This week, the Federal Reserve enacted its third consecutive 0.25% reduction in the Federal Funds rate and signaled a more restrained approach to future cuts in 2025, which contributed stocks drifting lower during the week.
Nonetheless, economic indicators were strong, with retail sales rising 0.7% in November, GDP growth reaching 3.1%, and building permit activity gaining momentum.
In the upcoming holiday-shortened week, the spotlight will be on November’s durable goods data, following October’s 0.2% uptick that had underperformed projections. Persistent inflation is expected to influence these figures and potentially dampen large-scale purchases. Additional releases include jobless claims, which will shed light on labor conditions, and the Consumer Confidence Report, anticipated to remain roughly steady during a mixed holiday season.
Given this economic backdrop, let us see how this impacts the performance of various investment strategies.
Investment Strategy Scorecard
The broader markets reversed course and were down for the rolling month.
Tech strategies continued to be the top performers for the rolling month, while Brazilian equity, cannabi,s and healthcare 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 7.96%
- Spyglass Growth Fund (SPYGX), up 5.16%
- Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF™ (SCHG), up 3.21%
- Fidelity® Nasdaq Composite Index® ETF (ONEQ), up 3.2%
Losing
- Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF™ (SCHV), down -5.17%
- iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN), down -5.18%
- Brown Advisory Growth Equity Fund (BIAGX), down -46.82%
- AB Growth Fund (AGRCX), down -67.9%
Dividend Strategies
The majority of the dividend strategies were in the red over the rolling month.
Losing
- Principal Global Diversified Income Fund (PGBAX), down -0.25%
- Vanguard Diversified Equity Fund (VDEQX), down -0.38%
- FlexShares Quality Dividend Index Fund (QDF), down -1.42%
- O’Shares U.S. Quality Dividend ETF (OUSA), down -1.92%
- iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV), down -6.43%
- First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index Fund (FGD), down -6.45%
- Sterling Capital Equity Income Fund (BEGIX), down -23.96%
- Pioneer Equity Income Fund (PEQIX), down -30.75%
U.S. Fixed Income Strategies
The majority of the fixed income strategies struggled over the rolling month.
Winning
- Thompson Bond Fund (THOPX), up 0.96%
- The Hartford World Bond Fund (HWDIX), up 0.69%
- ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), up 0.62%
- iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT), up 0.6%
Losing
- iShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (IGLB), down -1.68%
- iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF (IAGG), down -3.61%
- Mercer Core Fixed Income Fund (MCFIX), down -4.26%
- Mercer Opportunistic Fixed Income Fund (MOFIX), down -6.57%
Foreign Equity Strategies
Among foreign equities, emerging market equity strategies posted decent gains while Brazilian equity strategies continued to struggle.
Winning
- Principal Origin Emerging Markets Fund (POEFX), up 2.75%
- BlackRock International Fund of BlackRock Series, Inc. (BIFRX), up 1.9%
- WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ), up 1.9%
- iShares MSCI Germany ETF (EWG), up 1.49%
Losing
- iShares Latin America 40 ETF (ILF), down -13.47%
- Wasatch International Growth Fund® (WAIGX), down -16.53%
- iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ), down -18.22%
- Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund, Inc. International Equity Portfolio (MSIQX), down -28.16%
Foreign Fixed Income Strategies
Several global and emerging market debt strategies posted losses for the rolling month.
Winning
- Janus Henderson Developed World Bond Fund (HFARX), up 1.17%
- Fidelity Advisor® New Markets Income Fund (FNMIX), up 0.95%
Losing
- VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), down -0.76%
- iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB), down -1.27%
- Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Local Income Fund (EEIIX), down -2.15%
- iShares International Treasury Bond ETF (IGOV), down -2.15%
- VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), down -2.39%
- Templeton Global Bond Fund (TGBAX), down -3.09%
Alternatives
Among alternatives, agriculture and managed futures strategies posted nominal gains over the rolling month, while some low volatility and contrarian strategies were in the red.
Winning
- Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA), up 6.71%
- PIMCO TRENDS Managed Futures Strategy Fund (PQTIX), up 2.94%
- American Beacon AHL Managed Futures Strategy Fund (AHLYX), up 2.22%
- iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Eurozone ETF (HEZU), up 1.95%
Losing
- SPDR® S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (GNR), down -9.97%
- ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), down -13.41%
- Janus Henderson Contrarian Fund (JCNCX), down -14.04%
- Mercer Global Low Volatility Equity Fund (MGLVX), down -41.85%
Sectors
Among the sectors and industries, tech strategies continued to be the top performers while cannabis and healthcare strategies struggled.
Winning
- ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ), up 12.38%
- SPDR® S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD), up 8.4%
- American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation Fund (ADNYX), up 6.25%
- Fidelity Advisor® Semiconductors Fund (FIKGX), up 4.58%
Losing
- DWS RREEF Global Infrastructure Fund (TOLZX), down -12.57%
- T. Rowe Price Health Sciences Fund (PRHSX), down -13.63%
- KraneShares Global Carbon ETF (KRBN), down -15.13%
- AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS), down -24.24%
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.