The average U.S.-stock mutual fund or exchange-traded fund has delivered an 11.5% total return so far in 2026, according to statistics from LSEG, after funds posted a 4.4% gain in May that followed April’s 10.3% advance. The double-digit return comes after many fund investors earlier this year considered such gains unlikely, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The rally has been powered by chip-company shares that have surged over the past two months as investors piled into stocks tied to artificial intelligence. The S&P 500 has gained roughly 19% during a nine-week winning streak, which Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, described as the strongest such streak in 75 years. “By comparison, previous nine-week streaks generated an average gain of 10.4%,” Turnquist said. The S&P 500 closed at 7,584.31 on June 7, according to FRED data.
While the advance has been concentrated in megacap technology names, Turnquist said “the rally itself has been historic.” Many on Wall Street see the tech-led gains continuing as chip companies rake in profits from the artificial-intelligence frenzy, the Journal reported.
International-stock funds rose an average 3.3% in May, pushing their year-to-date total return to 10.1%, according to LSEG. International funds had been outpacing their U.S. counterparts earlier in the year, but the two categories are now roughly even for 2026.
Bond funds focused on investment-grade debt posted a total return of 0.4% in May, leaving them at 0.5% for the year to date, LSEG data showed.