McCain vs. Obama: Which Funds Stand to Win

Now that the primary election season is over, it is time to revisit the funds that would do well under the presumptive Republican and Democratic party nominees, and add more funds that could deliver for investors under new political possibilities.

Back in early February, I called the Republican race for Arizona Sen. John McCain and picked funds that could do well under his administration.

My choices under a McCain victory in November were the, B+ rated Fidelity Select Defense and Aerospace Fund(FSDAX), C- rated PowerShares Aerospace & Defense Fund(PPA), and the D- rated SPDR S&P Biotech ETF(XBI).

McCain vs. Obama: Who's Better for the Economy?

On the Democratic Party side, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was able to ride the momentum I cited in my February article to the finish line.

The funds selected to benefit in an Obama presidential win, included the C rated PowerShares Wilderhill Clean Energy Portfolio(PBW) and the E rated PowerShares Dynamic Building & Construction Fund(PKB).

On the other hand, I predicted the companies held by the D rated SPDR Pharmaceuticals ETF(XPH) might do poorly under Obama as could the D rated iShares Dow Jones US Insurance Index Fund(IAK).

As expected with Obama, the three month returns of 2.79% for pharmaceuticals ETF and negative 0.47% for insurance ETF lagged the 5.77% return from the S&P 500 Index.

If Obama selects Senator Hillary Clinton as his vice-presidential running-mate and adopts her, more industry friendly, healthcare plan, the iShares Dow Jones US Insurance Index Fund would flip back into the potential winner column as would the C rated Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLY), which also lagged at 3.29% for the same period.

Over the three months ending May 31, the McCain picks gained 3.99% from Fidelity Defense, 7.36% from PowerShares Defense, and 11.66% from the Biotech SPDR. For the same period, the bullish Obama picks grew 8.35% in PowerShares Clean Energy and 8.64% in PowerShares Building & Construction.