U.S. Core Equity Fund Advisor (“IU”:), down -4.3%
- Vulcan Value Partners Small Cap Fund (VVISX), down -5.88%
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 5.89%
- WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund (DES), up 4.38%
- Principal Small-MidCap Dividend Income Fund (PMDIX), up 3.73%
- Invesco Diversified Dividend Fund (LCEFX), up 1.81%
Losing
- iShares International Select Dividend ETF (IDV), down -3.37%
- Thornburg Investment Income Builder Fund (TIBAX), down -3.9%
- Invesco International Dividend Achievers ETF (PID), down -4.28%
- Matthews Asia Dividend Fund (MIPIX), down -4.29%
U.S. Fixed Income Strategies
In US fixed income, long-duration bond strategies continued to struggle.
Winning
- ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), up 2.17%
- Thompson Bond Fund (THOPX), up 0.58%
- ProShares Investment Grade—Interest Rate Hedged (IGHG), up 0.51%
- Fidelity® Capital & Income Fund (FAGIX), up 0.49%
Losing
- iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), down -1.97%
- American Funds Capital World Bond Fund® (RCWCX), down -2.03%
- PIMCO Extended Duration Fund (PEDPX), down -2.57%
- iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT), down -2.72%
Foreign Equity Strategies
Among foreign equities, Singaporean equity strategies posted decent gains while emerging market strategies continued to be in the red.
Winning
- iShares MSCI Singapore ETF (EWS), up 4.3%
- Lord Abbett Developing Growth Fund (LADVX), up 3.07%
- Artisan Developing World Fund (APHYX), up 1.88%
- iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC), up 1.05%
Losing
- Oakmark International Small Cap Fund (OAZEX), down -7.22%
- SPDR® Dow Jones International Real Estate ETF (RWX), down -7.31%
- iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF (EWL), down -7.54%
- GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund (GQGIX), down -9.96%
Foreign Fixed Income Strategies
Several emerging market debt strategies continued to struggle over the rolling one-month period.
Winning
- VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), up 0.31%
- T. Rowe Price Dynamic Global Bond Fund (TRDZX), up 0.13%
Losing
- Payden Emerging Markets Bond Fund (PYEIX), down -0.19%
- iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB), down -0.57%
- VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), down -2.46%
- SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX), down -2.74%
- PIMCO International Bond Fund Unhedged (PFUNX), down -2.87%
- Templeton Global Bond Fund (TGBAX), down -3.41%
Alternatives
Among alternatives, convertible security strategies posted decent gains over the rolling month, while gold struggled.
Winning
- Lord Abbett Convertible Fund (LCFVX), up 5.63%
- Fidelity® Convertible Securities Fund (FICVX), up 5.09%
- Invesco S&P SmallCap Low Volatility ETF (XSLV), up 3.96%
- Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA), up 3.94%
Losing
- Fidelity® SAI Emerging Markets Low Volatility Index Fund (FGKPX), down -3.08%
- SPDR® ICE Preferred Securities ETF (PSK), down -3.48%
- Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), down -11.25%
- ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), down -20.43%
Sectors
Among the sectors and industries, tech strategies continued to be the top performers while precious metals struggled.
Winning
- ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), up 20.56%
- ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), up 20.36%
- American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation Fund (ADNYX), up 16.35%
- John Hancock Regional Bank Fund (FRBAX), up 12.05%
Losing
- Fidelity Advisor® Biotechnology Fund (FBTAX), down -11.58%
- Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Fund (FGPMX), down -13.14%
- ETFMG Prime Junior Silver Miners ETF (SILJ), down -18.69%
- AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS), down -32.96%
Methodology
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.