Year-Old Funds' '04 Performance Close to Broader Market

A Standard & Poor’s news release said that domestic funds hitting the one-year mark at the start of 2005 turned in a 10.3% performance – a bit under the 10.9% showing for the S&P 500. S&P said 36 new funds completed their first year of operating history at the end of 2004, up nine over the previous year.

Standard & Poor’s database of more than 18,000 US mutual funds showed that newly issued equity funds outpaced fixed-income funds in 2004, continuing 2003’s positive trend for stock performance. Of note, nine of the new funds marking their first full year anniversary at the end of 2004 were in the asset allocation/hybrid category, up from only two such funds in 2003 and none the year before.

Also turning a year old at the end of 2004 were 22 equity funds (twenty-one domestic, one global), and five fixed-income funds (three taxable, two tax-exempt). All but one of the funds (PF Goldman Sachs Short Duration Bond Fund/A) finished the year in positive territory. The short duration bond fund ranked 340 within the entire universe of 348 funds in its Standard & Poor’s style category following its first year.

Among the equity funds,  hough small-cap value offerings have outperformed over the past four years, only one fund from that style was among the new one-year olds at the end of 2004, down from six in 2003, the news release said.