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发帖数: 11530 | 1 A Third-Quarter Mutual Fund Scorecard
By Christine Benz | 09-30-15 | 06:00 AM | Email Article
After remarkably smooth sailing for six-plus years, many investors had been
bracing themselves for volatility. They got it in the third quarter of 2015,
when a broad swath of investment types--especially stocks--took a tumble.
Worries over global growth, especially in emerging markets, was the key
catalyst for the sell-off. Although stocks had started to look shaky earlier
in the quarter, the Federal Reserve's early-September decision to stave off
an interest-rate hike due to fragile overseas economies was all investors
needed to send them scurrying for the safety of Treasuries. High-quality
bonds, both taxable and municipal, were rare pockets of strength in an
otherwise-punishing market environment.
Here's an overview of which investment types fared particularly well--and
particularly poorly--during the quarter, as well as a look at the
performance of various medalist funds during the period.
Domestic Equity
Nearly all domestic-equity funds fell during the second quarter, most by
double digits. But large-cap and more growth-oriented funds generally lost
less than smaller-cap and value-leaning offerings. Large firms frequently
have more diversified product lineups and may be less dependent on the
economic cycle than the market's small fry, so they frequently fare better
than small firms in the later stages of an economic recovery. And while
health-care stocks tumbled--especially biotech names, which are growth-fund
mainstays--the energy and basic-materials sectors also continued to struggle
; such stocks tend to be the domain of value-leaning offerings.
Many of the medalist funds that fared best during this period focus on high-
quality stocks and have been strong defensive players in the past. That list
includes the Gold-rated Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX) and AMG Yacktman
(YACKX), as well as the Silver-rated American Equity Income (TWEIX) and
Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX). The Bronze-rated Fairholme Fund (FAIRX)
continued to march to the beat of its own drum thanks to its highly
concentrated, idiosyncratic portfolio; giant stakes in American
International Group (AIG) as well as positions in equity and preferred stock
of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have held it aloft.
Several small- and mid-cap-oriented funds held up well, too, bucking overall
weakness in that market segment. The Gold-rated Diamond Hill Small-Cap (
DHSIX) and Diamond Hill Small-Mid Cap (DHMIX) fared particularly well
despite their small-cap and value leanings; the funds have found strong
picks across a variety of sectors, from health care and consumer staples to
industrials, and cash has provided a buffer as well. T. Rowe Price New
Horizons (PRNHX) and T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth (RPMGX), rated Silver and
Gold, respectively, have also held their ground better than most of their
peers. Both funds have benefited from relative underweightings in health-
care stocks--one of the market's hardest-hit sectors.
On the other side of the ledger, other medalists have had a terrible quarter
and are scraping their categories' bottoms for the year to date, too. At
the top of that ignominious list are the Silver-rated Longleaf Partners (
LLPFX) and the Gold-rated Longleaf Partners Small-Cap (LLSCX). Both funds
have bet more heavily on the struggling energy sector than their peers.
Delafield Fund (DEFIX) is also on the laggards list for the quarter and for
the year to date; while it has dodged the hard-hit energy sector,
overweighting industrials and especially basic materials has hurt.
International Equity
Stocks from developed foreign markets performed roughly in line with the U.
S. market during the third quarter. But with slow growth weighing on
emerging-markets economies, the whole gamut of emerging-markets equities has
been decimated, with funds in the Latin America stock and China region
bringing up the rear for the third quarter. Diversified foreign-stock funds
that emphasize emerging markets have fallen harder than their peers.
Bronze-rated Fidelity Overseas (FOSFX) has fared particularly well in this
tumultuous market environment. Senior analyst Katie Reichart notes that a
meager stake in emerging-markets and energy stocks have helped but points
out that strong stock picks across market sectors have been an even bigger
driver of its peer-beating gains. Not surprisingly, a handful of foreign-
stock funds with historically strong defensive characteristics have
distinguished themselves during this recent sell-off, too; IVA
International (IVIOX) and Tweedy, Browne Global Value (TBGVX) are among
them.
The foreign-stock laggards list is a who's who of standout actively managed
funds. Some of these, such as the Gold-rated Dodge & Cox International
Stock (DODFX), Dodge & Cox Global Stock (DODWX), Harbor International (
HAINX), and Vanguard International Growth (VWIGX), as well as the Silver-
rated Artisan International (ARTIX), have suffered for their
above-average positions in emerging markets. But emerging-markets bets don't
explain everything: Oakmark International (OAKIX) is
struggling despite a notable underweighting in emerging markets, as its bet
on mining giant Glencore (GLEN) has hurt.
Taxable Bond
Bonds held their ground better than stocks during the third quarter. The
long-term government-bond category was the best-performing group during the
period, spurred by the Fed's decision to defer a rate increase until later
in the year. (Only the bear-market category managed better average
performance among all mutual funds.) Core intermediate-term bond funds
remained flat or even gained slightly during the period, with those that
erred on the side of conservatism performing especially well. On the flip
side, lower-quality and more equity-sensitive bond types struggled. The
emerging-markets bond category was, naturally, the worst-performing group,
followed by high-yield bond.
Among medalist funds, those with a conservative bent--either by mandate or
by managerial decision--held their ground. The Silver-rated Vanguard Total
Bond Market Index (VBMFX), which many investors had questioned because of
its heavy emphasis on U.S. government bonds, has performed well. The Bronze-
rated FPA New Income's (FPNIX) short-term, high-quality portfolio also held
it in good stead during the period. Bronze-rated Fairholme Focused Income
(FOCIX) has been, by far, the best-performing medalist for the year to date,
and it also held up like a champ during the quarter. However, it's not to
be confused for a defensive fund. As senior analyst Kevin McDevitt pointed
out in his most recent analysis, manager Bruce Berkowitz combines distressed
bonds with a concentrated portfolio.
Not surprisingly, more aggressively positioned funds have struggled. The
Gold-rated Dodge & Cox Income (DODIX), which has downplayed government
bonds in lieu of corporates and has ventured out on the credit-quality
spectrum, has posted weak relative returns, though it's just barely in the
red for the year to date. Four Loomis Sayles medalists land in their
categories' lower echelons for the quarter; lower-quality credits, foreign
bonds, and equity positions have contributed to above-average losses.
Templeton Global Bond (TPINX) and Templeton Global Total Return (TGTRX) are
also having an off year, owing to their heavy emphasis on emerging-markets
bonds and currencies.
Municipal Bond
Like taxable bonds, municipal bonds also posted decent across-the-board
gains. Longer-duration bonds modestly outperformed intermediate-term bonds.
As a testament to the overall health of municipal finances, high-yield muni
bonds didn't fall in sympathy with the corporate high-yield market; the high
-yield muni-fund category managed a positive gain for the quarter.
Most investors view municipal bonds as the safe part of their portfolios, so
Morningstar's medalists in the category tend to lean toward conservatism.
Funds like Fidelity Tax-Free Bond (FTABX) and Vanguard Intermediate-Term
Tax-Exempt (VWITX), which generally limit risk-taking, posted top-quartile
returns during the period. | W***n
发帖数: 11530 | 2 if u can beat the big boys in last Q
u r good! |
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