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%

Best Performing Long Term Bond Mutual Funds 2014

Year 2014 has been great for long duration bond mutual funds. Some of these best performing long term bond funds are managing to achieve double digits returns. They also provides higher yield for income.

Long Term Bond Funds

Long-term bond funds utilize its assets to purchase corporate and other investment-grade U.S. fixed-income issues. These fixed income funds have durations of more than six years (or, if duration is unavailable, average effective maturities greater than 10 years). Due to their long durations, these portfolios are exposed to greater interest rate risk.

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. If you are interested in ETF, you can check my previous article. The list is sorted based on its year to date return up to October 19, 2014.

Best performing long term bond mutual funds 2014 are:

1. Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index Fund (VBLTX)
2. PIMCO Long Duration Total Return Fund (PLRIX)
3. Schroder Broad Tax-Aware Value Bond Fund (STWTX)
4. SEI Long Duration Fund (LDRAX)
5. SEI Long Duration Corporate Bond Fund (SLDAX)
6. Spirit of America Income Fund (SOAIX)

DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund (DSL)

DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund (DSL) is an actively managed closed end fund. The fund’s objective is to provide high current income and capital appreciation. This fixed income fund invests most of its assets in debt securities and other income-producing investments anywhere in the world, including in emerging markets.

DSL Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 04/26/2013
• Ticker Symbol: DSL
• CUSIP: 258622109
• Rank in category (YTD): 26%
• Category: Multi Sector Bond
• Yield: 8.35%
• Effective Leverage: 30.87%
• Capital Gains: -
• Premium/ Discount: -8.32%
• Base Expense Ratio: 0.66%
• Net Assets: $ 3.40 billion
• Annual Turnover Rate: 5.3%

DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund is managed by Bonnie Baha, Jeffrey Gundlach, and Luz Padilla. This popular closed end fund has a high yield of 8.35%. This fund has total annual expense ratio fee of 0.77% (including interest expense of 0.11%).

Bull Strikes Back Stocks on Week 43, 2014

Find top industry stocks of week 43 of 2014. Top sector stocks of week 43 2014 are major airlines, biotechnology, auto dealership, etc.

Bull Market Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 4.14%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 5.29%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 2.62%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 3.38%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 43, 2014 (October 20, 2014 – October 26, 2014) are:

1. Toy & Hobby Stores 14.06%
2. Major Airlines 13.17%
3. Biotechnology 9.77%
4. Auto Dealerships 8.81%
5. General Entertainment 8.72%
6. Processing Systems & Products 8.58%
7. Newspapers Publishing 8.37%
8. Paper & Paper Products 8.33%
9. Dairy Products 7.92%
10. Auto Parts Stores 7.76%
11. Industrial Equipment & Components 7.73%
12. Specialty Retail, Other 7.44%
13. Diagnostic Substances 7.44%
14. Memory Chips Semiconductor 7.35%
15. Drug Delivery 7.19%