Nothing has been able to derail the monthly winning streak for mutual-fund investors.
But things came close in May.
Worries about inflation helped to cause volatility in stocks and other investments during May. In the end, however, stock funds—along with the overall stock market—once again came out on top. U.S.-stock funds tracked by Refinitiv Lipper (including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds) squeaked out an average return of 0.5% in May, to push their year-to-date gain to 14.2%.
It was the seventh straight monthly gain for U.S.-stock funds.
International-stock funds did even better in May, with a 3.2% gain, though their year-to-date gain of 10.2% still trails their U.S. counterparts.