Of the 44 Morningstar Canada Fund Indices, only seven saw an increase during the month of February, all of them by 0.7 per cent or less. Twelve of the thirty-seven other indices decreased by two per cent or more, says Morningstar Research Inc.’s preliminary performance data for February 2018.

The data, released March 2, measure the aggregate returns of funds in various standard categories.

Top performers

The best performing indices of the month tracked fixed income categories. The Morningstar Floating Rate Loans Fund index increased by 0.7 per cent, which was the biggest increase of the month. Indices measuring four other fixed-income categories increased between 0.1 and 0.3 per cent. Three fixed-income fund indices saw decreases.

The 22 fund indices tracking equity categories saw declines for the month of February, as all major stock markets worldwide saw losses. However, the depreciation of the Canadian dollar limited the losses for many foreign fund categories to one per cent or less.

Worst performers

The worst performing indices for the month were those tracking Energy Equity, Precious Metals Equity, and Natural Resources Equity fund categories, decreasing by 7, 5.7, and 5.3 per cent respectively.