The first quarter was ever-so-slightly kind to the average mutual fund, according to the latest Lipper performance report. Equity funds, in fact, improved 0.1% for the period.
Mixed-asset funds moved up close to 0.8% on average, while U.S. diversified equity funds weakened 0.4%, the research group says.
But sector funds posted the strongest and weakest performance: Funds focused on precious metals skyrocketed 42% in Q1'16, while commodities precious funds jumped 12% on average – followed by utility funds at 11%.
On the down side, health care/biotech funds dropped 14% in the first three months of the year. Commodities energy funds moved down about 8%, according to Lipper data.
Many value-tilted funds improved near 3% over the quarter, while many of their growth counterparts fell by 3%.
Looking at equity funds by region, Latin American funds topped the charts with an average gain of over 15%. Emerging-market funds overall jumped 4%.
