Biggest Upgrades, Downgrades on Open-End Funds

With each new month of mutual fund ratings, we review TheStreet.com Ratings scorecard to see which funds are floating to the top and are sinking the fastest. One month does not make a trend, and a reversal next month is possible. However, these funds stand out for their large moves.

Below are lists of the five most improved and five most deteriorated open-end stock mutual fund ratings from April 30 to May 31. The first list represents the largest upgrades in ratings. The second list holds the downgraded funds falling the furthest.

The most improved stock fund this month is the John Hancock American Growth Trust I(JEGRX Quote - Cramer on JEGRX - Stock Picks). This institutional fund share class is based on a master growth fund of the American Funds Insurance Series. The May rating was upgraded to B+ or Buy from D or Sell.

The second-largest upward move on our most improved list is a fund being upgraded to a middle C, or Hold, from the lowest possible rating of E-. The Dreyfus Premier Balanced Opportunity Fund(DBOZX Quote - Cramer on DBOZX - Stock Picks) targets a mixture of at least 50% equities and the remainder in fixed income.

Of the current 62.8% in equity investments, JPMorgan Chase(JPM Quote - Cramer on JPM - Stock Picks), AT&T(T Quote - Cramer on T - Stock Picks), and Altria Group(MO Quote - Cramer on MO - Stock Picks) are the largest holdings.

Both the Royce Value Fund(RVVHX Quote - Cramer on RVVHX - Stock Picks) and the SunAmerica Valic Co Inst International Equities Fund(VCIEX Quote - Cramer on VCIEX - Stock Picks), part of AIG Retirement (AIG Quote - Cramer on AIG - Stock Picks), ascended from the lowest possible Buy rating of B- to the top rating of A+.

The moves to the downside were not as dramatic, with no fund falling more than four letter-grade notches.

The rating of the Prudential Target Moderate Allocation Fund(SPMRX Quote - Cramer on SPMRX - Stock Picks) deteriorated the most, sliding down to C or Hold from B+ or Buy. The 26.9% allocation to mortgage securities is a leading suspect in this case of net asset value erosion. In the month of May, its large holdings of Microsoft(MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks) lost 0.70%, Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote - Cramer on XOM - Stock Picks) lost 4.63%, McDonald's(MCD Quote - Cramer on MCD - Stock Picks) lost 0.44%, and Bank of America(BAC Quote - Cramer on BAC - Stock Picks) lost 9.40%.

The JPMorgan Diversified Mid Cap Growth Fund(JDGUX Quote - Cramer on JDGUX - Stock Picks) made the same B+ to C move.

Top holdings in May that fell include Time Warner Telecom(TWTC Quote - Cramer on TWTC - Stock Picks), off 4.59%; Investment Technology Group(ITG Quote - Cramer on ITG - Stock Picks), off 12.76%; and Hologic(HOLX Quote - Cramer on HOLX - Stock Picks), off 17.68%.

Top 5 Open-End Stock Mutual Fund Upgrades
Fund (Ticker) Rating	Previous Rating	Objective
J Hancock Trust American Grow Tr I (JEGRX) B+	D	Growth - Domestic
Dreyfus Premier Balanced Opport Z (DBOZX) C	E-	Balanced - Domestic
Royce Value Fd Inv (RVVHX) A+	B-	Small Cap
SunAmerica VAL Co I Intl Eq Fd (VCIEX) A+	B-	Non-US Equity
Loomis Sayles Tax Managed Eq I (LSCGX) A-	C+	Growth - Domestic
Source: TheStreet.com Ratings

Top 5 Open-End Stock Mutual Fund Downgrades
Fund (Ticker) Rating	Previous Rating	Objective
Pru Target Moderate Alloc R (SPMRX) C	B+	Asset Allocation - Domestic
JPMorgan Divers Mid Cap Gr Ultra (JDGUX) C	B+	Mid Cap
Vantagepoint Milestone 2015 Fund (VPRPX) C+	A-	Asset Allocation - Domestic
Vantagepoint Milestone 2020 Fund (VPROX) C+	A-	Asset Allocation - Domestic
ProFunds-Ultra Dow 30 Inv (UDPIX) E+	C-	Growth - Domestic
Source: TheStreet.com Ratings

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