IBD Releases List of the Best Mutual Funds for 2022

Seventh annual list highlights select funds that have consistently beat benchmarks over the last decade

LOS ANGELES--()--Investor’s Business Daily (IBD), a leading financial news and research organization, today announced the results of its seventh annual Best Mutual Funds Awards. Funds named to the prestigious list were selected because they beat the broad market and surpassed benchmarks over the last one-, three-, five- and 10-year periods as of December 31, 2021.

“The last 10 years have been rife with uncertainty, from all-time highs, to the instability created by a global pandemic, to a closing whimper for 2021 after a banner year. For this reason, investors love the annual Best Mutual Funds list; it puts it all into perspective by highlighting funds that have weathered different kinds of conditions in the recent past and over the long haul,” said Susan Warfel, managing editor of IBD. “These funds deserve to be commended for their ability to outperform over the short, mid and long term, and many remain open to new investors.”

IBD’s data-driven list showcases a variety of top-performing mutual funds across the major categories that investors consider for broad market exposure or more narrow objectives. The 2022 analysis spanned the same 13 categories as previous years. These include U.S. Diversified Stock Funds and its six subcategories: Growth Funds, Blend Funds, Value Funds, Large-Cap Funds, Midcap Funds and Small-Cap Funds. No Value Funds made the 2022 list for the sixth consecutive year, while no Midcap Funds made the list this year.

Other categories are: Sector Funds, International Stock Funds, U.S. Taxable Bond Funds, Municipal Bond Funds, International Bond Funds and Index Funds.

This year, 677 funds out of 3,673– 18% of all funds at least 10 years old – beat their respective benchmarks across the four periods evaluated. This is down from 810 funds recognized last year and 691 in 2020, but remains a substantial increase over the 357 funds that exceeded all benchmarks in 2019.

U.S. Taxable Bond Funds performed best this year, with 335 award winners out of 756 eligible funds (44%). International Bond Funds followed with winners representing 34% of the category’s total universe. At the other end of the spectrum, the number of funds that beat their benchmarks across all four periods evaluated in the Blend Funds, Small-Cap Funds and Index Funds categories represented just 1% of their respective universe.

Notably, Baron Partners Retail was among the top award getters in multiple categories again this year. It yielded a 27.89% average 10-year return for the 2022 list, vs. a 16.55% average return in the past 10 years for its benchmark, the S&P 500 index.

Top Award Winners in Each Category:

U.S. Diversified Stock Funds:

  • Baron Partners Retail (BPTRX)
  • Oberweis Micro-Cap (OBMCX)
  • Goldman Sachs Large Cap Gr Insghts Instl (GCGIX)
  • Columbia Large Cap Growth V (GAEGX)
  • Glenmede Quant US Large Cap Gr Eq (GTLLX)

Growth Funds:

  • Baron Partners Retail (BPTRX)
  • Oberweis Micro-Cap (OBMCX)
  • Goldman Sachs Large Cap Gr Insghts Instl (GCGIX)
  • Columbia Large Cap Growth V (GAEGX)
  • Glenmede Quant US Large Cap Gr Eq (GTLLX)

Blend Funds:

  • JHancock Fundamental All Cap Core I (JFCIX)
  • Nationwide BNY Mellon Dyn US Core R6 (MUIGX)
  • JPMorgan US Large Cap Core Plus I (JLPSX)
  • Federated Hermes MDT All Cap Core IS (QIACX)
  • JPMorgan US Sustainable Leaders I (JIISX)

Large-Cap Funds:

  • Baron Partners Retail (BPTRX)
  • Goldman Sachs Large Cap Gr Insghts Instl (GCGIX)
  • Columbia Large Cap Growth V (GAEGX)
  • Glenmede Quant US Large Cap Gr Eq (GTLLX)
  • Federated Hermes MDT Large Cap Growth IS (QILGX)

Small-Cap Funds (note: only four funds qualified for awards based on their performances over the four periods evaluated):

  • Oberweis Micro-Cap (OBMCX)
  • Needham Aggressive Growth Retail (NEAGX)
  • Congress Small Cap Growth Institutional (CSMCX)
  • Oberweis Small-Cap Opportunities (OBSOX)

Sector Funds (note: these funds represent the top funds in the best-performing sectors):

  • Fidelity Select Semiconductors (FSELX)
  • Fidelity Advisor Semiconductors I (FELIX)
  • Rydex Electronics Inv (RYSIX)
  • Fidelity Select Construction & Hsg Port (FSHOX)
  • Fidelity Select Brokerage & Invmt Mgmt (FSLBX)

International Stock Funds:

  • Wasatch Emerging India Investor (WAINX)
  • Grandeur Peak Global Opportunities Instl (GPGIX)
  • American Funds New Economy A (ANEFX)
  • Artisan Global Opportunities Inv (ARTRX)
  • Wasatch Global Opportunities Investor (WAGOX)

U.S. Taxable Bond Funds:

  • Virtus AllianzGI Convertible Inst (ANNPX)
  • Franklin Convertible Securities A (FISCX)
  • Lord Abbett Convertible I (LCFYX)
  • Columbia Convertible Securities A (PACIX)
  • Fidelity Convertible Securities (FCVSX)

Municipal Bond Funds:

  • Nuveen High Yield Municipal Bond I (NHMRX)
  • Invesco Rochester Municipal Opps A (ORNAX)
  • Nuveen CA High Yield Municipal Bond I (NCHRX)
  • Invesco AMT-Free Municipal A (OPTAX)
  • MainStay MacKay High Yield Muncpl Bd I (MMHIX)

International Bond Funds:

  • GMO Emerging County Debt III (GMCDX)
  • Stone Harbor Emerg Mkts Corp Dbt Instl (SHCDX)
  • Janus Henderson Developed World Bond A (HFAAX)
  • Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opps (FEMDX)
  • Transamerica Emerging Markets Debt I (EMTIX)

Index Funds (note: only three funds qualified for awards based on their performances over the four periods evaluated):

  • Voya Russell Large Cap Growth Idx Port I (IRLNX)
  • Praxis Growth Index I (MMDEX)
  • ProFunds Large Cap Growth Inv (LGPIX)

Funds are ranked according to their 10-year performance. The complete list of all award-winning funds can be found at www.investors.com/MutualFundsAwardsList.

To find out more about this year’s winners, read analysis of the respective categories, view the complete list of winning funds, and learn how to invest in mutual funds, please visit www.investors.com/MutualFundsAwards and follow #BestMutualFundsAwards on social media.

The 2022 Best Mutual Funds Awards logo and accolade are available for licensing through IBD's partner, The YGS Group, at IBDlicensing@TheYGSgroup.com or 800-290-5460.

About IBD

Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) is the leader in stock research and education. For over 35 years, IBD has helped countless investors around the world make more money in the market and achieve their financial goals.

Founded with the mission of democratizing stock investing, IBD provides its customers access to the same type of research Wall Street uses to make decisions. All of IBD’s products and content are based on a time-tested investing methodology, which uses fundamental and technical analysis to identify leading stocks before their big price increases.

IBD helps its customers succeed in the market with its unparalleled stock research including market-beating stock lists, proprietary stock ratings and powerful investing tools that help them make more profitable trading decisions. In addition, IBD provides customers with world-class investing education that includes product coaching, interactive webinars, live and virtual workshops, videos, online courses and more.

IBD joined the Dow Jones and News Corp family of companies in May 2021. IBD reaches investors around the world via its main website, www.investors.com, its portfolio of digital products (IBD Digital, MarketSmith, Leaderboard, SwingTrader and IBD Live), mobile apps, a weekly print edition, social media and more. To learn more about all that IBD has available, please visit www.investors.com.

© 2022 Investor's Business Daily, LLC. All rights reserved. Investor's Business Daily, IBD, Leaderboard and IBD Live are registered trademarks of Investor's Business Daily, LLC. MarketSmith and CAN SLIM are registered trademarks of O'Neil Capital Management Inc.

Contacts

For Editorial Contact:
Carmen Mantalas
GMK Communications for Investor’s Business Daily
Carmen@gmkcommunications.com