Few mutual funds manage to perform consistently in either the top half or top quartile against their peers over extended periods, according to Standard & Poor’s. S&P found that over, a five-year period ending June 30, only 10.8% of large-cap, 7.9% of mid-cap and 7.7% of small-cap funds managed to maintain a top-half ranking in performance over five consecutive 12-month periods. Top-quartile repeat performance was even rarer, with only 1.12% of large-cap, no mid-cap and 0.81% of small-cap offerings accomplishing that feat. “The low count of mutual funds that consistently maintain top quartile rankings is a sobering remind about the risks of chasing past performance,” Srikant Dash, an S&P index strategist, said. Critical to consistent top performance, says S&P mutual fund strategist Rosanne Pane, are “more experienced management teams which can successfully maneuver their funds though volatile markets.”
