A Solid Year for the Kiplinger 25

All but one of our favorite actively managed, no-load mutual funds gained ground as markets recovered.

- By Nellie S. Huang

It wasn't the best of times or the worst of times, but as markets go, it was a solid year. Though only a few tech-oriented stocks drove returns in the S&P 500 index, the benchmark logged a 30% total return over the past 12 months through February.

A recent rally helped lift small- and midsize-company stocks, too; the Russell 2000 climbed 10%, and the S&P MidCap 400 index rose 13%. Meanwhile, enthusiasm about interest rate cuts to come later this year fueled support for most bond markets. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond index returned 3%. Nothing to sniff at here, especially after the decimating losses of 2022.

Through it all, our favorite actively managed, no-load funds—the Kiplinger 25—turned in respectable results. All but one fund gained ground.

As a group, our 10 diversified U.S. stock funds gained an average of 21%—better than good on an absolutereturn basis, but that lagged the S&P 500. The best performer was Fidelity Blue Chip Growth; the worst was T. Rowe Price Small-Cap Value, which advanced 3%.

Our foreign stock funds weren’t far behind, with a 14% average return, beating the 13% climb in the MSCI All Country World ex U.S. index. Fidelity International Growth led; our foreign dividend stock and emerging-markets fund lagged.

But the Kip 25’s bright spot was fixed income. Our eight bond funds as a group gained an average 7%, outpacing the Agg index, thanks in part to double-digit returns from three funds, T. Rowe Price Floating Rate, Vanguard Emerging Markets Bond and Vanguard High-Yield Corporate.