As we do each quarter, we will take today’s report to look across different asset classes and focus in on the best and worst performing funds for the first quarter.
As we do each quarter, we will take today’s report to look across different asset classes and focus in on the best and worst performing funds for the first quarter as a whole. Note, during our screen we filtered out leveraged and inverse funds & put in minimum volume and AUM requirements to focus solely on those funds you are most likely to see come across your desk. We also did our best to avoid similar kinds of funds when possible, (to avoid the entirety of our tables being taken up by oil, for example…) but there will likely be similar themes during our analysis.
We will start broadly by peering across all of the different asset groups at once. As you might expect, our top ten performers were littered with energy and commodity options. Outside of those groups, other international names (South Korea and Latin America) found place as top performers. On the flip side, many cryptocurrency founds found their place near the bottom of this quarter's performers once again. However, some emerging market names also found their way to the bottom.
Speaking of international options, our second table dives underneath the hood of that group specifically. Several global options flexed their muscles, with a few countries putting in very constructive quarters. Points of interest come from a another solid performance from Latin American names after a scorching hot 2025. China and India were major detractors from a pure performance perspective, with the two regions becoming some of the biggest laggards within international equities.
The following tables focus on individual sectors and commodities, respectively. Of interest in terms of Q1 upside, energy was be far the biggest bright spot for both the commodity space and sector performances. Oil funds gained 80%, lifting the vast majority of energy ETFs higher. Several basic materials groups also put together a solid three months. Towards the downside, software led the way to the downside, while other technology-focused areas also declined, with the big exception of semiconductors. On the commodities front, laggards came from several precious and industrial metal representatives after what was an extremely strong 2025.
Our last set of tables below detail performance trends for the broader fixed income and currencies space. While fixed income as a whole remains a laggard within our longer-term rankings, there were points of strength within the asset class. Convertibles continue to be the relatively strongest area of fixed income, remaining at the top in terms of performance. Meanwhile, international bond funds has a rough quarter as the dollar and interest rates both rose. Across the currency space, crypto continue to see some of the most downside among any areas of the market. In terms of more traditional currencies, the US Dollar rose 1.7%, causing other currencies to depreciate against the greenback.
