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3 Mid-Cap Value Fund Picks As Equity Funds Notch First Inflow

U.S.-based equity funds witnessed inflows for the first time this year, pointing to investors’ confidence in that category. Not only these funds, but the other broader categories also managed to attract significant volumes of investment for the week ending Mar. 9, according to Lipper. A strong recovery in the equity markets over the past one month was one of the major catalysts to the rebound. Under the U.S. equity fund category, mid-cap value mutual funds emerged as the top performers over the past one-month period, according to Morningstar. These mutual funds are known for their impressive returns at a lesser risk by virtue of exposure to stocks that are available at a discounted price. Perhaps this characteristic feature of mid-cap value mutual funds attracted investors to allocate their assets in them. Given this impressive scenario for mid-cap value mutual funds, we have highlighted those that are fundamentally strong and outperformed in recent times. Also, these have the potential to continue their impressive run in the near future. But before going to mid-cap value funds, let’s take a look at the fund inflows. Equity Funds’ First Inflows In 2016 According to Lipper, U.S. funds focusing on acquiring equity securities witnessed inflows of $4.6 billion in the week ending Mar. 9, snapping nine weeks of outflows. While equity funds with a domestic focus attracted $3.47 billion in investments, foreign equity funds saw net inflows of $1.1 billion. Additionally, funds that allocate the major part of their assets in equity securities of emerging markets registered inflows of $1.6 billion – the highest in more than 10 months. Moreover, technology funds registered net inflows for the first time this year by attracting $208 million. Other major sectors including energy, financial and real estate also enjoyed significant inflows last week. Meanwhile, the key categories apart from equity funds, namely taxable bond funds, money market funds and municipal bond funds witnessed net inflows of $5.8 billion, $2.4 billion and $518 million, respectively. However, treasury funds, which have attracted investor attention for the most part of this year, registered an outflow of $326 million. This was the second consecutive week of outflow for treasury funds. Factors Boosting Equities A strong rally in oil prices and encouraging economic data on the domestic front not only abated recessionary fears, but also gave the markets a boost in the trailing one-month period. Last week, the markets ended in the green for the fourth straight week and for the first time since Nov. 2015. Positive comments from the officials of major oil-producing countries regarding production freeze, continued decline in both domestic and global rig counts and expected decline in oil production this year propelled oil prices higher in recent times. Despite Monday’s decline of 3.6%, WTI crude rallied nearly 41.2% since Feb. 11, when it touched a 13-year low. Moreover, recently released economic data gave indications that the U.S. economy is on track for a gradual recovery. While better-than-expected job numbers and a significantly low unemployment rate of 4.9% point to a strong labor market, encouraging personal consumption, income and spending data signal a gradually growing economy. Upward revision in the fourth-quarter GDP rate also boosted investor sentiment. 3 Mid-Cap Value Mutual Funds To Buy As highlighted earlier, mid-cap value mutual funds benefited the most from the recent rebound in the U.S. equity fund categories. According to Morningstar, this category registered a gain of 14.6% over the past one month, which was the highest among the U.S. equity fund categories, indicating its popularity among investors. While large caps are normally known for stability and the smaller ones for growth, mid caps offer the best of both the worlds, allowing growth and stability simultaneously. Moreover, value investing has always been popular, and for good reasons. After all, who doesn’t want to find stocks that have low PEs, solid outlooks and decent dividends? Against this encouraging backdrop, we highlight three mid-cap value mutual funds that carry either a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy). We expect these funds to outperform their peers in the future. Remember, the goal of the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is to guide investors to identify potential winners and losers. Unlike most of the fund-rating systems, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is not just focused on past performance, but also on the likely future success of the fund. These funds have encouraging one-month, three-month and year-to-date returns. The minimum initial investment is within $5,000. Also, these funds have a low expense ratio and no sales load. Managed Account Mid Cap Value Opp Fund No Load (MUTF: MMCVX ) invests the lion’s share of its assets in equity securities of companies with market capitalization similar to those listed in the S&P MidCap 400 Value Index. MMCVX may invest not more than 30% of its assets in foreign securities and in securities that are denominated in foreign currencies. Currently, MMCVX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1. The product has one-month, three-month and year-to-date returns of 14.6%, 2.7% and 1%, respectively. It has no expense ratio. Touchstone Mid Cap Value Fund Adv (MUTF: TCVYX ) seeks growth of capital. TCVYX invests a large chunk of its assets in common stocks of companies having market capitalization within the range of the Russell Midcap Index. Currently, TCVYX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2. The product has one-month, three-month and year-to-date returns of 15%, 3.8% and 2.4%, respectively. Annual expense ratio of 1.02% is lower than the category average of 1.19%. American Century Mid Cap Value Fund Inv (MUTF: ACMVX ) invests a major portion of its assets in securities of mid-cap companies. ACMVX seeks to follow the capitalization range of the Russell 3000 Index in order to select medium-size companies. Currently, ACMVX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2. The product has one-month, three-month and year-to-date returns of 10.7%, 4.5% and 2.8%, respectively. Annual expense ratio of 1.01% is lower than the category average of 1.19%. Original post

4 Top-Rated Small-Cap Blend Mutual Funds To Invest In

Investors looking to invest in a portfolio that provides significant exposure to both value and growth stocks, and wanting to diversify their investments across a wide range of sectors and companies, may consider small-cap blend mutual funds. Blend funds or “hybrid funds” owe their origin to a graphical representation of a fund’s equity style box and aim for value appreciation by capital gains. Meanwhile, small-cap companies are believed to be less affected by a global downturn, thanks to limited international exposure. Though funds investing in small-cap stocks are believed to be more volatile than funds with a more large or mid-cap focus, these are expected to have higher growth prospects than their large and medium counterparts. Companies with market capitalization lower than $2 billion are generally considered small-cap firms. Below we will share with you 4 buy-rated small-cap blend mutual funds . Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) as we expect these mutual funds to outperform their peers in the future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all small-cap blend mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds . Fidelity Stock Selector Small Cap (MUTF: FDSCX ) seeks capital growth by investing its assets across a wide range of sectors. FDSCX invests a major portion of its assets in common stocks of companies having market capitalizations within the universe of the Russell 2000 Index or the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The Fidelity Stock Selector Small Cap fund has a three-year annualized return of 7.2%. As of October 2015, FDSCX held 207 issues, with 1.75% of its total assets invested in Bank of the Ozarks Inc. SSgA Dynamic Small Cap N (MUTF: SVSCX ) invests a large chunk of its assets in equity securities of companies listed in the Russell 2000 Index. SVSCX may also invest a maximum of 20% of its assets in securities of companies that are not included in the index. The SSgA Dynamic Small Cap N fund has a three-year annualized return of 8.9%. SVSCX has an expense ratio of 1.10% as compared to the category average of 1.24%. JPMorgan U.S. Small Company C (MUTF: JTUCX ) seeks total return. JTUCX invests a large portion of its assets in equity securities of small-cap U.S. companies. These small-cap companies have market capitalization similar to those companies listed in the Russell 2000 Index during the time of purchase. The JPMorgan US Small Company C fund has a three-year annualized return of 7.6%. As of January 2016, JTUCX held 371 issues, with 1.48% of its total assets invested in Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. Vanguard Strategic Small Cap Equity Investor (MUTF: VSTCX ) invests the majority of its assets in small-cap domestic equity securities. VSTCX invests in securities that have strong growth prospects and reasonable valuations compared to their industry peers. VSTCX achieves this balance by applying a quantitative process to evaluate all of the securities in the MSCI US Small Cap 1750 Index. The Vanguard Strategic Small-Cap Equity Investor fund has a three-year annualized return of almost 10%. VSTCX has an expense ratio of 0.34% as compared to the category average of 1.24%. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all small-cap blend mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds. About Zacks Mutual Fund Rank By applying the Zacks Rank to mutual funds, investors can find funds that not only outpaced the market in the past but are also expected to outperform going forward. Pick the best mutual funds with the Zacks Rank. Original Post

Inside NANR: The Most Successful New ETF Of 2016

Oil price volatility has put energy sector ETFs in focus since the start of this year. After tumbling to a 13-year low in mid February, oil has made an impressive comeback surging nearly 47% over the past one-month period. Robust performance was driven by improving demand/supply trends, which are rebuilding investors lost confidence in the rebalancing of the oil market. This is especially true given signs of falling production in the U.S. and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), hopes of a deal by major oil producers to freeze oil output at the January level, receding fears of a recession in the U.S., and signs of stabilization in China and the other developed economies (see: all the energy ETFs here ). Additionally, oil drilling activity in the U.S. has fallen to the lowest level since at least 1940 reflecting that U.S. output will continue to decline in the coming weeks. A slew of capital spending cuts last year and another round of major cuts this year added to the strength and will continue to curb oil production and reduce global supply. All these suggest that the oil market might bottom out after two years of persistent decline. However, volatility persists given increasing production in Iran, a strong dollar and weak global economic growth. Given the uncertain backdrop for oil, investors are seeking well-balanced exposure to the basket of natural resources companies instead of just energy sector allocation. And this drive has made the new ETF – SPDR S&P North American Natural Resources ETF (NYSEARCA: NANR ) – immense popular and successful so far this year. This fund offers exposure to the natural resources companies in the energy, materials and agriculture industries. This is because it has been getting the first-mover advantage and has accumulated $817 million in AUM in just three months of debut while surging 17.2% in the same period. Average daily volume is solid as it exchanges nearly 570,000 shares in hand (read: 5 Very Successful ETF Launches of 2015 ). Given this, it might be worth it to shed some light on this ETF and its holdings for those who are unfamiliar with the product, but are thinking about jumping in on the product. Below we highlight some of the key details regarding NANR, which made it one of the fastest-growing and most-successful ETFs of this year. NANR in Focus The ETF tracks the S&P BMI North American Natural Resources Index, charging investors 35 bps in fees and expenses. Holding 61 securities in its basket, it is highly concentrated on the top two firms – Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM ) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) – with over 9% share each. Other firms hold no more than 6.15% of assets. Materials make up for half of the portfolio, closely followed by 44.3% in energy and the rest in consumer staples. The product has a certain tilt toward large cap and value stocks as about more than two-third of the portfolio falls in the large-cap category while about half of it is classified as value picks. The combination of large-cap value securities has the potential to deliver higher returns and reduce overall volatility in the portfolio. In addition, these securities tend to outperform when considered on a long-term investment horizon and are less susceptible to trending markets. As such, these provide safety and could be the perfect choice for investors concerned about oil price volatility and its negative impact on the sector. In terms of performance, NANR has gained 15.6% year to date, easily outpacing the ultra-poplar Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA: XLE ) and the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA: XLB ) . Investors should note that both these funds have plenty of holdings similar to NANR. Despite this, XLE and XLB are up just 3.4% and 2.3%, respectively. Link to the original article on Zacks.com