Last week’s economic landscape was defined by volatility in a shortened trading week that ultimately saw gains.

Investors were encouraged by the inauguration of President Trump and his pro-business policies but remained wary of potential inflationary pressures stemming from tariffs. With a light data schedule, attention centered on corporate earnings, where about 12% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported so far, revealing fourth-quarter profit growth of roughly 12% year-over-year. Additionally, AI-focused stocks saw a lift as Oracle, Softbank, and OpenAI pledged to invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure over the next four years.

Next week, markets will closely watch the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates as the central bank navigates rising inflationary pressures. Current market predictions lean toward the Fed pausing its rate cut drive, but the press conference and upcoming Core PCE inflation data could influence the outlook. Personal spending and income figures are also slated for release, offering additional insight into the health of consumer demand.

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

The broader markets reversed course and posted marginal gains for the rolling month.

Gold and oil based strategies emerged as the top performers for the rolling month, while several healthcare and international strategies struggled.

U.S Equity Strategies

Among U.S. equities, select small and mid-cap strategies posted decent gains for the rolling month.

Winning

• Invesco Small Cap Equity Fund (SMEYX), up 7.15%
• Fidelity® Series Small Cap Discovery Fund (FJACX), up 6.81%
• First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX), up 6.63%
• SPDR® S&P 400 Mid Cap Growth ETF (MDYG), up 5.16%
• Fidelity® Nasdaq Composite Index® ETF (ONEQ), up 1.26%
• Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF™ (SCHG), up 1.09%

Losing

• Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund (HSIIX), down -13.62%
• State Street U.S. Core Equity Fund (SSAQX), down -14.69%

Dividend Strategies

Select dividend strategies, like small cap and rising dividend, reversed course and posted nominal gains for the rolling month.

Winning

• First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY), up 5.43%
• Principal Small-MidCap Dividend Income Fund (PMDIX), up 4.6%
• Franklin Equity Income Fund (FREIX), up 4.39%
• Invesco BuyBack Achievers ETF (PKW), up 2.98%

Losing

• Invesco S&P 500® High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD), down -0.08%
• Legg Mason Low Volatility High Dividend ETF (LVHD), down -0.1%
• Fidelity® Equity Dividend Income Fund (FEQTX), down -4.26%
• Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund (VDIGX), down -8.45%

U.S. Fixed Income Strategies

Select high-yield strategies posted marginal gains for the rolling month.

Winning

• Invesco CEF Income Composite ETF (PCEF), up 2.55%
• Nationwide Core Plus Bond Fund (NWCPX), up 1.97%
• Fidelity® Capital & Income Fund (FAGIX), up 1.96%
• Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYLB), up 1.53%

Losing

• Fidelity® Total Bond ETF (FBND), down -0.07%
• iShares California Muni Bond ETF (CMF), down -0.47%
• RBB Free Market Fixed Income Fund (FMFIX), down -2.66%
• Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund (VASIX), down -2.7%

Foreign Equity Strategies

French and Swedish equity strategies posted decent gains, while Indian equity strategies continued to struggle for the rolling month.

Winning

• iShares MSCI France ETF (EWQ), up 7.16%
• iShares MSCI Sweden ETF (EWD), up 6.91%
• Delaware Emerging Markets Fund (DEMRX), up 5.7%
• Fidelity® International Growth Fund (FIIIX), up 5.08%

Losing

• Baillie Gifford International Growth Fund (BGEUX), down -4.1%
• iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA), down -4.97%
• WisdomTree India Earnings Fund (EPI), down -5.31%
• PIMCO RAE Emerging Markets Fund (PEIFX), down -6.24%

Foreign Fixed Income Strategies

Select emerging market debt strategies posted marginal gains for the rolling month.

Winning

• Invesco International Bond Fund (OIBIX), up 1.86%
• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF (EBND), up 1.68%
• Eaton Vance Emerging Markets Debt Opportunities Fund (EIDOX), up 1.51%
• VanEck Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF (HYEM), up 1.18%

Losing

• iShares International Treasury Bond ETF (IGOV), down -0.21%
• SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX), down -0.23%
• T. Rowe Price International Bond Fund (PAIBX), down -0.3%
• Janus Henderson Developed World Bond Fund (HFARX), down -1.03%

Alternatives

Among alternatives, gold posted solid gains over the rolling month.

Winning

• Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), up 8.79%
• iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG), up 7.24%
• Credit Suisse Commodity Return Strategy Fund (CRSAX), up 6.89%
• iShares GSCI Commodity Dynamic Roll Strategy ETF (COMT), up 6.85%

Losing

• WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ), down -1.47%
• ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), down -5.78%
• PIMCO RAE Worldwide Long/Short PLUS Fund (PWLBX), down -7.85%
• Franklin K2 Alternative Strategies Fund (FABZX), down -9.39%

Sectors

Among the sectors and industries, oil and precious metal strategies came up on top for the rolling month, while healthcare continued to struggle.

Winning

• ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG), up 14.09%
• VanEck Oil Services ETF (OIH), up 11.51%
• Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Fund (FGPMX), up 9.81%
• Center Coast Brookfield Midstream Focus Fund (CCCAX), up 9.61%

Losing

• Invesco Solar ETF (TAN), down -4.37%
• AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS), down -7.38%
• Fidelity Advisor® Biotechnology Fund (FBTAX), down -9.68%
• Fidelity Advisor® Health Care Fund (FHCCX), down -12.26%

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.