Checking your 401(k) account balance is a little less painful these days.
Q4 2022 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Popular active equity funds in 401(k)s tanked last year because of their heavy focus on the big technology companies that got battered by surging inflation and steep interest rate hikes. Those same stocks have given them a boost so far in 2023.
Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX), Growth Fund of America (AGTHX), T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth (TRBCX), Harbor Capital Appreciation (HNACX) and Fidelity Growth Company (FDGRX) are up anywhere from 5.4% to 8.8% through Tuesday’s close. By comparison, the S&P 500 is up 4.6%.
Of course, that strong start doesn’t come close to making investors whole. Those five funds were all down at least 33% in 2022, and overcoming that loss would take stupendous results. Someone with $1,000 in a fund that lost 30% would need a gain of about 43% on the remaining money to get back to that initial $1,000.
A look at what’s fueling the gains is reminiscent of bubblier times. At Fidelity Contrafund, three of its top 10 holdings as of Dec. 31 are tech companies that are up double-digits this year, with Meta Platforms Inc. (5.5% of assets) gaining 19%, Amazon.com Inc. (5% of assets) up 15% and Alphabet Inc. (about 4.2% of assets) up about 11%.
Read the full article here by Suzanne Woolley, Advisor Perspectives.
