This week, the stock market largely remained flat during a shortened trading week, with investors closely monitoring the Federal Reserve’s actions.

Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (Core PCE) inflation increased by 0.3% in October and 2.8% over the past year, aligning with expectations. This upward trend in inflation has led analysts to question the likelihood of near-future interest rate cuts by the Fed, as reflected by the FedWatch tool indicating a higher probability of maintaining current rates. Additionally, the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting revealed some Fed governors’ skepticism about the necessity and extent of potential rate cuts. In the corporate sector, President-elect Trump’s tariff threats on Mexico and Canada faced legal challenges, contributing to mixed stock movements. The earnings season concluded with positive momentum, as 95% of S&P 500 companies reported earnings, showing a year-over-year blended growth rate of 5.8%, surpassing initial forecasts.

Looking ahead to next week, a significant amount of economic data is expected as the year draws to a close. Key releases include the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which has been robust and is trending higher, and the unemployment rate, which is anticipated to continue its decline. The ISM Services PMI is projected to rise to 56 from 55, indicating ongoing expansion in the services sector, while the Manufacturing PMI is expected to decline further, reflecting contraction in industrial activity and concerns over potential tariffs in the upcoming year. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver important remarks that investors will scrutinize for insights into the central bank’s future interest rate policies, although analysts largely anticipate no changes.

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

The broader markets continued to be in the positive territory for the rolling month.

Growth, especially tech, strategies continued to top the performance charts over the rolling month, while cannabis and precious metal 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 24.02%
• Spyglass Growth Fund (SPYGX), up 23.61%
• First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX), up 12.62%
• iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP), up 10.98%
• Fidelity® Nasdaq Composite Index® ETF (ONEQ), up 2.66%
• iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG), up 2.49%

Losing

• Tweedy, Browne Global Value Fund (TBGVX), down -2.54%
• Pioneer Fundamental Growth Fund (FUNYX), down -2.59%

Dividend Strategies

Small-cap dividend strategies continued to post solid gains for the rolling month.

Winning

• WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund (DES), up 8.09%
• ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV), up 8.03%
• Principal Small-MidCap Dividend Income Fund (PMDIX), up 6.59%
• HCM Dividend Sector Plus Fund (HCMNX), up 5.07%

Losing

• Invesco International Dividend Achievers ETF (PID), down -1.48%
• iShares International Select Dividend ETF (IDV), down -2.43%
• Thornburg Investment Income Builder Fund (TIBAX), down -3.47%
• Pioneer Equity Income Fund (PEQIX), down -22.91%

U.S. Fixed Income Strategies

In US fixed income, long-duration bond strategies posted positive results, while folating rate and inflation-focused bond strategies struggled.

Winning

• PIMCO StocksPLUS® Long Duration Fund (PSLDX), up 4.48%
• Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury Index Fund (VEDIX), up 2.58%
• Invesco CEF Income Composite ETF (PCEF), up 1.29%
• iShares California Muni Bond ETF (CMF), up 1.28%

Losing

• ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), down -1.06%
• iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT), down -2.52%
• T. Rowe Price Limited Duration Inflation Focused Bond Fund (TRBFX), down -2.71%
• T. Rowe Price U.S. Limited Duration TIPS Index Fund (TLDTX), down -2.99%

Foreign Equity Strategies

Among foreign equities, developing market equity strategies posted decent gains while Brazilian and French equity strategies struggled.

Winning

• Lord Abbett Developing Growth Fund (LADVX), up 6.66%
• Artisan Developing World Fund (APHYX), up 3.53%
• iShares MSCI Singapore ETF (EWS), up 3.39%
• iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC), up 3.38%

Losing

• iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ), down -7.29%
• iShares MSCI France ETF (EWQ), down -7.73%
• Thornburg International Equity Fund (TGVAX), down -8.13%
• Thornburg International Growth Fund (THGIX), down -10.03%

Foreign Fixed Income Strategies

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

Winning

• Janus Henderson Developed World Bond Fund (HFARX), up 0.9%
• Fidelity Advisor® New Markets Income Fund (FNMIX), up 0.86%
• iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB), up 0.59%
• VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), up 0.25%

Losing

• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF (EBND), down -1.13%
• PIMCO Emerging Markets Local Currency and Bond Fund (PELPX), down -1.39%
• VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), down -1.45%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Local Income Fund (EEIIX), down -2.72%

Alternatives

Among alternatives, convertible security strategies continued to post decent gains over the rolling month, while gold struggled.

Winning

• Virtus AllianzGI Convertible Fund (ANZAX), up 7.61%
• Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA), up 7.39%
• Franklin Convertible Securities Fund (FCSZX), up 6.78%
• Invesco S&P SmallCap Low Volatility ETF (XSLV), up 6.5%

Losing

• Fidelity® SAI Emerging Markets Low Volatility Index Fund (FGKPX), down -2.51%
• iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Eurozone ETF (HEZU), down -3.61%
• Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), down -7.91%
• ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), down -22.55%

Sectors

Among the sectors and industries, tech strategies continued to be the top performers while cannabis and precious metals struggled.

Winning

• ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), up 22.94%
• ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), up 19.75%
• American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation Fund (ADNYX), up 17.82%
• Center Coast Brookfield Midstream Focus Fund (CCCAX), up 13.51%

Losing

• First Eagle Gold Fund (FEGIX), down -8.11%
• Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Fund (FGPMX), down -11.22%
• Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF (PALL), down -20.08%
• AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS), down -35.94%

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.