• Both U.S. and almost all international equities were up this week.

• The best-performing fund for 2018 on a year-to-date basis is Leland Thomson Reuters Vntr Cptl Idx I (LDVIX).

• Broad basket commodities is the best-performing mutual funds subcategory based on rolling-month returns.

• Make sure to check out the previous edition of the Weekly Roundup to keep track of changing trends in the mutual funds space.

U.S. Equities – U.S. equity markets were up for the second week in a row, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average increasing by 0.42% to close at 24,463 and now down 1.04% on a year-to-date basis. The S&P 500 also had a gain of 0.52% for the week to close at 2,670, and is down 0.13% year-to-date. The NASDAQ Composite increased 0.56% to close at 7,146. The NASDAQ is the best-performing index among major indices on a year-to-date basis and is up 3.52%.

The best-performing sector was energy for the third week in a row, up 2.61%. This sector consists of companies like Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM), which was up 1.31% for the week.

International Equities – The international markets were also up this week, with exception of the MSCI Emerging Market Index. The MSCI Developed Market Index up was up 0.53% to close at 2,051. The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.13% to close at 1,168. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also saw an increase this week of 1.76% to close at 22,162.

Commodities – The commodities markets were all up this week, except gold. Crude oil saw a gain of $0.99 per barrel to close at $68.38. The price of gold decreased by $8 per troy ounce to close at $1,337. Copper prices also increased slightly by $0.06 to close at $3.14.

Taxable Bonds – Treasury yields were all up again this week, with the 2-year Treasury increasing by 9 bps and now yielding 2.46%. The 10-year Treasury yield gained by 12 bps and now yields 2.96%. The 30-year Treasury increased by 11 bps and now yields 3.15%.

Municipal Bonds – Municipal yields were also up this week, with the 2-year AAA-rated bonds increasing by 5 bps to yield 1.81%. The 10-year AAA-rated bonds saw an increase of 5 bps, while the 30-year AAA-rated bonds gained 7 bps and yield 3.06%. Municipal bond funds saw outflows of $454 million this week, making this the third week of outflows in a row. The largest credit spread for the five-year securities increased to 66 bps for the week.

Be sure to read important tips on how to invest in the right commodity-based mutual fund.

Explore our Mutual Fund Education section to learn more about important mutual fund concepts.

The following table provides a list of the top-performing mutual fund subcategories for the previous week within the broader categories of the industry. In each of these subcategories, we have listed the top mutual funds based on the one-month return generated as of April 20, 2018.

Top-performing fund: Leland Thomson Reuters Vntr Cptl Idx I (LDVIX)

One of the fund’s largest holdings is Adobe Systems Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE), which is up over 28% on a year-to-date basis.

Top 5 Performers

The following table provides the top-performing mutual funds on a YTD basis as of April 20, 2018. Only those funds that are rated five stars by Morningstar and that generated YTD returns greater than or equal to that achieved by the S&P 500 are included.

We provide this report on a weekly basis. To stay up to date with mutual fund market events, return to our News section.