Top Performing Income & Preferred Stocks Closed End Funds 2015

Income & preferred stocks closed end funds are investing in high dividend stocks & preferred stocks with high yield. Income seeker investors will find these funds attractive.

High Yield Funds

These top closed end funds are selected based on its 1 year performance for the past year. You may find other information such as expense ratio fee, portfolio turnover rate, management or index approach, performance, etc. You can find the fund review and comparison below.

Top performing income & preferred stocks closed end funds 2015 are:

1. Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Fund (PFD)
2. Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred Income Opportunity Fund (PFO)
3. John Hancock Preferred Income 3 (HPS)
4. John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (PDT)
5. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (HPI)
6. Cohen & Steers Select Preferred and Income Fund (PSF)
7. John Hancock Preferred Income 2 (HPF)

Rotation to Consumer Stocks: Food Stocks

Are we seeing a rotation to consumer stocks for the past week? Top performing industries in week 13, 2015 are major diversified food, jewelry stores, long distance carriers, and other drug manufacturers.

Best Food Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of -2.20%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of -2.69%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of -2.29%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of -1.99%.

Top performing stock industries in week 13, 2015 (March 23, 2015 to March 29, 2015) are:

1. Food - Major Diversified 23.46%
2. Jewelry Stores 6.07%
3. Long Distance Carriers 5.64%
4. Photographic Equipment & Supplies 5.59%
5. Synthetics 4.22%
6. Drug Manufacturers – Other 2.78%
7. Office Supplies 2.53%
8. General Contractors 2.49%

Vanguard Global Equity Fund (VHGEX)

Vanguard Global Equity Fund (VHGEX) is an actively managed international stock mutual fund. This mutual fund invests in 800-plus stocks from more than 20 countries around the world. It may invest in US, Europe, emerging markets, pacific, Middle East, etc.

VHGEX Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 08/14/1995
• Ticker Symbol: VHGEX
• CUSIP: 922038203
• Beta (3yr): 0.79
• Rank in category (YTD): 65%
• Category: World Stock
• Distribution Yield: 1.58%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.61%
• Net Assets: $ 4.4 billion
• Number of Years Up: 14 years
• Number of Years Down: 5 year

Bond Investment: Mutual Funds, ETFs, CEFs

Bond investment is popular among any investors. Bond is an instrument of indebtedness of the bond issuer to the bond holders. Typically bond issuer will pay certain yield on certain period for the holders. Bond may be issued by government or corporation. Bond issued by U.S. government is also known as U.S. Treasuries.

Bond features include:

• Principal: Nominal or face amount on which bond issuer pay interest.
• Maturity: The date when the issuer needs to repay the nominal amount is known as maturity.
• Coupon: The coupon is the interest rate that the issuer pays to the holder.
• Yield:  The rate of return received from investing in the bond is known as yield.
• Credit Quality: Credit rating agencies may grade the bond quality issued by government or corporation.
• Market Price: The present value of your bond is also known as market price.

How to Invest in Bond

There are many ways for investors to invest in bond. You can invest in individual bond through your brokerage. Other ways to invest is through bond funds including mutual fund, exchange traded fund, and closed end fund. You can also buy bond funds through your brokerages.

Precious Metals Stocks Fight Back in 2015

Will precious metals stocks find their mojo in 2015 again? Top performing sectors in week 12, 2015 are silver, major airlines, gold.

Top Silver & Gold Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 2.67%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 3.17%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 2.13%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 2.79%.

Top performing stock industries in week 12, 2015 (March 16, 2015 to March 22, 2015) are:

1. Silver 7.45%
2. Major Airlines 7.18%
3. Industrial Metals & Minerals 7.16%
4. Basic Materials Wholesale 7.08%
5. Biotechnology 6.69%
6. REIT – Office 5.91%
7. Gold 5.91%
8. Water Utilities 5.83%
9. REIT - Industrial 5.71%
10. Resorts & Casinos 5.66%

Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU)

Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU) is an international stock exchange traded fund. This index ETF invests in non-US stocks of developed countries.

Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF invests its assets to buy stocks of companies across developed and emerging non-U.S. equity markets around the world. This fund will invest in companies located in Japan, UK, Canada, Germany, and more. This equity fund is tracking the return of the FTSE All-World ex US Index.

VEU Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 03/02/2007
• Ticker Symbol: VEU
• CUSIP: 922042775
• Rank in category (YTD): -
• Category: Foreign Large Blend
• Yield: 2.69%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.11%
• Total Assets: $ 18.29 billion

Best Performing National Intermediate Municipal Bond Mutual Funds 2015

Find best performing national intermediate municipal bond mutual funds 2015. These national intermediate municipal bond mutual funds invest mainly in municipal debts with duration between 5-7 years. The income yield is usually tax free from federal income & possibly state tax or local tax.

The list is compiled based on the fund performance for the past 1 year up to March 8, 2015. You can find other fund information such as review, expense ratio, management, risk, top holdings, fund sector, etc.

Top Muni Bond Funds

Best performing national intermediate municipal bond mutual funds 2015 are:

1. Schroder Broad Tax-Aware Value Bond Fund (STWTX)
2. Eaton Vance Municipal Opportunities A (EMOAX)
3. Transamerica Enhanced Muni A (TAMUX)
4. Performance Trust Municipal Bond Retail (PTRMX)
5. Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund (VWAHX)
6. BNY Mellon Municipal Opportunities Fund (MOTIX)

Top & Worst Performing Stocks in S&P 500 Index

Finding top & worst performing stocks in S&P 500 index is important. While year 2015 just hit month of March, investors can adjust their strategy based on the trend.

S&P Index

The S&P 500 index is common known as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities. There is more than $7 trillion of assets are benchmarked to the index, with index assets comprising approximately USD 1.9 trillion of this total. The index includes 500 leading US companies.

Top performing stocks in S&P 500 index in 2015 based on YTD performance are:

1. Hospira Inc (HSP) 42.96%
2. First Solar, Inc (FSLR) 35.87%
3. Martin Marietta Materials Inc (MLM) 28.91%
4. Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) 28.88%
5. Netflix, Inc (NFLX) 28.33%
6. Urban Outfitters Inc (URBN) 27.61%
7. Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) 25.36%

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Dividend Equity Income Fund (ETY)

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Dividend Equity Income Fund (ETY) is an actively managed closed end fund. The fund’s objective is to provide income exempt from Federal income tax and capital appreciation. This fund invests mainly in dividend paying common stocks and through utilizing an options strategy.

ETY Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 05/30/2003
• Ticker Symbol: ETY
• CUSIP: 27828N102
• Rank in category (2014): 77%
• Category: US Equity - Covered Call
• Yield: 8.80%
• Effective Leverage: -
• Capital Gains: -
• Premium/ Discount: -8.28%
• Base Expense Ratio: 1.08%
• Net Assets: $ 1.87 billion

Will REIT Stocks Soar in 2015?

Will REIT Stocks Soar in 2015? Will REIT stocks be the leader in 2015 again? Top performing sectors in week 11, 2015 are Drug Related Products, Major Airlines, hotel/motel REIT, and retail REIT.

Top Real Estate Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of -0.80. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of -1.13%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of -0.52%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 1.25%.

Top performing stock industries in week 11, 2015 (March 9, 2015 to March 15, 2015) are:

1. Drug Related Products 5.84%
2. Major Airlines 4.24%
3. REIT - Hotel/Motel 3.13%
4. REIT – Retail 3.02%
5. Publishing – Newspapers 2.91%
6. REIT – Residential 2.90%
7. Home Furnishing Stores 2.78%
8. Surety & Title Insurance 2.64%
9. Investment Brokerage – Regional 2.55%
10. Long Distance Carriers 2.54%

Best Performing Health & Biotechnology ETFs 2015

Health & biotechnology sector ETFs utilizes its assets to purchase stocks of companies involved in providing healthcare services and technological development. Typically, this sector is seen as more defensive rather than cyclical.

Top Biotech ETFs

These top performer ETFs are sorted based on its 1 year return performance up to March 1, 2015. You can find the fund review from this article. Other fund information can be found below such as expense ratio, Morningstar rating, fund’s NAV, managers, fund’s holdings, yield, etc.

Best performing health & biotechnology ETFs 2015 are:

1. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech ETF (FBT)
2. SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI)
3. iShares US Healthcare Providers ETF (IHF)
4. SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (XPH)
5. PowerShares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP)
6. SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF (XHS)

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG)

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) is an index exchange traded fund offered by Vanguard Group. Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF invests in US stocks.

Known for its index mutual fund, Vanguard also provides vast selections of index ETFs for investors.

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF seeks to track the performance of the NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index (formerly known as the Dividend Achievers Select Index). It invests in stocks of companies with a record of growing their dividends year over year. The fund is passively managed by manager.

VIG Fund Details

• Fund Inception Date: 04/21/2006
• Ticker Symbol: VIG
• CUSIP: 921908844
• Rank in category (2014): 75%
• Category: Large Blend
• Yield: 2.01%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.09%

Top Consumer Services Stocks 2015

Consumer services stocks are the top performing sectors in week 10, 2015. Can they be the leader in 2015? Top performing industries are Electronics Stores, Sporting Goods Stores, etc.

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of -1.54%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of -0.73%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of -1.50%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of -1.26%.

Top performing stock industries in week 10, 2015 (March 2, 2015 to March 8, 2015) are:

1. Electronics Stores 5.37%
2. Sporting Goods Stores 3.78%
3. Consumer Services 2.43%
4. Sporting Activities 2.42%
5. Hospitals 1.88%
6. Synthetics 1.82%
7. Regional - Pacific Banks 1.67%
8. Processing Systems & Products 1.60%
9. Internet Information Providers 1.44%
10. Gaming Activities 1.39%

Top Performing Emerging Markets Stock Closed End Funds 2015

Investor can invest in emerging markets sector through ETF (exchange traded fund), mutual fund, stock, bond, and CEF (closed end fund). This article will look into the emerging markets stock closed end fund investment especially the best performing funds.

The emerging markets CEFs focus its investment in companies located in emerging markets region. These countries are Brazil, India, China, Turkey, South Africa, etc. Typically, the funds have higher growth rate than the developed countries fund such as US or European.

The top performing list is sorted based on its 1 year performance (up to 02/25/2015). You can find the fund review, performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, fund’s NAV, management, leverage, fund’s sponsor, premium/discount info, etc.

Top performing emerging markets stock closed end funds 2015 are:

1. Turkish Investment Fund (TKF)
2. Aberdeen Emerging Markets Smaller Company Opportunities Fund (ETF)
3. Templeton Emerging Markets Fund (EMF)
4. MS Emerging Markets Fund (MSF)
5. Voya Emerging Market High Dividend Fund (IHD)
6. MS Eastern Europe Fund (RNE)
7. Central Europe Russia & Turkey Fund (CEE)

American Funds 2030 Target Date Retirement Fund (AAETX)

American Funds 2030 Target Date Retirement Fund (AAETX) is one of the top target date mutual funds. This American fund uses its assets to purchase a greater portion of its assets in bond, equity income and balanced funds as it approaches and passes its target date.

AAETX Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 02/01/2007
• Ticker Symbol: AAETX
• CUSIP: 02630T712
• Beta (3yr): 1.10
• Rank in category (YTD): 4%
• Category: Target Date 2026-2030
• Distribution Yield: 1.01%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.75%
• Net Assets: $ 4.6 billion
• Number of Years Up: 5 year
• Number of Years Down: 2 year

Best BlackRock Mutual Funds 2015

BlackRock is one of the largest asset investment firms in the world. It offers financial products & services. Some of the products are mutual funds, iShares ETFs, closed end funds, alternative investments, and money market funds.

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.

Popular BlackRock Funds

You can find these popular BlackRock 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 best BlackRock funds list.

Best BlackRock Mutual Funds for 2015 are:

1. BlackRock US Mortgage Portfolio Fund (BMPAX)
2. BlackRock National Municipal Fund Investor A (MDNLX)
3. BlackRock Multi-Asset Income Investor A (BAICX)
4. BlackRock PA Municipal Bond Inv A (MEPYX)
5. BlackRock High Yield Bond Inv A (BHYAX)
6. BlackRock NJ Municipal Bond Inv A1 (MDNJX)
7. BlackRock Health Sciences Opps Inv A (SHSAX)
8. BlackRock S&P 500 Stock Investor A (BSPAX)
9. BlackRock Global SmallCap Inv A (MDGCX)
10. BlackRock NJ Municipal Bond Inv A (MENJX)

Top Drug Stocks 2015

Drug stocks are still the top performing sectors in week 9, 2015. Can they go higher in 2015? Top performing industries are drug delivery, drug stores, home healthcare, etc.

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 0.15%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 0.02%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 0.16%.

Top performing stock industries in week 9, 2015 (February 23, 2015 to March 1, 2015) are:

1. Drug Delivery 11.00%
2. Internet Service Providers 8.25%
3. Drug Stores 6.52%
4. Home Health Care 5.75%
5. Auto Parts Wholesale 4.73%
6. Basic Materials Wholesale 4.64%
7. Specialized Health Services 4.36%
8. Research Services 3.80%
9. Gold 3.68%
10. Restaurants 3.46%