AT A TIME WHEN INVESTORS ARE FLOCKING

to index funds, we see signs that active manage-

ment still has a future. Over the past 12 months,

many of the funds in the Kiplinger 25 posted healthy

gains. We can’t claim victory yet—only a handful

of our U.S. stock fund picks beat Standard & Poor’s

500-stock index over that stretch—but the trend

is moving in the right direction. // A shift in market

dynamics may allow stock pickers to shine. In recent

years, the gap between the best-performing stocks

and the worst ones has narrowed, with the differ-

ence between the returns of stocks within the S&P

500 and the return of the index itself falling to

historic lows. It became “difficult to differentiate

ILLUSTRATIONS BY GIORDANO POLONI

With most of our favorite funds

thriving, we add only two new ones

this year. BY NELLIE S. HUANG

The Kip 25 Funds

DELIVER

INVESTING

50 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE^ 05/2017