U.S. mutual funds post average 4.76% return in January

The average U.S. equity mutual fund returned 4.76% in January, according to Standard & Poor's performance data. All categories of stock funds enjoyed positive returns for the month, led by small-cap growth with an average 8.35%; followed by small-cap blend, 7.37%; small-cap value, 7.32%; midcap growth, 6.22%; and midcap blend, 5.27%. Large-cap stock funds were the worst performers; large-cap value returned 3.05%; large-cap growth, 3.13%; and large-cap blend, 3.23%, according to S&P data.