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ETFs in Precious Metals, Shorts Shine

Sam Patel

Another interesting feature of the list is the number of ETFs from the Powershares stable. Our lists in the past were dominated by iShares ETFs by Barclays Global Advisors.

The iShares Lehman 3-7 Year Treasury fund is the only one in the top 10 from Barclays this time. Although its return in comparison to the other funds is noticeably lower (especially for the one-month period) and it's in a very low risk category, its three- and six-month returns have been competitive.

The Federal Reserve's penchant for lower rates and other credit-crisis-saving measures have inflated demand for these securities with banks borrowing at the lower Fed rates and investing these funds into Treasuries and profiting on the spread.

One gets the feeling, however, that at the current low yields generated by high prices of these securities, walking in at these price levels may not be such a good idea.

Precious metals did very well during the month and over the past six months, however of late there has been a pullback in the prices of these commodities, so the outlook for this sector remains a little uncertain.

This is related to the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar, to the detriment of the price of gold. This relationship between precious metals and the dollar is likely to remain fluid, depending on what news comes out this year.

The precious-metals funds and the CurrencyShares foreign currency ETFs or the PowerShares DB US Dollar Bearish fund are for those investors who take a negative view of the dollar going forward, despite its recent strengthening.

Inverse funds offer an opportunity for investors who see further stock market weakness. The best inverse funds in February focused on the small-cap arena, with shorts on the S&P Small Cap 600 and the Russell 2000 performing the best.

Outside of the top 10, but also carrying a TSC A-plus rating, are the funds listed in the chart below. These give investors a few more options in the above described categories, and they include one other top performer -- PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund -- although over the last month that fund has not performed as well.