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Investing December 31, 2001
Small Caps Loom Large in 2001
December 31, 2001 (PlANSPONSOR.com) - It's been a
bad year for US mutual funds - in fact, US diversified stock
funds are down 10.6% through last Thursday - the worst since
1974's 24.9% slide, according to Lipper.
Reported by Nevin E. Adams
On the other hand, they are up 15.2% in the fourth quarter, the best fourth quarter performance since 1999’s 20.3% surge, and quite a turnaround from the 17.8% loss suffered by diversified funds the prior quarter.
Still, more than three-quarters (77%) of the 2,202 US stock funds tracked by Lipper are set to post declines in 2001, according to Reuters.
There were some bright spots this year: small-cap value funds continued to shine, with the average such fund gaining 16.7% so far, according to Lipper. Small-cap core funds were 8% higher, on average, while mid-cap value funds rose 10.7%.
Alternative Investments
The uncertain economic times boosted gold funds (up 18.3% on average) and real estate funds (8.5% higher on average).
Also benefiting from the stock market tumult were bond funds. The average taxable bond fund has risen 5.5% in 2001, according to Lipper.
Tech Tripped
Science and technology funds have lost 37.1% this year- and have now wiped out the gains from their 1999 run. But in 2001 telecom firms fared even worse, slumping 39.2% so far.
Multi-cap growth funds fell 25.7%, and large-cap growth funds have lost 22.4% this year, according to the report.
Emerging markets funds fared best among international offerings but are still 4.6% lower in 2001.
Last year, diversified stock funds slipped an average 1.67%, compared with a 28.3% surge in 1999, according to Lipper.
Tops and Bottoms
The fund tracker says the top performing fund for the year so far is the Pilgrim Russia fund, with a 77.6% return. Bringing up the rear was the 55% loss of the Ameritor Investment fund.
As for the nation’s two largest funds, Fidelity Magellan is down 11% in 2001, while Vanguard’s 500 Index offering is 11.3% lower, according to Lipper.