TY - JOUR T1 - Interest Rate Sensitivity of Equity Mutual Funds JF - The Journal of Wealth Management SP - 61 LP - 71 DO - 10.3905/jwm.2000.320374 VL - 2 IS - 4 AU - Amy F. Lipton AU - Gerald W. Buetow, Jr. Y1 - 2000/01/31 UR - https://pm-research.com/content/2/4/61.abstract N2 - The authors address the extent to which interest rate movements impact equity mutual fund returns. Just as different stocks have distinct interest rate sensitivities, so do different categories of mutual funds. This article shows that the interest rate sensitivity of mutual funds depends on the funds' objectives and characteristics. Specifically, the more income-oriented the fund or the more sensitive the underlying sector to interest rates, the more the fund will be negatively affected by interest rate changes. For individual investors holding a variety of mutual funds in their portfolios, identifying and measuring these sensitivities can contribute to portfolio risk management and enhance portfolio performance. The classification of mutual fund risk will give individual investors and portfolio managers a tool which they can incorporate into decision-making at the portfolio level and apply to the hedging of overall interest rate risk. Active fund managers can also use it to change a fund's risk profile. ER -