The Best and Worst Medalists of 2015's First Quarter

International-equity funds beat domestic-stock funds in 2015's first quarter through March 26; small cap edged large cap, and growth trounced value. Here's a look at some of the best and worst Morningstar Medalist funds of the year's opening frame.

Among international funds, a rising dollar tempered the returns of unhedged foreign-stock funds, but overseas equity offerings still turned in some of the best absolute performances of the year thus far. Funds with significant exposure to Japan and India, as well as smaller companies, did the best. Indeed, two Matthews funds with Morningstar Analyst Ratings of Bronze--

International funds with meaningful mid- and small-cap exposure led the way in the more diversified overseas categories. Bronze-rated foreign small/mid-blend fund

In the United States, small growth fared the best in the first three months of 2015, and so did funds owning a lot of health care, particularly biotechnology. Bronze-rated

At the bottom of the quarter-end ranking tables were stock funds with exposure to commodities, energy, and Latin America; so were a few high-conviction value managers. The large-value category was the weakest spot among the nine diversified domestic Morningstar Style Box categories in the first quarter with an average loss of 0.52% through March 26; small- and mid-value also lagged other equity types. So it makes sense that managers who focus on out-of-favor fare struggled.

Cash and energy dragged on Silver-rated

Bruce Berkowitz's

Fears that a slowing economy and a crackdown on official corruption in China will hurt gaming stocks

And Donald and Stephen Yacktman's Gold-rated

Before getting too euphoric or despondent about your fund's first-quarter results, take a deep breath and ask yourself some key questions. Is this what you would have expected from this manager or approach in this environment? Is this still an enduring strategy that can help you reach your long-term goals? Are you comfortable with this level of risk and fees? Answers to these sorts of questions can keep you from either chasing performance, selling too soon, or taking other hasty actions in reaction to short-term results.

For a list of the open-end funds we cover, click here. For a list of the closed-end funds we cover, click here. For a list of the exchange-traded funds we cover, click here. For information on the Morningstar Analyst Ratings, click here.