As we do each quarter, we will take today’s report to look across different asset classes and focus on the best and worst performing funds for the second quarter.
As we do each quarter, we will take today’s report to look across different asset classes and focus on the best- and worst-performing funds for the second quarter and year as a whole. Note, during our screen, we filtered out leveraged and inverse funds while implementing minimum volume and AUM requirements to focus solely on those funds most likely to 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 South Korea, for example), but there will likely be similar themes during our analysis.
We will start broadly by peering across all the different asset groups at once. As you might expect, our top ten performers were filled with technology names. Outside of those groups, other international names (South Korea and Taiwan) earned spots as top performers. On the flip side, cryptocurrency, precious metals, and India were among the worst performers.
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 showing particularly constructive quarters. Strong performers include South Korea, Taiwan, and broad emerging markets. China and India were major detractors from a pure performance perspective for the year, while Brazil showed weakness in the second quarter.
The following tables focus on individual sectors and commodities, respectively. For the sectors, technology and AI-focused funds saw the sharpest improvement in Q2 and during the first half of 2026. Energy and miners showed the sharpest weakness in Q2. The worst performers in the first half were more mixed, with some software names alongside miners.
Among commodities, carbon futures funds and agriculture showed strength in the second quarter, while gasoline and broad commodities showing most of the strength for the first half. Precious metals were the major detractor over the quarterly and yearly numbers.
Our last set of tables below detail performance trends for the broader fixed income and currency markets. 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 strongest segment of fixed income from a relative strength perspective, remaining at the top in terms of performance. Municipals also showed some strength. Meanwhile, international bond funds showed weakness.
Across the currency space, crypto continues to see some of the most downside among any areas of the market. In terms of more traditional currencies, the US Dollar saw some improvement, with other some other specific currencies ending in the black.
