U.S. equities are likely to close this week on a cautiously upbeat note as both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite set fresh record highs.
Sentiment was buoyed by deal activity, most notably Ferrero’s $3.1 billion agreement to acquire WK Kellogg, whose shares jumped about 30 percent on the news. Trade remained a counterweight: President Trump confirmed a 35 percent tariff on Canadian imports effective August 1 and threatened new levies on Japan, South Korea, copper, and Brazilian goods, keeping investors mindful of geopolitical risk.
Looking ahead, next week’s calendar centers on the June Consumer Price Index (CPI), with core CPI expected to rise about 0.3 percent, the firmest monthly gain since January, and on earnings from U.S. megabanks JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup. Markets will parse the inflation print for clues on the Fed’s rate path and gauge how lenders have navigated the current environment, while the possibility of additional U.S. tariffs on Canada, Brazil, copper, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals could add another layer of volatility.
Given this economic backdrop, let us see how this impacts the performance of various investment strategies.
Investment Strategy Scorecard
The broader markets continued to post gains over the rolling month.
Technology stocks continue to drive the market gains, while real estate, gold and some large-cap equities struggled during the same period.
U.S Equity Strategies
Several US small and mid-cap strategies continue to post decent gains over the rolling month.
Winning
- Fidelity Advisor® Growth Opportunities Fund (FAGAX), up 6.55%
- Fidelity Advisor® Value Strategies Fund (FSLSX), up 6.52%
- Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF (RWJ), up 6.29%
- iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN), up 5.95%
- SPDR® S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF (SLYG), up 2.75%
- iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (IJT), up 2.04%
Losing
- Columbia Large Cap Index Fund (CLXRX), down -6.58%
- Columbia Select Large Cap Growth Fund (CCWRX), down -10.86%
Dividend Strategies
Several dividend growth strategies continued to post robust gains over the rolling month.
Winning
- ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL), up 62.5%
- Invesco BuyBack Achievers ETF (PKW), up 4.84%
- Fidelity® Dividend Growth Fund (FDGFX), up 4.47%
- Fidelity Advisor® Dividend Growth Fund (FDGTX), up 4.4%
- Invesco International Dividend Achievers ETF (PID), up 0.39%
- SPDR® S&P International Dividend ETF (DWX), up 0.38%
Losing
- ClearBridge Dividend Strategy Fund (SOPYX), down -0.25%
- Janus Henderson Global Equity Income Fund (HFQAX), down -0.58%
U.S. Fixed Income Strategies
Long-duration and some CEF debt strategies continued to post decent gains during the rolling month.
Winning
- PIMCO Extended Duration Fund (PEDPX), up 2.8%
- Invesco CEF Income Composite ETF (PCEF), up 2.5%
- Fidelity® Capital & Income Fund (FAGIX), up 2.43%
- PIMCO 15+ Year U.S. TIPS Index Exchange-Traded Fund (LTPZ), up 1.91%
Losing
- iShares Interest Rate Hedged Corporate Bond ETF (LQDH), down -0.08%
- DFA Five Year Global Fixed Income Portfolio (DFGBX), down -0.78%
- DFA Two Year Global Fixed Income Portfolio (DFGFX), down -1.11%
- ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), down -2.16%
Foreign Equity Strategies
South Korean and Taiwanese equity strategies continued to lead the way, while European equities continued to struggle over the rolling month.
Winning
- Delaware Emerging Markets Fund (DEMRX), up 9.52%
- iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), up 8.42%
- iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT), up 6.07%
- WCM Focused Emerging Markets Fund (WCMEX), up 5.89%
Losing
- Matthews Japan Fund (MJFOX), down -0.58%
- Vanguard International Dividend Appreciation Index Fund (VIAAX), down -0.82%
- iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI), down -1.69%
- Xtrackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF (DBEU), down -2.75%
Foreign Fixed Income Strategies
Several emerging market debt strategies continued to post marginal gains for the rolling month.
Winning
- PIMCO Emerging Markets Local Currency and Bond Fund (PELPX), up 2.16%
- iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB), up 1.9%
- Fidelity Advisor® New Markets Income Fund (FNMIX), up 1.88%
- VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), up 1.78%
- SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX), up 0.96%
- iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF (IAGG), up 0.35%
Losing
- DFA World ex U.S. Government Fixed Income Portfolio (DWFIX), down -0.23%
- T. Rowe Price Dynamic Global Bond Fund (TRDZX), down -0.39%
Alternatives
Among alternatives, several contrarian strategies continue to post modest gains.
Winning
- ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), up 12.55%
- Janus Henderson Contrarian Fund (JCNCX), up 7.15%
- SPDR® S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (GNR), up 4.36%
- Fidelity® Contrafund® Fund (FCNKX), up 4.3%
Losing
- Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), down -0.91%
- Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF (DBEF), down -2.31%
- PIMCO RAE Worldwide Long/Short PLUS Fund (PWLBX), down -2.99%
- Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA), down -5.33%
Sectors
Cannabis and technology equities moved up, while some gold strategies continue to struggle over the rolling month.
Winning
- AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS), up 19.48%
- American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation Fund (ADNYX), up 15.89%
- ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), up 14.69%
- Fidelity Advisor® Semiconductors Fund (FIKGX), up 11.84%
Losing
- Invesco Gold & Special Minerals Fund (OPGSX), down -5.09%
- Sprott Gold Equity Fund (SGDLX), down -5.29%
- ProShares Short QQQ (PSQ), down -5.35%
- iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (REM), down -33.33%
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.
