Domestic equity funds were hit hard in October by concerns over oil prices, inflation and interest rates, according to an equity fund performance report released today by Standard & Poor's. Each of the nine styles of domestic equity funds tracked by S&P finished the month in negative territory, with an average loss of 2.21%. Small-cap funds had some of the largest decreases, with the average small-cap growth fund down 3.23% and the average small-cap value fund down 3.07%.
"It seems like fear was taking over during the month," said Rosanne Pane, S&P mutual fund strategist. "When that happens, people tend to move away from some of the smaller companies and favor large companies, where they believe there's more security."
Large-cap growth funds posted the best average return for the month, -1.09. Large-cap value funds produced an average return of -2.02%, while large-cap blend funds had an average return of -1.74%.
