What a difference three months make. Most Maryland-based mutual funds ended the third quarter in the black after a rotten second quarter.
A stock market rally in September helped investors tiptoe back to stocks. U.S. diversified equity funds gained 10.7 percent on average during the July to September period, according to mutual fund tracker Lipper Inc.
Bond funds also rose 3.4 percent during the same period.
"There was a lessening of concern that the economy was going to go into a double dip [recession]," said Douglas G. Ober, chairman and chief executive of closed-end mutual funds Adams Express Co. and Petroleum & Resources Corp. in Baltimore. "I think that companies generally had a bit better outlook than they had had previously. Generally, economic numbers came in better than people expected."
Adams Express, whose holdings include technology companies Oracle Corp. and Apple Inc., gained almost 11 percent in the quarter, while Petroleum & Resources, a sector fund focused on energy and natural resources, reported a 16.4 percent return.
Of the 173 Maryland-based stock funds tracked by The Baltimore Sun, only one finished in negative territory in the third quarter, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis of data provided by Bloomberg News and three mutual fund managers. The Hussman Strategic Growth Fund, managed by Ellicott City-based John P. Hussman, was down less than 1 percent.
The top performer among Maryland-based diversified stock funds was T. Rowe Price's Latin America Fund, which gained almost 23 percent in the quarter.
All but one Maryland-based bond funds posted gains in the third quarter. Two funds – the New American High Income Fund and the T. Rowe Price International Bond Fund – saw double-digit increases.
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Third quarter mutual fund report
Equity top five
Ticker Fund name 3rd Quarter
PRLAX T. Rowe Price Latin America 22.90
PRESX T. Rowe Price European Stock 22.04
LMEMX Legg Mason Batterymarch Emerging Markets-C 19.86
TREMX T. Rowe Price Emerging European and Mediterranean 19.81
PRMSX T. Rowe Emerging Markets Stock 19.56
Equity bottom five
Ticker Fund name 3rd Quarter
HSGFXHussman Strategic Growth Fund -0.67
HSIEXHussman Strategic International Equity Fund 3.87
RYMSX Rydex/Sgi Multi-Hedge Strategies-H 4.73
GRSPX Greenspring Fund 4.78
PRWCX T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation 6.67
Equity sector top five
Ticker Fund name 3rd Quarter
RYICXRydex Series Internet-C 23.02
TRGRXT. Rowe Price Global Real Estate Fund 19.76
RYVCX Rydex Series Energy Services-C 19.13
RYBCX Rydex Series Basis Materials-C 18.42
PRMTXT. Rowe Price Media and Telecommunications 18.24
Equity sector bottom five
Ticker Fund name 3rd Quarter
RYKCX Rydex Series Banking Fund-C 2.81
PRISXT. Rowe Price Financial Services Fund 4.98
RYSCX Rydex Series Electronics-C 5.42
RYHCX Rydex Series Health Care-C 7.76
SUHCX DWS Health Care Fund-C 8.28
Bonds top five
Ticker Fund name 3rd Quarter
HYB New America High Income Fund 11.70
RPIBXT. Rowe Price International Bond Fund 10.92
GOBAX Legg Mason Global Opportunities Bond-A 9.92
FYAIXAccess Flex High Yield Fund-IV 8.52
RYHGX Rydex High Yield Strategy-H 8.47
Bonds bottom five
Ticker Fund name 3rd Quarter
GCGGX DWS GNMA Fund-C -0.19
PSBAXPNC Ultra Short Bond Fund-A 0.24
PGTCXPNC Government Mortgage Fund-C 0.39
MSDGX MTB Short Duration Government Bond-B 0.61
POMAX PNC Government Mortgage Fund-A 0.68
Source: Bloomberg News, Adams Express Co. and Petroleum & Resources Corp., PNC Funds and MTB Group of Funds.
Note: For funds with several classes of shares, the oldest class was included in the ranking.