Broad Fund Groups Up in '09

Lipper’s latest performance data, through July 30, shows that the first half of 2009 has been kind to mutual funds. The performance in all major fund categories is in positive territory year to date, with world-equity funds posting total returns of nearly 24 percent and U.S. equity funds returning about 14.5 percent in the first two quarters.

Some of the largest U.S.-based funds had the following positive returns: Pimco Total Return 8 percent, American Funds Growth 19 percent, Fidelity Contrafund 12 percent and the Dodge & Cox Stock Fund 14.4 percent. Some emerging market and leveraged-bullish funds are up between 95 and 175 percent in the first six months of 2009, according to Lipper, such as the Dreyfus Emerging Asia Fund.

In the fixed-income area, several high-yield funds have improved roughly 45 percent. This includes funds sold by Rydex, Eaton Vance and Fidelity. During this same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.3 percent, the Nasdaq 25.8 percent, S&P 500 9.2 percent and the NYSE Composite 1.3 percent.