U.S. and many global markets soared in the first half of the year, with many growth-oriented stocks outperforming. The S & P 500 soared by 15.9% in the first six months of the year — its best first half since 2019. The MSCI World Index , meanwhile, was up over 12%. "2023 1H was a mirror image of 2022, with poorly performing asset classes doing well and vice versa.
Here are the top performing, actively managed equity funds in the first half of the year, according to data from Morningstar. Here are some stocks that appeared most often in the top 10 holdings of the funds, with potential upside to price targets and buy ratings, according to FactSet. The stock with the largest potential upside is the U.S.-listed shares of Chinese tech giant Alibaba , at nearly 62%, with an analyst buy rating of 87%.