Best Airlines, Semiconductor Stocks in 2014

Find top performing industry stocks in 2014. Top sectors are airlines, semiconductor, aluminum, hospitals, drugs, REIT, etc.

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector in 2014. In 2014, the S&P 500 index has YTD return of 15.74%. NASDAQ Composite has a year-to-date return of 15.09%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a YTD return of 11.47%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a YTD return of 5.75%.

YTD top performing industry stocks in 2014 are:

1. Photographic Equipment & Supplies 95.89% (YTD Return %)
2. Major Airlines 73.47%
3. Semiconductor- Memory Chips 61.58%
4. Diversified Computer Systems 45.60%
5. Aluminum 45.39%
6. Regional Airlines 44.69%
7. Hospitals 44.63%
8. Semiconductor - Broad Line 43.89%
9. Internet Service Providers 43.67%
10. Electronic Equipment 39.91%
11. Auto Parts Stores 39.32%
12. Drug Manufacturers - Other 38.60%
13. Drugs - Generic 38.45%
14. REIT – Residential 36.99%
15. Home Health Care 35.64%

Top Performing Small Value ETFs 2014

Small value ETFs are investing in undervalue U.S. companies stocks with small market capitalization. Most of the time, the stock price is trading lower than its book value. These exchange traded funds may provide high dividend yield for income.

Best Stock Exchange Traded Funds

These top small value funds are selected based on its YTD performance in 2014. Unlike mutual fund, these exchange traded funds don’t have a sales load or a transaction fee. You can find the fund review and other fund information below such as the yield, expense ratio, fund manager, top holdings, top sectors, etc.

YTD top performing small value ETFs 2014 are:

1. PowerShares S&P SmallCap Low Volatility ETF (XSLV) 10.9%
2. Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR) 10.85%
3. iShares Morningstar Small-Cap Value ETF (JKL) 10.13%
4. Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Value ETF (RFV) 8.48%
5. WisdomTree SmallCap Dividend ETF (DES) 7.39%
6. iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (IJS) 7.38%
7. Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (VIOV) 7.26%
8. First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX ETF (FNK) 6.2%

Auto Dealerships & Casino Stocks Strike Back

The auto dealership & casino stocks strike back. Top performing sector stocks of weeks 52, 2014 are auto dealerships, resorts & casinos, internet service providers, etc.

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 0.90%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 0.87%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 1.40%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 1.64%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 52, 2014 (December 22, 2014 – December 28, 2014) are:

1. Photographic Equipment & Supplies 21.05%
2. Synthetics 10.31%
3. Auto Dealerships 5.34%
4. Resorts & Casinos 5.20%
5. Internet Service Providers 5.00%
6. Surety & Title Insurance 4.71%
7. Long Distance Carriers 4.69%
8. Rental & Leasing Services 4.59%
9. Oil & Gas Drilling & Exploration 4.49%
10. Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing 4.23%

Nuveen Municipal Value Fund (NUV)

Nuveen Municipal Value Fund (NUV) is one of the popular municipal closed end funds. This bond fund seeks to provide current income exempt from federal income taxes and its secondary objective is the enhancement of portfolio value. It uses its assets to purchase selection of tax-exempt bonds and municipal market sectors.

NUV Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 06/17/1987
• Ticker Symbol: NUV
• CUSIP: 670928100
• Rank in category (YTD): 96%
• Category: Municipal Bond
• Distribution Rate: 4.34%
• Effective Leverage: 0%
• Capital Gains: -
• Base Expense Ratio: 0.53%
• Net Assets: $ 2.09 billion
• Annual Turnover Rate: 51%

Nuveen Municipal Value Fund Info

The fund manager is Thomas C. Spalding Jr since 1987. With assets of $2.09 billion, it has total expense fee of 0.54%. The fund sponsor is Nuveen Fund Advisors. This tax free fund has a high yield of 4.34%.

Top Vanguard Mutual Funds 2015

Vanguard is one of the largest mutual fund companies. Vanguard is known as the leader in low cost index fund including mutual funds, and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Vanguard provides variety of selection for investor in 401k account.

We review rankings from Morningstar, Lipper, Zacks, TheStreet.com, U.S. News, and Standard & Poor’s. You can learn from our methodology from variety of our previous articles.

Best Vanguard Funds

You can find these best Vanguard funds for different sectors such as U.S. stock fund, international stock fund, municipal bond fund, balanced fund, target date fund, taxable bond fund. Depend on your risk tolerance, you may pick and choose from this top funds list.

Top Vanguard Mutual Funds for 2015 are:

1. Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX)
2. Vanguard Balanced Index Fund (VBINX)
3. Vanguard CA Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund (VCAIX)
4. Vanguard Capital Opportunity Fund (VHCOX)
5. Vanguard Convertible Securities Fund (VCVSX)
6. Vanguard Energy Fund (VGENX)
7. Vanguard Equity-Income Fund (VEIPX)
8. Vanguard Explorer Fund (VEXPX)
9. Vanguard Explorer Value Fund (VEVFX)
10. Vanguard Global Equity Fund (VHGEX)

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM)

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) is a popular exchange traded fund. This equity fund invests most of its assets in emerging markets, especially in stocks of large and mid-sized companies.

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF objective is to provide long term growth. Emerging markets countries may include China, Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, India, South Africa, Indonesia, Russia, etc.

EEM Fund Details

• Fund Inception Date: 04/07/2003
• Ticker Symbol: EEM
• CUSIP: 464287234
• Rank in category (YTD): 57%
• Category: Diversified Emerging Markets
• Yield: 1.66%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.72%
• Total Assets: $ 31.41 billion
• Annual Turnover Rate: 22%

Updated May 2017

This equity ETF provide convenient access to 800+ emerging market stocks. The expense fee is 0.67%. The current share value is $41.76. The dividend yield is 1.67%.

Higher Oil Stocks for Christmas Party?

Most stocks are going up for this past week. Is this a holiday lift up especially for Christmas? Top stocks are oil & gas, materials, shipping, etc.

Best Weekly Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 3.44%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 2.40%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 3.04%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 3.80%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 51, 2014 (December 15, 2014 – December 21, 2014) are:

1. Independent Oil & Gas 12.69%
2. Major Integrated Oil & Gas 9.17%
3. Oil & Gas Equipment & Services 9.07%
4. Drug Related Products 8.93%
5. Oil & Gas Drilling & Exploration 8.13%
6. Application Software 7.86%
7. Aluminum 7.51%
8. Marketing Services 7.10%
9. Cement 7.06%
10. Industrial Metals & Minerals 6.78%

Best ETFs Families 2015

Finding best ETFs for 2015 is essential. The following will look into variety of best exchange traded funds by fund family such as Vanguard, SPDR, BlackRock iShares, Invesco Powershares, Fidelity, and more.

Popular Mutual Funds Family

We review rankings from Morningstar, Lipper, Zacks, TheStreet.com, U.S. News, and Standard & Poor’s. You can learn from our methodology from variety of our previous articles. You can also find the 1 year average returns of these best mutual funds from this list.

Vanguard ETFs

Vanguard is one of the world largest mutual fund and exchange traded fund companies. Known as the leader in low cost index fund including mutual funds, and exchange traded funds; Vanguard provides variety of selection for investor in 401k account.

Best Vanguard ETFs for 2015 are:

• Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) 10.55%
• Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) 15.94%
• Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE) -0.97%
• Vanguard Extended Market ETF (VXF) 11.15%
• Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) 19.26%
• Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) 17.37%
• Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) 5.67%
• Vanguard Large-Cap ETF (VV) 17.23%
• Vanguard Long-Term Government Bond ETF (VGLT) 17.69%
• Vanguard Materials ETF (VAW) 13.82%
• Vanguard Mega Cap ETF (MGC) 17.23%
• Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) 19.45%
• Vanguard Mega Cap Value ETF (MGV) 15.46%

PIMCO All Asset All Authority Fund (PAUAX)

PIMCO All Asset All Authority Fund (PAUAX) is a popular fund of funds. This mutual fund utilizes its assets to purchase Institutional Class or Class M shares of any funds of the Trust or PIMCO Equity Series or PIMCO ETF Trust. This mutual fund also has a high yield.

PAUAX Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 07/29/2005
• Ticker Symbol: PAUAX
• CUSIP: 72200Q232
• Beta (3yr): 0.93
• Rank in category (YTD): 82%
• Category: Tactical Allocation
• Distribution Yield: 5.05%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 1.68%
• Net Assets: $ 24.7 billion
• Number of Years Up: 6 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 65%

PIMCO All Asset All Authority Fund Info

The current fund manager is Robert D. Arnott since 2003. This popular tactical allocation fund has large total net assets of $24.7 billion. It also has annual expense ratio of 1.68. It has a high dividend yield of 5.05%.

Defensive Stocks Now! REIT and Healthcare

Defensive stocks are still holding for now. Will they be the leader stocks now? Top stocks are drug stores, dairy products, REIT, etc.

Best Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of -3.47%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of -4.28%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of -3.69%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of -2.50%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 50, 2014 (December 8, 2014 – December 14, 2014) are:

1. Drug Stores 7.43%
2. Dairy Products 3.48%
3. REIT - Healthcare Facilities 2.70%
4. Auto Parts Stores 2.69%
5. Building Materials Wholesale 2.30%
6. Home Furnishing Stores 1.26%
7. Marketing Services 0.92%
8. REIT – Residential 0.34%
9. Home Health Care 0.29%
10. Tobacco Products, Other 0.27%

Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund (UTF)

Cohen & Steers Infrastructure (UTF) is a popular stock closed end fund with $3.1 billion of assets. It invests in stocks of Infrastructure companies. The fund objective is to provide high total return with an emphasis of income.

UTF Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 03/30/2004
• Ticker Symbol: UTF
• CUSIP: 19248A109
• Rank in category (YTD): 42%
• Category: Utilities
• Distribution Rate: 6.23%
• Effective Leverage: 26.38%
• Capital Gains: -
• Base Expense Ratio: 1.41%
• Net Assets: $ 3.13 billion
• Annual Turnover Rate: 58%

With a high dividend yield of 6.23%, this equity fund is managed by Robert Becker and William F. Scapell. Its net asset value (NAV) price is $26.61 per share.

Best Mutual Funds Families 2015 List

Finding best mutual funds for 2015 is essential. The following will look into variety of best mutual funds by fund family such as Vanguard, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, American, DoubleLine, PIMCO, and more.

Popular Mutual Funds Family

We review rankings from Morningstar, Lipper, Zacks, TheStreet.com, U.S. News, and Standard & Poor’s. You can learn from our methodology from variety of our previous articles. You can also find the 3 years average returns of these best mutual funds from this list. Will you invests in these funds for 2016?

Vanguard Mutual Funds

Vanguard is one of the world largest mutual fund companies. Known as the leader in low cost index fund including mutual funds, and exchange traded funds; Vanguard provides variety of selection for investor in 401k account.

Top Vanguard Mutual Funds for 2015 are:

1. Vanguard Equity-Income Fund (VEIPX) 18.88%
2. Vanguard Strategic Small-Cap Equity Fund (VSTCX) 20.94%
3. Vanguard Capital Opportunity Fund (VHCOX) 24.09%
4. Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund (VWINX) 9.40%
5. Vanguard GNMA Fund (VFIIX) 2.30%
6. Vanguard Wellington Fund (VWELX) 13.75%
7. Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund (VWAHX) 6.22%
8. Vanguard Managed Payout Fund (VPGDX) 10.56%
9. Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund (VPMCX) 22.55%
10. Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund (VMVIX) 21.14%

Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ)

Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ) is a popular index exchange traded fund. This ETF objective is to provide a high level of income and moderate long-term capital appreciation by tracking the performance of a benchmark index, the MSCI U.S. REIT Index. This top ETF invests mainly in publicly traded equity REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts).

VNQ Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 09/23/2004
• Ticker Symbol: VNQ
• CUSIP: 922908553
• Rank in category (YTD): 36%
• Category: Real Estate
• Yield: 4.41%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.12%
• Total Assets: $ 33.81 billion
• Annual Turnover Rate: 11%

This exchange traded fund has total assets of $25.97 billion. The current dividend yield is 3.19%. With low expense fee of 0.10%, the current share price is $78.93. This large blend fund price has 52 week range between $63.96 and $80.18.

More: Best Real Estate ETFs 2014

End of the Year Push for Stocks

Will good employment report continue the end of the year push for stocks? Which sectors will be the winner in 2014 and possibly in 2015? Some of the top performing industries are office supplies, silver, hospitals, national investment brokerage, etc.

Top 2014 Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 0.42%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of -0.23%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 0.78%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 0.81%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 49, 2014 (December 1, 2014 – December 7, 2014) are:

1. Office Supplies 5.85%
2. Silver 5.53%
3. Hospitals 5.25%
4. Internet Service Providers 4.94%
5. National Investment Brokerage 4.64%
6. Trucks & Other Vehicles 4.59%
7. Synthetics 4.50%
8. Newspapers Publishing 3.45%
9. Gaming Activities 3.10%
10. Auto Dealerships 3.08%
11. Auto Parts Stores 2.84%

Top Mid Cap Growth ETFs 2014

Mid cap growth ETFs invest most of assets in stocks of U.S. medium sized companies with high potential growth. These ETFs may provide little to no dividend income for investors. ETFs are traded like stocks and can provide better tax strategies for investors.

Mid Growth Funds

These top performers are sorted based on its 1 year total return performance (up to November 27, 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 mid cap growth ETFs 2014 are:

1. Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT)
2. PowerShares DWA Momentum ETF (PDP)
3. iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth (IWP)
4. iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth (JKH)
5. RevenueShares NavellierOverall A-100 ETF (RWV)
6. PowerShares Fundamental Pure Mid Growth ETF (PXMG)
7. iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth (IJK)
8. Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IVOG)
9. First Trust Multi Cap Gr AlphaDEX ETF (FAD)
10. SPDR® S&P 400 Mid Cap Growth ETF (MDYG)

Fidelity Advisor New Insights Fund (FNIAX)

Fidelity Advisor New Insights Fund (FNIAX) is a large growth mutual fund. The fund objective is to provide capital appreciation. This equity fund may invest in stocks of companies whose value the adviser believes is not fully recognized by the public.

FNIAX Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 07/31/2003
• Ticker Symbol: FNIAX
• CUSIP: 316071208
• Beta (3yr): 0.96
• Rank in category (YTD): 55%
• Category: Large Growth
• Distribution Yield: 0%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.94%
• Net Assets: $ 27.9 billion
• Number of Years Up: 8 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 year
• Annual Turnover Rate: 79%

Fidelity Advisor New Insights Fund Performance

This large growth fund has no dividend yield. The fund managers are William Danoff and John D. Roth. The current total assets are $27.9 billion. The expense ratio fee is 0.94%. This class A fund has a sales load of 5.75%. The current share price is $28.31.

The Rise of Anti-Oil Stocks 2014

We have seen the rise of anti-oil stocks during this week of 48, 2014. Will these stocks maintain its performance for near future or not? Some of the top performing industries are major airlines, memory chips semiconductor, etc.

Top Anti-Oil Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 0.24%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 1.67%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 0.17%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 0.11%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 48, 2014 (November 24, 2014 – November 30, 2014) are:

1. Major Airlines 8.93%
2. Photographic Equipment & Supplies 8.64%
3. Memory Chips Semiconductor 8.10%
4. General Entertainment 5.50%
5. Regional Airlines 5.49%
6. Diversified Computer Systems 5.30%
7. Jewelry Stores 5.16%
8. Technical & System Software 4.71%
9. Life Insurance 4.60%
10. Diversified Entertainment 4.40%
11. CATV Systems 4.31%
12. Sporting Goods Stores 4.22%
13. Periodicals Publishing 4.09%
14. Trucking 4.02%
15. Broad Line Semiconductor 3.78%