March 19, 2015

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:
    Municipal Bond Funds
  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)

March 17, 2015

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

Top vs Worst StocksThe 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%

March 16, 2015

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

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

March 15, 2015

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

REIT StocksThis 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%

March 13, 2015

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

Top Health & Biotechnology ETFs 2015These 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)

March 11, 2015

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

    Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG)
  • 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%

March 9, 2015

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:
    Consumer Stocks
  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%

The Importance of Diversification in Investing

Diversification is a key principle in investing, and it's especially important in today's uncertain economic climate. By spreading y...