It looks like it just might become fashionable again to invest in U.S. equities.

The DJIA broke the psychologically significant 17,000 barrier today (reaching 17,071.36 as of 12:37 PM), and with that a boost in investor confidence. The question is whether this boost could lead to improved assets gathering for the fund families riding the performance wave.

Here are five fund families that might benefit from the wave. Their products were the top equity performers in terms of year-to-date performance on the Morningstar fund screener.

The first is Valley Forge, whose 3-star Large Value fund garnered 19.18 percent in returns year-to-date.

The next family that could benefit is Hennessy Advisors, with two 5-star Mid-Cap Blend products that took second and third in Y-to-D performance: returning 16.27 and 16.14 percent/

Next up is Wells Fargo with two 2-star Small Blend products that returned 15.88 and 15.76 percent.

The fourth family is Upright Investments Trust, whose 3-star Upright Growth Fund generated 15.67 percent in returns year-to-date.

The fund is small, only $12 million, and is managed by David Chieuh, who is president of the firm. Upright is based in East Hanover, N.J. The fund was launched in 1999, and charges 100 bps in management fees.

The fifth family, Saratoga, which had three 3-star Large Blend products, which garnered between 14.75 and 14.91 percent. 

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