U.S. investors pushed equity funds to their third consecutive quarter of plus-side performance in Q4 2020 as they focused on the creation and late month distribution of nascent COVID-19 vaccines and another round of fiscal stimulus from Congress. For Q4 2020, the average equity fund posted a 16.62% return, with Lipper’s U.S. Diversified Equity (USDE) Funds macro-classification (+18.94%) outpacing the other six major equity groups for the second quarter in three. In this segment, I highlight the fourth quarter, December, and 2020 performance results for equity mutual funds and ETFs.
- For Q4 2020, equity funds (+16.62% on average) posted their third consecutive quarter of plus-side returns, erasing Q1’s losses, with the average equity fund rising 15.63% for the year.
- Lipper’s USDE Funds macro-classification (+18.94%) outperformed the other six broad-based equity groups, followed by Sector Equity Funds (+18.87%) and World Equity Funds (+16.75%).
- The Domestic Sector Equity Funds and Global Sector Equity Funds macro-classifications housed five of the 10 best performing classifications in the equity universe for Q4, with Alternative Energy Funds (+36.08%) posting the strongest return of the group.
- The USDE Funds macro-classification was propped up by strong quarterly performance from Equity Leverage Funds (+38.10%), the best quarterly returns in the equity universe.
- The Alternative Energy Funds (+95.98%) classification posted the best returns of 2020.
Click here or the Download Full Report link in the upper right-hand column of this page to download the Third Quarter 2020 FundMarket Insight Report: Equity Funds Post Third Consecutive Quarterly Gain in Q4, Finishing 2020 with an Average 15.63% Return.
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