Which Stock Funds Have Been Hit Hardest by the Tariff Selloff?

Global stock markets have been on a wild ride since the US announced sweeping tariffs on April 2, 2025. The initial news dragged down most equity funds, especially those focused on highly valued technology companies and speculative and economically sensitive small caps. Large-cap growth Morningstar Category funds that gravitate to Big Tech stocks retraced some of their losses by Friday, April 11, leaving small-cap categories, especially small value, as the year’s worst performers.

The tariff turmoil exacerbated an already volatile year. The Morningstar US Market Index was down nearly 9% for 2025 through April 11. Large-cap growth stocks whose valuations had been frothy and small-cap value equities perceived as more vulnerable to a recession have had rough rides. The Morningstar US Large Growth Index shed 9.6% for the year through April 11, and Morningstar US Small Value Index dropped 12.7%. The small-growth, small-blend, and small-value Morningstar Categories, on average, dropped between 14.7% and 15.3% over the same period.

Non-US stocks and the funds that own them held up better. The foreign large-blend, foreign large-growth, and foreign large-value categories and the foreign small/mid-growth and -value groups, on average, lost between 2% and 4.8% from April 3 to April 11 and all of them but foreign small/mid-growth remained up for the year through April 11.

Among funds that Morningstar manager research analysts have under full coverage, those owning technology companies that had seemed unassailable until this year, or small- and mid-cap stocks with speculative prospects or wobbly fundamentals, experienced the most severe ups and downs. Strategies with more volatile track records have fared the worst. While the average US equity fund that Morningstar analysts cover fell 6.7% from April 3 to April 11 and 10.2% for this year through April 11, the typical strategy in that group with above-average five-year standard deviations and overall Morningstar Risk ratings retreated by more than 7% and 11%, over the respective periods.

Switching in and out of funds to avoid losses or catch rebounds is a mug’s game. Downturns, however, are opportunities to reexamine holdings and ask if they are performing as expected. Morningstar analysts have been doing that with some of this downturn’s hardest-hit funds. Here’s a sampling of insights from analyst notes published in the last week.

Growth Pains

Some of Fidelity’s growth offerings have fallen sharply as richly priced stocks, economically sensitive sectors, and members of the so-called Magnificent Seven have tumbled. Fidelity Growth Company FDGRX has dropped 15.8% for the year to date through April 11, worse than 96% of large-growth rivals. Its above-average technology and consumer cyclicals stakes—both among the worst-performing sectors—dragged on returns. So did top holdings Nvidia NVDA and Apple AAPL and smaller names like Pure Storage PSTG. Longtime manager Steve Wymer’s affinity for footwear and apparel stocks, such as Lululemon Athletica LULU and Deckers Outdoors DECK, also have backfired this year. The strategy’s underperformance, however, is consistent with its pattern under Wymer: When risk appetites shrink and the market punishes high-priced stocks, this fund takes its lumps, too. Its Morningstar Medalist Ratings still range from Silver to Gold, depending on share class.

Fidelity Blue Chip Growth’s FBGRX steep decline, though painful, also is not out of character for manager Sonu Kalra. Like Wymer, Kalra had big stakes in Nvidia and Apple, consumer cyclicals, and other hard-hit tech stocks like Marvell Technology MRVL. For the year to date through April 11, the strategy dropped nearly 16.5% and trailed 98% of peers. Its Medalist Rating remains Silver.

Semiconductor, biotechnology, and airline stocks have hammered Primecap Odyssey Aggressive Growth POAGX. It fell 14.1% for the year to date through April 11—worse than three fourths of its mid-growth rivals. The strategy’s big overweighting in airlines created a lot of turbulence as holdings like United Airlines UAL, Delta Air Lines DAL, and American Airlines AAL each fell by a third or more through April 11. Semiconductor and biotechnology stocks, each taking up about 13% of assets, also plunged, and Tesla TSLA, a larger holding, dropped 37.5%. Primecap has endured airline, tech, and biotech stock downturns before. This contrarian growth fund’s Medalist Rating is still Gold.

The Bold and Not So Beautiful

Smaller-cap funds focused on aggressive growth or deep-value stocks have shared their large-growth brethren’s pain.

The notoriously volatile ARK Innovation ETF ARKK and its close relative, American Beacon ARK Transformational Innovation ADNAX, both fell about 19% for the year through April 11, worse than 97% of mid-cap growth funds. Both strategies pile into speculative artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and other potentially transformative—but often contentious—companies. Top holding Tesla has hurt. So has streaming television company Roku ROKU, which plunged almost 19%. The strategies’ Medalist Ratings remain Negative.

The more than 15.9% year-to-date drop of T. Rowe Price New Horizons PRNHX put it behind 85% of its mid-growth peers as well as the Russell Mid Cap Growth Index’s roughly 11% drop. The fund’s very large, 45% of assets stake in small- or micro-cap stocks dragged the fund down, particularly tech and healthcare holdings. Those same holdings could bounce back sharply, though, if trends reverse. Its Medalist Rating remains Silver.

Janus Henderson Contrarian’s JCONX 13% loss for the year through April 11 trailed the Russell Mid Cap Index by about 2 percentage points and ranked behind 83% of mid-blend funds. The concentrated fund ranges further across styles and market caps than its benchmark or typical peer, but its growth leanings toppled it this year. Manager Nick Schommer seeks long-term total return rather than downside protection, though, so expect him to add to his preferred names during this volatility. The fund’s Medalist Rating is still Silver.

Big Trouble in Small Value

Royce Small-Cap Opportunity RYPNX is a diversified deep-value fund that gravitates to very small, statistically cheap stocks that often are under a cloud. At the start of the year, more than two thirds of its holdings were in micro-cap stocks, which has been one of the worst areas of the market in the selloff. It has been a feast-or-famine approach since the fund’s 1996 inception; so far this year, it has been more of the latter. Its investor share class dropped nearly 21% through April 11, worse than 95% of small-cap value funds. Energy companies, such as services provider Solaris Energy Infrastructure SEI and contract driller Patterson UTI Energy PTEN, have hurt. The rough ride has not been outside the realm of expectations for this strategy, which has paid off in the past; but it also shows this fund’s wide range of potential outcomes. Its Medalist Rating remains Neutral.

A shot of smaller-cap stocks hasn’t helped large-value fund Oakmark Select OAKLX this year. The concentrated fund can be volatile, and that has held true recently. The strategy makes big, high-conviction bets on a few stocks, including some mid- and small caps. Economically sensitive energy holdings, such as Phillips 66 PSX, ConocoPhillips COP, and APA APA have been performance pains this year. So has mid-cap regional bank First Citizens BancShares FCNCA. The fund’s Investor share class dropped 9.4% for the year through April 11, worse than 95% of its peers. Manager Bill Nygren and his colleagues at the strategy’s advisor, Harris Associates, have stumbled over energy stocks before, notably in 2018-19, but unlike then, the portfolio’s current oil and gas holdings have firmer competitive and financial positions, reducing the likelihood of permanent capital loss. The fund’s Silver Medalist Rating still stands.

The Leveraged Up Go Down

Fidelity Value Strategies’ FSLSX 15.6% loss for the year to date through April 11 was much deeper than the Russell Mid Cap Value Index’s 9% and landed in the category’s bottom decile. Manager Matt Friedman often hunts for value among highly leveraged businesses. This makes the fund choppier in choppy markets. While recent performance has been ugly, it’s not out of character. It still gets a Bronze Medalist Rating.

Similarly, Fidelity Leveraged Company Stock FLVCX paid for its affinity for lower-quality fare. Managers Mark Notkin and Brian Chang keep most of the portfolio in the shares of companies with BBB credit ratings—a notch above what’s considered high yield or junk bonds—or worse. While they’ve found some profitable contrarian ideas and turnaround stories among such fare over the years, the portfolio has always been a volatile brew that falls harder than the rest of the market in downturns. It has been true to form in this environment, dropping 14.5% for the year through April 11, more than the average large-blend fund’s 8% loss and Morningstar US Large-Mid Cap Index’s 8.7% retreat. The strategy’s Medalist Rating remains Neutral.

Triumph of the Intentionally Temperate

Funds and exchange-traded funds that seek less volatile stocks by design tempered losses. Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF SPLV and iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Factor ETF USMV gained 2.6% and 1.7%, respectively, for the year through April 11—better than nearly all large-value and large-blend funds. Conservative and dividend-focused actively managed funds, such as American Century Equity Income ACIIX, ClearBridge Dividend Strategy SOPAX, and Vanguard Dividend Growth VDIGX, lost less than the broad market and most of their large-cap peers.

The Silver-rated AMG Yacktman Focused YAFFX, run by established contrarians Stephen Yacktman and Jason Subotky, was able to lose less than large-value peers and benchmarks for 2025 through April 11. This concentrated portfolio, which has nearly 42% of its assets in non-US stocks and more than a fifth of its portfolio in communication-services companies, held up relatively well. Its top holding at 10% of assets, French conglomerate Bollore SE BOL, slipped a relatively mild 4.5% so far this year.

Boston Trust Walden SMID Cap WASMX, Boston Trust SMID Cap BTSMX, and Boston Trust Walden Small Cap BOSOX held up better than other small- and mid-cap strategies. They fell a respective 8.5%, 8.7%, and 10.3% for the year, through April 11, which was better than their prospectus benchmark’s losses and most of their category rivals’. Robust risk-management and solid stock selection across most sectors, particularly in industrials, consumer staples, and technology, buoyed the funds. They each still get Gold Medalist Ratings.

Non-US equity funds covered by Morningstar analysts on average have done better than US equity funds this year, posting a slight gain to the typical covered US equity fund’s more than 10% loss through April 11. Neutral-rated Federated Hermes International Strategic Value Dividend IVFAX gained 10.3% for the year through April 11, while Bronze-rated First Eagle Overseas Fund’s SGOVX strategic allocation to gold bullion helped it post an 8.6% gain for the year that was better than 99% of its foreign large-blend peers.

Morningstar analysts David Carey, Andrew Daniels, Robby Greengold, Tony Thomas, Adam Sabban, and Eric Schultz contributed to this report.