The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has prompted several governments, including the Biden administration, to impose sanctions on Russian oil and energy. Crude prices have gone up on supply concerns from Russia, which is one of the world’s biggest commodity producers. Prices have risen further after the U.S. Government imposed a ban on the import of oil and other energy products.
Geopolitical tensions are likely to keep markets volatile for some time, with the energy sector making the most of the opportunity. So, investing in funds with exposure to energy equities is likely to help in the near term.
Below, we share with you three top-ranked energy mutualfunds, viz., BlackRock Natural Resources Trust Fund MDGRX, Virtus Duff & Phelps Select MLP and Energy Fund VLPAX and Cohen & Steers MLP & Energy Opportunity Fund, Inc. MLOAX. Each has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of energy mutual funds.
BlackRock Natural Resources Trust Fund seeks growth of capital in the long run and protects the purchasing power of shareholders by investing primarily in equity securities of companies with substantial natural resource assets. MDGRX focuses mainly on companies engaged in natural resources industries, like energy, oil and mining.
BlackRock Natural Resources Trust Fund has three-year annualized returns of 20.2%. As of January 2023, MDGRX held 46 issues, with 6.6% of its assets invested in SHELL PLC.
Virtus Duff & Phelps Select MLP and Energy Fund looks for total return alongside income generation. Usually, VLPAX invests the majority of its assets in securities of master limited partnerships and other equity securities in energy and energy-related industries. The fund is non-diversified.
Virtus Duff & Phelps Select MLP and Energy Fund has three-year annualized returns of 24%. David Grumhaus has been one of the fund managers of VLPAX since 2015.
Cohen & Steers MLP & Energy Opportunity Fund, Inc. seeks to provide attractive total return by investing the majority of its net assets in master limited partnerships and related companies. MLOAX, a non-diversified fund, also invests in foreign securities.
Cohen & Steers MLP & Energy Opportunity Fund, Inc. has three-year annualized returns of 19%. MLOAX has an expense ratio of 1.25% compared with the category average of 1.56%.
To view the Zacks Rank and the past performance of all energy mutualfunds, investors can click here to see the complete list of energy mutual funds.
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