Resource, Metal Fund Gains Portend Recovery

Resource and metal mutual funds both rose an impressive 11% in September and are among the best-performing sectors year-to-date, potentially signaling an economic rebound, The Globe & Mail reports.

Natural resources and other commodities are economically sensitive stocks, noted Benoit Gervais, a fund manager with Mackenzie Financial Corp. He added that while the attention has been on emerging markets nations, developed countries are also rebounding.

Paul MacDonald, a fund manager with Mavrix Fund Management, believes mergers and acquisitions will continue to fuel a market rally. “The ones with the stronger balance sheets are buying ones with weaker balance sheets,” noted the manager, whose fund is up 153% this year.