Collapse of Oil Stocks 2014

We recently saw the collapse of oil stocks in 2014. Will these oil stocks finally bottom or not? This article will check into the worst performer stocks for the past 1 week.

Worst Industry Stocks

The following is the worst industry stocks:

1. Independent Oil & Gas -11.93%
2. Oil & Gas Equipment & Services -11.30%
3. Silver -8.61%
4. Oil & Gas Drilling & Exploration -8.08%
5. Basic Materials Wholesale -7.58%
6. General Contractors -7.39%
7. Gold -6.73%
8. Major Integrated Oil & Gas -6.24%
9. Shipping -5.84%
10. Oil & Gas Pipelines -4.54%
11. Technical Services -4.47%
12. Heavy Construction -4.40%
13. Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing -3.91%
14. Industrial Metals & Minerals -3.67%
15. Regional - Southwest Banks -3.52%
16. Copper -3.32%
17. Paper & Paper Products -3.27%
18. Specialty Chemicals -3.17%
19. Office Supplies -3.15%
20. Railroads -3.01%

Oil Sector Stocks

Worst performing independent oil & gas stocks are:

1. Quicksilver Resources Inc. (KWK) -51.45%
2. Forest Oil Corporation (FST) -47.22%
3. Energy XXI Ltd. (EXXI) -44.54%
4. Goodrich Petroleum Corp. (GDP) -41.21%
5. Penn Virginia Corporation (PVA) -37.74%

Top Core Funds Closed End Funds 2014

Core funds or large blend funds are investing mainly in large companies stocks. These funds may provide instant diversification for investors. Some of these core funds may provide income for investors. The funds objective is to provide total return including capital growth & income.

Large Blend Funds

Closed end funds (CEFs) are popular among retiree or value investors. Investors may get better income and return from these funds due to its unique features. The closed end funds are traded like stocks or exchange traded funds (ETFs).

These best performing core funds closed end funds are sorted based on its 1 year total return up to November 23, 3014. You may find other fund review information: expense ratio, fund’s NAV, management, objective, yield, top holdings, etc.

Top core funds closed end funds 2014 are:

1. Guggenheim Equal Weight Enhanced Equity Income Fund (GEQ)
2. Adams Express Company (ADX)
3. Denali Fund (DNY)
4. Cohen & Steers Closed-End Opportunity Fund (FOF)
5. Tri-Continental Corp (TY)
6. Zweig Fund (ZF)
7. Boulder Total Return Fund (BTF)

ClearBridge Energy MLP Fund (CEM)

ClearBridge Energy MLP (CEM) is another popular closed end fund. This CEF invests mainly in companies of Master Limited Partnerships issued in the energy sector. This equity fund objective is to provide high level of total return. It also has a high yield for income.

CEM Fund Details

• Fund Inception Date: 06/25/2010
• Ticker Symbol: CEM
• CUSIP: 184692101
• Rank in category (YTD): 77%
• Category: US Equity-MLP
• Distribution: 5.90%
• Effective Leverage: 20.29%
• Capital Gains: -
• Base Expense Ratio: 1.42%
• Net Assets: $ 2.75 billion
• Annual Turnover Rate: 21%
• Exchange: NYSE

This MLP closed end fund is managed Michael Clarfeld , Chris Eades , Richard Freeman, and Peter Vanderlee. It has a high dividend yield of 5.90%. The total expense fee is 2.20% per year. This leveraged fund was introduced to investors in June 2010.

Value Stocks Strike Back

Near year end might put some value stocks in play for big gain in 2015. Which stocks will perform better during year 2015? Top sectors of week 47 are utilities, banks, oil & gas refining & marketing, etc.

Top Dividend Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 1.21%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 0.51%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 1.06%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of -0.10%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 47, 2014 (November 17, 2014 – November 23, 2014) are:

1. Foreign Utilities 10.24%
2. Drug Delivery 8.26%
3. Synthetics 6.93%
4. Foreign Regional Banks 6.76%
5. Hospitals 6.75%
6. Appliances 5.93%
7. Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing 5.60%
8. Oil & Gas Drilling & Exploration 5.59%
9. Long-Term Care Facilities 5.16%
10. Silver 4.75%
11. Semiconductor- Memory Chips 4.67%
12. Meat Products 4.57%

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO)

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) is an international stock exchange traded fund. This index ETF uses its assets to purchase stocks of companies located in emerging markets around the world, such as China, Brazil, Taiwan, and South Africa. This equity fund is tracking the return of the FTSE Emerging Index.

This equity fund has high potential for growth, but also high risk; share value may swing up and down more than that of stock funds that invest in developed countries, including the United States. This Vanguard fund is previously known as Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF.

VWO Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 03/04/2005
• Ticker Symbol: VWO
• CUSIP: 922042858
• Rank in category (YTD): 20%
• Category: Diversified Emerging Markets
• Yield: 2.27%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.14%

Best Performing Retirement Income Mutual Funds 2014

Retirement Income mutual funds are popular among retiree or conservative investors. These funds provide income and growth opportunity.

These retirement income funds provide a mix of stocks, bonds and cash for those investors already in or entering retirement. These mutual funds tend to be more conservative than other target date mutual funds or other asset allocation strategy. These portfolios aim to provide investors with steady income throughout retirement.

Popular Mutual Funds

These retirement income funds are sorted based on its year to date performance. These bond funds may be ranked as the best funds in corporate bond category. I have provided the fund review information such as yield, management, objective, expense ratio fee, holdings, top sectors, etc.

Best performing retirement income mutual funds 2014 are:

1. Vanguard Managed Payout Fund (VPGDX)
2. Pimco Real Retirement Income And Distribution Fund (PTNAX)
3. Putnam Retirement Income Lifestyle Fund (PISFX)
4. American Century One Choice In Retirement Fund (ARTOX)
5. Voya Solution Income Fund (ISWAX)
6. Schwab Monthly Income Fund Moderate Payout Fund (SWJRX)

Vanguard Value Index Fund (VIVAX)

Vanguard Value Index Fund (VIVAX) is an index mutual fund with low cost expense fee. This Vanguard fund objective is to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of large-capitalization value stocks.

This mutual fund invests mainly in value stocks of large U.S. companies. These stocks may be temporarily undervalued by investors. This stock fund may provide higher dividend yield of income for investors.

VIVAX Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 11/02/1992
• Ticker Symbol: VIVAX
• CUSIP: 922908405
• Beta (3yr): 0.96
• Rank in category (YTD): 16%
• Category: Large Value
• Distribution Yield: 2.14%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.24%
• Net Assets: $ 33.49 billion
• Number of Years Up: 17 years
• Number of Years Down: 4 years

Sector Rotation to Technology Stocks

Winter is almost here. Should you rotate your portfolio to technology stocks? Let check the top performing stocks for week 46, 2014.

Best Performing Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 0.44%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 1.21%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 0.44%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 0.08%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 46, 2014 (November 10, 2014 – November 16, 2014) are:

1. Dairy Products 10.35%
2. Basic Materials Wholesale 8.81%
3. Catalog & Mail Order Houses 7.65%
4. Internet Service Providers 7.30%
5. Gaming Activities 7.22%
6. Silver 5.67%
7. Newspapers Publishing 5.66%
8. Drug Delivery 5.55%
9. Resorts & Casinos 4.90%
10. Toy & Hobby Stores 4.67%
11. Electronic Equipment 4.59%
12. Movie Production, Theaters 4.47%
13. Nonmetallic Mineral Mining 4.40%
14. Sporting Goods Stores 4.19%

Top Performing Large Blend ETFs 2014

Large blend ETFs invests mainly in companies with market values greater than $10 billion. These exchange traded funds invest in a combination of growth and value-oriented stocks. They may provide some yield for income.

Best Large Cap Funds

These top performers are sorted based on its 1 year total return performance (up to November 3, 2014). You can find this best ETF funds review from this article. Other fund information can be found below such as expense ratio, Morningstar rating, fund’s NAV, holdings, yield, etc.

Top performing large blend ETFs 2014 are:

1. ProShares Large Cap Core Plus ETF
2. iShares Morningstar Large-Cap ETF
3. iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility ETF
4. iShares MSCI USA Size Factor ETF
5. PowerShares S&P 500 High Quality ETF
6. ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF
7. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF
8. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Fund (TYG)

Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Fund (TYG) is an actively managed closed end fund. This CEF utilizes its assets to purchase equity securities of publicly-traded Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) and their affiliates in the energy infrastructure sector.

As of June 2014, Tortoise Energy Capital Corp. (TYY) and Tortoise North American Energy Corp. (TYN) were merged into TYG. TYY and TYN stockholders became stockholders of TYG, and TYY and TYN ceased their separate existence.

TYG Fund Details

• Fund Inception Date: 02/27/2004
• Ticker Symbol: TYG
• CUSIP: 89147L100
• Rank in category (YTD): 100%
• Category: US Equity-MLP
• Yield: 5.12%
• Effective Leverage: 29.29%
• Capital Gains: -
• Base Expense Ratio: 1.74%
• Net Assets: $ 4.50 billion
• Annual Turnover Rate: 13%

This MLP fund is managed by Kevin H. Birzer, Zachary A. Hamel, Kenneth P. Malvey, Terry Matlack, and David J. Schulte. It has a high dividend yield of 5.12%.

Another Leg Higher for Gold Stocks?

Is this another leg higher for gold stocks? Let check the top performing stocks for week 45, 2014.

Potential Runner Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 0.77%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 0.04%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 1.17%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 0.01%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 45, 2014 (November 3, 2014 – November 9, 2014) are:

1. Specialty Retail, Other 10.29%
2. Silver 8.36%
3. Gold 6.44%
4. Regional Airlines 6.24%
5. Major Airlines 5.28%
6. Confectioners 5.21%
7. Toy & Hobby Stores 4.90%
8. Grocery Stores 4.76%
9. Auto Parts Wholesale 4.76%
10. Gaming Activities 4.62%
11. General Building Materials 4.55%
12. Drug Stores 3.89%
13. Business Software & Services 3.87%
14. Synthetics 3.72%
15. Department Stores 3.63%

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI)

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) is another popular index exchange traded fund. It invests mainly in stocks of U.S. companies. It also has a low cost.

This VTI fund objective is to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of the overall stock market. The index benchmark is the CRSP U.S. Total Market Index, which represents approximately 100% of the investable U.S. stock market and includes large-, mid-, small-, and micro-cap stocks regularly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

VTI Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 05/24/2001
• Ticker Symbol: VTI
• CUSIP: 922908769
• Rank in category (YTD): 67%
• Category: Large Blend
• Yield: 1.87%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.04%
• Total Assets: $ 78.49 billion
• Annual Turnover Rate: 4%

Updated May 2017

This U.S. stock fund has a decent yield of 1.78%. The expense fee is very low, only 0.05%. The current share price is $97.12.

Best Performing Convertible Closed End Funds 2014

Convertible closed end funds invest mainly in convertible bonds and convertible preferred stocks. Convertible bond portfolios are designed to offer some of the capital-appreciation potential of stock portfolios while also supplying some of the safety and yield of bond portfolios. These securities thus act a bit like stocks and a bit like bonds.

Top Convertibles Funds

These top performing closed end funds are selected based on its year-to-date performance in 2014. Most of these convertible bond mutual funds are also rated among the best in their category. I have also provided some details about its management, performance, expense ratio, initial investment requirement, risk, top holdings, etc.

Best performing convertible closed end funds 2014 are:

1. Calamos Convertible & High Income Fund (CHY)
2. AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund II (NCZ)
3. Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund (CHI)
4. AllianzGI Equity & Convertible Income Fund (NIE)
5. AllianzGI Conv & Income (NCV)
6. Bancroft Fund Ltd (BCV)
7. Ellsworth Fund Ltd (ECF)
8. Putnam High Income Securities Fund (PCF)
9. Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund (GCV)
10. Advent Claymore Convertible Securities and Income Fund (AVK)

MFS Value Fund (MEIAX)

MFS Value Fund (MEIAX) is a popular stock mutual fund. Its fund objective is to provide capital growth. It invests mainly in common stocks, preferred stocks, securities convertible into stocks, equity interests in real estate investment trusts (REITs), and depositary receipts for such securities.

This mutual fund focuses on the undervalued stocks. It invests in companies with low price-to-earnings ratios or high dividend yields.

MEIAX Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 11/02/1992
• Ticker Symbol: MEIAX
• CUSIP: 552983801
• Beta (3yr): 1.07
• Rank in category (YTD): 87%
• Category: Large Value
• Distribution Yield: 2.00%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.92%
• Net Assets: $ 33.9 billion
• Number of Years Up: 13 years
• Number of Years Down: 4 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 12%

This MFS fund is managed by Steven R. Gorham and Nevin P. Chitkara. Its expense fee is 0.92% per year. The current dividend yield is 2.00%.

Final Push or New Bull Market for Stocks

Is this the final push or new bull market for stocks? Let check the top performing stocks for week 44, 2014.

Weekend Top Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 2.74%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 3.28%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 3.48%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 4.90%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 44, 2014 (October 27, 2014 – November 2, 2014) are:

1. Office Supplies 11.10%
2. Printed Circuit Boards 10.16%
3. Toy & Hobby Stores 9.43%
4. Credit Services 8.49%
5. Rubber & Plastics 8.46%
6. Appliances 8.12%
7. Photographic Equipment & Supplies 7.27%
8. Semiconductor- Memory Chips 7.06%
9. Management Services 7.00%
10. Meat Products 6.75%