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Celebrating a Strong 2024: Ranked #2 Best Fund Family by Barron’s
Barron’s has published its annual Best Fund Families rankings, and we are proud to be ranked #2 overall out of 48 for 2024.
Out of 48 fund families, Sit Mutual Funds ranked:
- #1 in World Equity
- #1 in Mixed Equity
- #1 in Tax-Exempt Bond
- #11 in Taxable Bond
- #12 in General Equity
These rankings are based on performance for the 2024 calendar year. Additionally, our firm holds the #1 overall out of 46 for the past 5 years and is #8 overall out of 46 for the past 10 years.
The full article is available on online.
An achievement that reflects our team’s expertise and focus on delivering strong results. Looking forward to another strong year ahead.
Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Barron’s rankings are based on asset-weighted returns in five categories – general equity funds; world equity funds; mixed asset funds; taxable bond funds; and tax-exempt bond funds as calculated by LSEG Lipper. Barrons did not include sales charges in calculating returns. Each fund’s return was measured against those of all funds in its Lipper category, resulting in a percentile ranking which was then weighted by asset size, relative to the fund family’s other assets in its general classification. If a family’s biggest funds do well, that boosts its overall ranking; poor performance in its biggest funds hurts a firm’s ranking. To be included in the ranking, a firm must have at least three funds in the general equity category, one world equity, one mixed equity (such as a balanced or target-date fund), two taxable bond funds, and one national tax-exempt bond fund. Single-sector and country equity funds are factored into the rankings as general equity. Barrons excludes all passive index funds, including pure index, enhanced index, and index-based, but includes actively managed ETFs and smart-beta ETFs, which are passively managed but created from active strategies. Finally, the score is multiplied by the weighting of its general classification, as determined by the entire LSEG Lipper universe of funds.
Market Commentary
April 8, 2025
The stock market plunged in the wake of President Trump’s April 2 announcement on reciprocal tariffs. Despite hopes for the contrary, the President has come out swinging (really hard) on tariffs – the scale, scope, and swiftness have been astonishing. The outlook for the economy and the markets hinges on whether the President is using tariffs as a negotiating tactic or to deconstruct the global trade order. Even if his intent is the latter, market forces may push him to the former (leading to fewer global trade barriers). While he continues to dig his heels in on tariffs in the near term, the market rout will likely incentivize him to seek quick wins. Moreover, investors will begin looking to 2026 and beyond for upside opportunities once corporate earnings more appropriately reflect the risks of tariffs and an economic slowdown.
As for the economy, U.S. exceptionalism is poised to hit a speed bump, if not a roadblock, as a widening multi-front trade war, disorderly federal government shakeup, and sweeping immigration crackdown quell animal spirits. If sustained, acute uncertainty due in large part to ever-changing, on-again, off-again tariffs threatens to derail the economy before pro-growth policies come into play. Consumer confidence is waning, and households have begun to cut back amid still-high prices and job worries. Businesses are also delaying capital spending until policy clarity improves. Although macro data show the economy is still in decent shape, the new administration seems increasingly resigned that weak growth or a mild recession in the near term may be inevitable, if not beneficial. After all, it may convince the Federal Reserve to ease more aggressively, aiding tax cuts and deregulation to propel an economic rebound in 2026 and beyond. The risk is that it can be challenging (and costly) to reverse a negative feedback loop once it is established.
While a mild recession is possible, we anticipate that potential deregulation, monetary easing, and tax cuts will cushion the impact once current uncertainties ease. Equity market volatility will likely persist but offers valuable opportunities to “upgrade” portfolios to optimize risk-return profiles. As short-term gains may be limited, a longer-term view is essential, given that few companies will be unaffected by the broader economic trends. However, we are confident that focusing on company fundamentals and secular growth drivers will reward patient investors.
For our latest full Global Investment Outlook & Strategy Update, download the .pdf document.