This week featured a shortened trading week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, during which equities rallied strongly.
The NASDAQ Composite surged by roughly 2.7%, the S&P 500 gained about 1.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added around 0.4–0.5%. These gains were supported by optimism over a possible near-term interest-rate cut and renewed enthusiasm in AI and tech stocks. Softer-than-expected economic signals, particularly around consumer spending and producer prices, bolstered hopes for easier policy. A major outage at CME Group disrupted futures and options markets on Friday, highlighting technical risks that can amplify volatility in thin, holiday-shortened sessions.
Key macroeconomic data releases next week could influence growth and interest-rate policy expectations. On Monday, the final manufacturing PMI, construction spending, and broad manufacturing survey will provide insights into employment and capital-investment trends. Tuesday will bring the JOLTS report on job openings. With expectations for a potential Federal Reserve rate cut, surprises in these data points could trigger volatility, especially amid lingering uncertainty and a thin end-of-year trading window.
Given this economic backdrop, let us see how this impacts the performance of various investment strategies.
Investment Strategy Scorecard
The broader markets remained slightly in the red for the rolling month.
Gold bounced back, posting solid gains, as some tech strategies struggled for the rolling month.
U.S Equity Strategies
A handful of US small and mid-cap strategies posted modest gains for the rolling month.
Winning
- Wasatch Ultra Growth Fund (WAMCX), up 4.77%
- Fidelity® Series Small Cap Opportunities Fund (FSOPX), up 2.96%
- Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF (DFAT), up 1.08%
- Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value Index Fund (IVOV), up 0.46%
Losing
- iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP), down -5.2%
- First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX), down -6.13%
- Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth Fund (PSMKX), down -16.62%
- Pioneer Fundamental Growth Fund (FUNYX), down -19.02%
Dividend Strategies
Some global and international dividend strategies posted marginal gains for the rolling month.
Winning
- First Trust Dow Jones Global Select Dividend Index Fund (FGD), up 2.45%
- iShares International Select Dividend ETF (IDV), up 2.35%
- First Eagle Global Income Builder Fund (FEBIX), up 1.88%
- Vanguard Equity Income Fund (VEIRX), up 1.49%
Losing
- Invesco BuyBack Achievers ETF (PKW), down -1.81%
- Eaton Vance Dividend Builder Fund (EVTMX), down -2.23%
- Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers™ ETF (PEY), down -3.21%
- Pioneer Equity Income Fund (PEQIX), down -6.4%
U.S. Fixed Income Strategies
Longer-duration bonds continued to struggle for the rolling month.
Winning
- ProShares Short 20+ Year Treasury (TBF), up 1.34%
- Thompson Bond Fund (THOPX), up 0.56%
- City National Rochdale Fixed Income Opportunities Fund (RIMOX), up 0.45%
- iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF (SUB), up 0.2%
Losing
- PIMCO 15+ Year U.S. TIPS Index Exchange-Traded Fund (LTPZ), down -1.7%
- iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT), down -1.95%
- PIMCO Extended Duration Fund (PEDPX), down -2.41%
- Pioneer High Income Municipal Fund (HIMYX), down -4.38%
Foreign Equity Strategies
Latin American equity strategies continued to post decent gains for the rolling month, while some emerging market strategies struggled.
Winning
- iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ), up 8.77%
- iShares Latin America 40 ETF (ILF), up 6.84%
- Columbia Overseas Value Fund (COSZX), up 2.57%
- DFA International Value III Portfolio (DFVIX), up 2.19%
Losing
- EMQQ The Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce ETF (EMQQ), down -7.16%
- iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (KSA), down -7.95%
- Fidelity® Overseas Fund (FOSFX), down -8.15%
- Brown Capital Management International Small Company Fund (BCSVX), down -9.09%
Foreign Fixed Income Strategies
A handful of emerging and international debt strategies managed to post marginal gains for the rolling month.
Winning
- PIMCO Emerging Markets Local Currency and Bond Fund (PELPX), up 0.48%
- VanEck J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (EMLC), up 0.47%
- Invesco International Bond Fund (OIBIX), up 0.43%
Losing
- iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF (IAGG), down -0.02%
- iShares International Treasury Bond ETF (IGOV), down -1.1%
- PIMCO International Bond Fund Unhedged (PFUNX), down -1.27%
- Templeton Global Bond Fund (TGBAX), down -1.53%
- SPDR® Bloomberg Barclays International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX), down -1.62%
Alternatives
Among the alternatives, gold posted solid gains, while contrarian and convertible debt strategies continued to struggle over the rolling month.
Winning
- Fidelity® Select Gold Portfolio (FSAGX), up 16.71%
- WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ), up 3.5%
- BlackRock Commodity Strategies Portfolio (BCSAX), up 3.18%
- SPDR® S&P Global Natural Resources ETF (GNR), up 2.45%
Losing
- Invesco Convertible Securities Fund (CNSIX), down -3.15%
- iShares Convertible Bond ETF (ICVT), down -3.81%
- Janus Henderson Contrarian Fund (JCNCX), down -6.24%
- ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), down -20.98%
Sectors
Gold and healthcare strategies posted solid gains, while some tech strategies continued to struggle for the rolling month.
Winning
- Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund (ETAHX), up 16.81%
- VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX), up 16.65%
- iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF (RING), up 16.52%
- Invesco Gold & Special Minerals Fund (OPGSX), up 14.98%
Losing
- Fidelity® Select Technology Portfolio (FSPTX), down -10.46%
- American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation Fund (ADNYX), down -11.77%
- ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), down -16.84%
- AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS), down -25.27%
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 fund 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.
