Mutual Fund Monthly

The market was flat for the month of June, with the SPX starting and ending at the exact same level, despite ample intra-month volatility. For the year (as of 6/30), the SPX is up +1.75%. But growth has outperformed value in a big way so far this year. To wit, the growth-laden Nasdaq 100 is up +22% for the year. That is quite a bit of outperformance.

Growth has outperformed value in just about every category. The biggest discrepancy is large-cap growth, which is up +16% ytd, vs. large-cap value, which is down -5.8% over the same time period.

Here are some of the top and bottom performing (ytd) mutual funds that are part of our universe at my firm:

Top 5

1. +55.8%: TRowe Emerg. Europe (TREMX)
2. +41.8%: Janus Overseas (JAOSX)
3. +38.1%: Ivy Global Nat. Resource (IGNAX)
4. +31.2%: Legg Mason Opportunity (LMOPX)
5. +28.8%: Driehaus Emerg. Mkt (DREGX)

Bottom 5

1. -6.4%: CGM Focus (CGMFX)
2. -4.5%: Stratton Small Value (STSCX)
3. -4.0%: Rydex Mgd. Futures (RYMFX)
4. -3.9%: Brandywine Blue (BLUEX)
5. -2.0%: Nakoma Absolute Return (NARFX)

Among sector ETFs, steel (SLX) +43.4%, metals (XME) +34.2%, and brokers (IAI) +29% are leading the way so far this year; while regional banks (KRE) -36.4%, real estate (IYR) -9.7%, and transports (IYT) -6.7% are lagging.

As for international ETFs, Russia (RSX) +59.8%, Brazil (EWZ) +52.5%, and Hong Kong (EWH) +34.2% are on fire, while Germany (EWG) -3.7% and Japan (EWJ) -1.0% are the big laggards.