Best Performing High Yield Municipal Bond Mutual Funds 2012

The best performing high yield municipal bond mutual funds up to September 23, 2012 are Nuveen High Yield Municipal Bond fund, Pioneer High Income Municipal, etc.

Best Performing High Yield Muni Mutual Funds 2012

High yield muni mutual funds invest most of its assets in lower rated municipal bonds. These bond funds provide tax free high yield income for investors. They usually provide the distribution yield regularly (i.e. monthly or quarterly). They have higher risk than investment grade municipal bond funds.

From this best performing funds list, you may find each individual fund review. You can find the fund performance, expense ratio, and yield or dividend from the table below. The list is sorted based on its year to date performance in 2012 (up to September 23, 2012).

The 10 top performer high yield municipal bond mutual funds 2012 are:

1. Nuveen High Yield Municipal Bond Fund (NHMAX)
2. Pioneer High Income Municipal Fund (PIMAX)
3. Oppenheimer AMT-Free Municipals Fund (OPTAX)
4. Lord Abbett High Yield Municipal Bond Fund (HYMAX)
5. MainStay High Yield Municipal Bond Fund (MMHVX)

Permanent Portfolio Fund (PRPFX)

Permanent Portfolio Fund is a conservative allocation balanced mutual fund. It focuses its investment on stocks and bonds. The fund review can be found in this post.

Permanent Portfolio (Ticker: PRPFX)

The Permanent Portfolio fund objective is to preserve and increase the buying power value of its shares over the long term. The fund uses its assets to buy investment categories: gold, silver, Swiss franc assets, stocks of U.S. and foreign real estate and natural resource companies, aggressive growth stocks and dollar assets such as U.S. Treasury securities and short-term corporate bonds.

Fund Details

• Fund Inception Date: Nov 30, 1982
• Ticker Symbol: PRPFX
• CUSIP: 714199106
• Beta (3yr): 0.86
• Rank in category (YTD): 53%
• Category: Conservative Allocation
• Distribution: 0.86%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 0.71%
• Net Assets: $ 18.05 billion
• Number of Years Up: 25 years
• Number of Years Down: 4 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 8.87%

Updated on 9/28/2012

Best China Region Stock Mutual Funds 2012

The 6 best china region stock mutual funds 2012 are Matthews China Fund, Templeton China World A, etc. This is part of international stock fund.

Best Chinese Stock Mutual Funds 2012

The China region mutual fund is part of international stock mutual fund. This China region stock fund invests primarily in stocks from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. This China region fund is one of the world fastest-growing regions for the past decade.

These top China region mutual funds are selected based on its expense ratio fee, turnover rate, management, fund performance, etc. You can find the fund review and fund performance or return below.

The 6 best china region stock mutual funds 2012 are:

1. Matthews China Fund (MCHFX)
2. Templeton China World Fund (TCWAX)
3. Fidelity China Region Fund (FHKCX)
4. Aberdeen China Opportunities Fund (GOPAX)
5. Invesco China Fund (AACFX)
6. Guinness Atkinson China & Hong Kong Fund (ICHKX)

Updated on 09/26/2012

Best Latin America Stock Mutual Funds 2012

The 5 best Latin America Stock Mutual Funds 2012 are BlackRock Latin America fund, Fidelity Latin America fund, etc. Find top performer equity funds.

Top Latin America Equity Mutual Funds

Latin America stock mutual funds invest mainly in equities from Latin America. These funds invest in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Columbia, Paraguay, Bolivia, etc. Some of the funds are also investing in debt obligations or bonds.

This Latin America mutual fund is part of international stock mutual fund. The risks are higher for investment. If you seek to achieve long term growth, these funds are suitable for you.

Best Latin America Stock Mutual Funds 2012 are:

1. Fidelity Latin America Fund (FLATX)
2. JPMorgan Latin America Fund (JLTAX)
3. T. Rowe Price Latin America Fund (PRLAX)
4. BlackRock Latin America Fund (MDLTX)
5. DWS Latin America Equity Fund (SLANX)

Updated on 9/4/2012

Franklin High Yield Tax-Free Income Fund (FRHIX) Class A

This Franklin High Yield Tax-Free Income fund is part of high yield municipal bond mutual fund. It invests in non-investment grade muni bonds and its income is exempted from federal tax rate.

Franklin High Yield Tax-Free Income A (FRHIX)

The investment objective of Franklin High Yield Tax-Free Income fund is to provide investors with a high current yield exempt from federal income taxes and capital appreciation. This mutual fund normally focuses its investment in securities whose interest is free from federal income taxes and alternative minimum tax (AMT). The fund may invest in municipal bond rated in any rating category.

Franklin High Yield Tax Free Income

Fund Details

• Fund Inception Date: March 18, 1986
• Ticker Symbol: FRHIX
• CUSIP: 354723702
• Beta (3yr): 1.37
• Rank in category (YTD): 81%
• Category: High Yield Muni
• Yield: 4.93%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 0.63%
• Net Assets: $ 8.61 billion
• Number of Years Up: 21 years

Best Performing Conservative Allocation Mutual Funds 2012

The 10 best performing conservative allocation mutual funds 2012 are API Efficient Frontier Income Fund, JPMorgan Income Builder, Franklin Income, etc.

Top Performer Balanced Funds 2012

As part of balanced fund, conservative-allocation mutual fund seeks to provide both capital appreciation and income for investors. It focuses its assets in 3 major areas: stocks, bonds, and cash. This fund has higher fixed income portion in its portfolio (about 50-70%). It also has lower risk than other balanced mutual funds such as aggressive allocation fund, moderate allocation fund, and world allocation fund.

The best performing funds are selected based on its year to date return. Its performance has been stellar for 2012. You can find the fund review, management information, expense fee, sales load, etc. I also provide the table for the fund performance below.

The 10 best performing conservative allocation mutual funds 2012 are:

1. API Efficient Frontier Income Fund
2. JPMorgan Income Builder Fund
3. Thrivent Diversified Income Plus Fund
4. Toews Hedged Growth Allocation Fund
5. Principal Global Global Diversified Income Fund
6. IMS Strategic Income Fund
7. Pioneer Multi Asset Income Fund
8. Kinetics Multi-Disciplinary Advisor Fund
9. Franklin Income Fund
10. Natixis Diversified Income Fund

You can check my previous article about top performer conservative allocation funds 2011.

Best Oppenheimer Mutual Funds 2012

This article will provide the best Oppenheimer Mutual Funds of 2012. Some of the top funds are Oppenheimer Equity Income, Oppenheimer Discovery, Oppenheimer International Bond, etc.

Top 10 Oppenheimer Mutual Funds

Top Oppenheimer Funds

These top mutual funds are selected based on its expense fee, management, turnover rate, long term track record, etc. They may include different type of fund classes such as U.S. domestic stock, international stock, emerging markets stock, equity sector, precious metals, bond fund, etc. You can find the fund review from this post.
The 10 Best Oppenheimer Mutual Funds of 2012 are:

1. Oppenheimer Equity Income A (OAEIX)
2. Oppenheimer Discovery A (OPOCX)
3. Oppenheimer International Diversified A (OIDAX)
4. Oppenheimer Developing Markets A (ODMAX)
5. Oppenheimer Global Strategic Income A (OPSIX)
6. Oppenheimer International Bond A (OIBAX)

25 Best Performing ETFs September 2012 List

This post is about 25 best performing ETFs 2012 list for September. The top funds are iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction, Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF.

Top Performer ETFs 2012

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are traded like stocks on stock exchanges (NYSE and NASDAQ). You can buy ETFs online from different brokerages. Compare to mutual funds or closed end funds (CEFs), the ETFs have lower expense ratio. These investment funds are typically traded slightly at a discount or premium to the Net Asset Value (NAV).

From this best funds list, you may find lots of sector equity funds are the top performers. The top performing sectors include: real estate, emerging markets, commodities, health, etc. You can find the fund performance, expense ratio, and yield or dividend from the table below.

The 25 Best Performing ETFs 2012 until September 9th are:

1. iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction Fund
2. Market Vectors Egypt Index ETF
3. SPDR S&P Homebuilders Fund
4. iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund
5. iPath Dow Jones UBS Grains Total Return Sub-Index ETN

State Farm Tax Advantaged Bond Fund (TANAX) Class A

State Farm Tax Advantaged Bond A (TANAX) fund is a municipal bond mutual fund. It provides tax free income for investors by investing in a diversified portfolio of muni bonds. You can find the fund review below.

State Farm Tax Advantaged Bond A (Ticker: TANAX)

The investment aim of State Farm Tax Advantaged Bond fund is to seek a high income rate exempt from federal income taxes with prudent investment management. The fund utilizes its asset to invest in a diversified selection of municipal bonds. The fund may hold bonds with maturities of 1 to 30 years.

Fund Details

State Farm Tax Advantaged Bond

• Fund Inception Date: April 30, 2006
• Ticker Symbol: TANAX
• CUSIP: 85-6853650
• Beta (3yr): 0.97
• Rank in category (YTD): 96%
• Category: Muni National Long
• Yield: 2.94%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 0.68%
• Net Assets: $ 400.11 million
• Number of Years Up: 5 years
• Number of Years Down: 0 years
• Average Maturity: 11.9 years
• Modified Duration: 5.52 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 10%

Updated on 9/14/2012

6 Best Emerging Markets Bond ETFs 2012

The best emerging markets bond ETFs of 2012 are PowerShares Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt ETF, iShares JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond, etc.

Best Emerging Market Debt ETFs

Investing in emerging markets can be done either through bond or stock. Choosing emerging markets bond provide less risk for investors than emerging markets stock. This EM bond also has higher yield than other taxable bond.

One of investment choice is using exchange traded fund or ETFs. Other alternatives include mutual fund, closed end fund, and individual stock / bond. Currently, there are about 14 ETFs in this emerging markets bond category. The fund sponsors include iShares, State Street, Invesco PowerShares, Guggenheim, Van Eck Global, WisdomTree, etc. The expense ratios are in the range of 0.39% and 0.60%.

Several advantages of emerging markets debt investment:

• This investment funds provide high yield income for investors
• Investors may get emerging markets currencies exposure such as Yuan (China), Singapore Dollar (SGD), Brazillian Reals, Mexican Peso, etc.

25 Best Performing Closed End Funds List September 2012

The 25 best performing CEFs 2012 list. The top funds are Alpine Global Premier Properties Fund, Thai Fund, etc.

Top Performer CEFs 2012

Closed end funds (CEFs) are mutual funds with a fixed amount of shares (or units). They are similar to exchange traded funds (ETFs). They can be bought and sold on stock exchanges (NYSE and NASDAQ). These investment funds can be traded at a discount or premium to the Net Asset Value (NAV).

From this list, you may find lots of sector equity funds are the top performers. The top performing sectors include: real estate, mortgage bond, emerging markets, high yield bond, corporate bond, etc. You can find the fund performance, expense ratio, and yield or dividend from the table.

The 25 best performing CEF 2012 List are:

1. Alpine Global Premier Properties Fund (AWP)
2. Nuveen Mortgage Opportunity Term Fund 2 (JMT)
3. Nuveen Mortgage Opportunity Term Fund (JLS)
4. H&Q Life Sciences Investors Fund (HQL)
5. Thai Fund (TTF)
6. Western Asset Mortgage Defined Opportunity Fund (DMO)
7. Turkish Investment Fund (TKF)
8. First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund (FGB)
9. PIMCO Global Stocksplus & Income Fund (PGP)
10. LMP Real Estate Income Fund (RIT)

Southern Sun Small Cap Fund (SSSFX) Investor Shares

Southern Sun Small Cap fund is a domestic stock mutual fund. This equity fund invests mainly in stocks of U.S. small companies. You can find the fund review.

Southern Sun Small Cap Investor (Ticker: SSSFX)

The investment aim of Southern Sun Small Cap fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation. The fund utilizes the majority of assets to purchase in small cap securities. It uses the Russell 2000 Index as its benchmark in selecting the companies for investment. It may invest in 20-40 companies according to the fund management style.

Fund Details

Southern Sun Small Cap

• Fund Inception Date: 09/30/2003
• Ticker Symbol: SSSFX
• CUSIP: 66537T190
• Beta (3yr): 1.47
• Rank in category (YTD): 30%
• Category: Small Value
• Distribution: 0.00%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.33%
• Net Assets: $ 344.37 million
• Number of Years Up: 7 years
• Number of Years Down: 1 year
• Annual Turnover Rate: 38%

updated on 9/8/2012

Top 6 Preferred Stock or Convertible Bonds Exchange Traded Funds 2012

The top 6 preferred stock or convertible bonds exchange traded funds of 2012 are iShares S&P US Preferred Stock Fund, PowerShares Preferred, SPDR Barclays Capital Convertible Bond ETF, etc.

Best ETFs

Best ETFs

If you are an income-seeking investor, you might want to consider preferred stock / convertible bonds ETFs. These ETFs invests mainly in preferred securities or convertible bonds. The ETFs provide higher yield for investors and lower risk than typical stock funds.

There are currently about 10 ETFs in this preferred stock / convertible bonds category. The fund sponsors include iShares, State Street, Invesco PowerShares, Van Eck Global, Global X etc. The expense ratios are in the range of 0.40% and 0.60%.

These top ETFs are selected based on its expense ratio fee, portfolio turnover rate, management or index approach, performance, etc. You can find the fund review and comparison below.

Wasatch International Opportunities Fund (WAIOX)

Wasatch International Opportunities fund (WAIOX) is an international stock mutual fund. This foreign small / mid growth stock fund invests in non-U.S. companies. The fund review can be found below.

Wasatch International Opportunities (Ticker: WAIOX)

The investment objective of Wasatch International Opportunities fund is to provide long-term growth of capital. This equity fund mainly invests in equity securities of foreign companies with market capitalizations of <$1 billion. It may invest in companies domiciled in emerging markets and in initial public offerings (IPOs). The fund may invest in a few sectors such as industrials, consumer discretionary, information technology, materials, consumer staples, energy, financials and health care.

Fund Details

Wasatch International Opportunities 

• Fund Inception Date: January 26, 2005
• Ticker Symbol: WAIOX
• CUSIP: 936793702
• Beta (3yr): 0.94
• Rank in category (YTD): 2%
• Category: Foreign Small/ Mid Growth
• Distribution: 0.00%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 2.25%
• Net Assets: $192.47 million
• Number of Years Up: 4 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 108%

Updated on 9/4/2012

Best Intermediate Term Bond Exchange Traded Funds 2012

This post provides the 10 best intermediate term bond exchange traded funds of 2012. The top funds are Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF, iShares Barclays Credit Bond, etc.

Top ETFs

Top Taxable Bond ETFs

As part of taxable bond mutual fund, intermediate term bond fund invests mainly in debt obligations or bonds with intermediate term duration (i.e. duration between 5 and 10 years). These funds provide higher yield than short term bond and have higher risks than short term bond as well. There are about 16 ETFs in this intermediate term bond category. The fund sponsors are Vanguard, iShares, State Street, Guggenheim, PIMCO, Columbia, etc. The expense ratios are in the range of 0.10% and 0.35%.

These top intermediate term bond ETFs are selected based on its expense ratio fee, portfolio turnover rate, management or index approach, performance, etc. You can find the fund review and comparison below.