S&P analysts believe that some fixed-income funds generated better returns due to the uncertainty surrounding monetary policy and changes in interest rates. Specifically, bond funds that cover long-term government, long-term investment grade, global income and municipals outperformed benchmarks.
Due to the lackluster performance over the past five years, 27% of domestic equity funds, 24% of international equity funds and 19% of fixed-income funds either merged or liquidated.
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Max Chen contributed to this article.