Top Stock Mutual Funds in April

Utility and equity-income funds may be good places to park money if a recession hits.
By Sam Patel ,

TSC Ratings culled all the A+ rated stock mutual funds for the month of April.

The

T Rowe Price New Era

(PRNEX) - Get Report

fund and the

Jordan Opportunity Fund

(JORDX)

both achieved above-average results for the one- and three-month periods.

To return 10-11% for one month is outstanding in the current climate and raises some concern about a pullback in the near future, especially in regards to the energy sector that has been performing well for a number of months. Domestic Growth funds also may be under threat should the slew of less-than-encouraging economic news continue to flow in the coming months.

If a scenario of a slowdown/recession does play out, it may be a good time to take positions in utility funds and equity-income funds and possibly rotate out of energy and growth and into these more yield-focused plays.

The utility funds in the list include:

J Hancock Trust Utilities Ser I

(JEUTX)

,

Flex-funds Socially Resp Utility Fund

(FLRUX) - Get Report

,

AIM Utilities Fund A

(IAUTX) - Get Report

and

Alliance Bernstein Utility Income A

(AUIAX) - Get Report

.

For Equity Income, the funds are:

BB&T Equity Income A

(BAEIX) - Get Report

,

Amana Mutual Fund-Income Fund

(AMANX) - Get Report

and the

TFS Market Neutral Fund

(TFSMX)

.

Fund Name

Ticker

1 Month Return

3 Month Return

Catgeory/Classification

T. Rowe Price New Era

PRNEX

11.3

17.34

Sector - Energy/Natural Res

Jordan Opportunity Fund

JORDX

10.34

11.65

Growth - Domestic

J Hancock Large Cap Equity A

TAGRX

7.63

10.23

Growth - Domestic

J Hancock Trust Utilities Ser I

JEUTX

7.47

4.96

Sector - Utilities

Flex-funds Socially Resp Utilit Fd

FLRUX

6.71

3.93

Sector - Utilities

Allianz NFJ Intl Value A

AFJAX

6.09

6.82

Non-US Equity

Croft-Leominster Value

CLVFX

5.71

3.2

Growth - Domestic

MFS International Diversifictn A

MDIDX

5.53

6.55

Non-US Equity

AIM Utilities Fund A

IAUTX

5.09

2.43

Sector - Utilities

AllianceBern Utility Income A

AUIAX

4.69

1.05

Sector - Utilities

ING American Funds Int Portfolio

IFSTX

4.54

2.73

Non-US Equity

J Hancock Balanced A

SVBAX

4.3

4

Balanced - Domestic

BB&T Equity Income A

BAEIX

4.08

2.97

Equity Income

Manning & Napier World Opprty Fd A

EXWAX

3.84

5.3

Non-US Equity

Amana Mutual Fund-Income Fund

AMANX

3.23

4.11

Equity Income

TFS Market Neutral Fund

TFSMX

2.94

6.06

Equity Income

BlackRock Glb Allocation Inv A

MDLOX

2.21

2.16

Asset Allocation - Global

Permanent Portfolio Fund

PRPFX

-0.32

0.84

Asset Allocation - Domestic

Fidelity Adv Consumer Staples A

FDAGX

-0.47

3.19

Growth - Domestic

Pinnacle Value Fund

PVFIX

-1.39

-1.39

Growth - Domestic

Sam Patel, CFA, is the manager of mutual fund research for the TheStreet.com Ratings.

In keeping with TSC's Investment Policy, employees of TheStreet.com Ratings with access to pre-publication ratings data must pre-clear any potential trade through the legal department, and are prohibited from trading any security that is the subject of an unpublished rating revision until the second business day after the rating is published.

While Patel cannot provide investment advice or recommendations, he appreciates your feedback;

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