Energy, Utilities Sector ETFs Do Best in May

When all of the monthly total return data for May is aggregated by fund objective, stock funds generally outperformed fixed income -- and energy and utilities sectors rose above the rest, averaging 5.39% and 3.35% respectively.

The best energy and natural resource ETF in May is the Market Vectors Coal ETF(KOL Quote), returning 22.04% for the month. There were unbelievable one-month returns of 90.77% in Western Canadian Coal(WSJXF Quote), 71.35% in James River Coal(JRCC Quote), and 67.89% in Alpha Natural Resources(ANR Quote).

The second-best ETF fund objective for May is the utility sector. With 200% leverage to the Dow Jones U.S. Utilities Index, the Ultra Utilities ProShares(UPW Quote) garnered 6.06%. Making up for the underperformers, electric utility TECO Energy(TE Quote) generated 28.58%, energy pipeline company National Fuel Gas(NFG Quote) delivered 17.84%, and gas distributor Nicor(GAS Quote) rose 16.26%.

Domestic growth ETFs, led by ProShares Ultra QQQ(QLD Quote) at 11.94%, averaged 3.12% as a group. The fund targets twice the return of the Nasdaq-100 index, which had a top-performing member in May in Marvell Technology Group(MRVL Quote), Symantec(SYMC Quote), Activision(ATVI Quote), and Dell(DELL Quote).

An interesting global equity ETF making a comeback in May is the Market Vectors Nuclear ETF(NLR Quote). Mining company holdings specializing in non-ferrous metals like Aurora Energy Resources(AUEGF Quote), up 57.57%; Ur-Energy(UREGF Quote), up 51.93%; and USEC(USU Quote), up 50.22% celebrated a good month.

The non-U.S. equity group turned red into green, with the Market Vectors Russia ETF(RSX Quote) adding 17.59% to an already parade-worthy year. The four largest holdings that combine to 50.2% of assets -- Lukoil, Gazprom OAO, Sberbank, and MMC Norilsk Nickel -- are making the most of Russia's increasingly centralized economy.

Best Performing Funds in May for Each ETF Objective
Objective	Avg May Perf	Fund (Ticker) Rating	May 2008 Total Return
Sector - Energy/Natural Res	5.39%	Market Vectors Coal ETF (KOL) U	22.04%
Sector - Utilities	3.35%	ProShares Ultra Utilities (UPW) E-	6.06%
Growth - Domestic	3.12%	ProShares Ultra QQQ (QLD) E	11.94%
Global Equity	2.33%	Market Vectors Nuclear Fund ETF (NLR) U	14.30%
Equity Income	2.03%	SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) B+	14.71%
Sector - Health/Biotechnology	1.83%	SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) D-	7.34%
Non-US Equity	1.40%	Market Vectors TR Russia ETF (RSX) C	17.59%
Emerging Market Equity	1.32%	SPDR S&P Emerging Europe ETF (GUR) E	12.82%
Sector - Precious Metals	0.76%	Market Vectors TR Gold Miners (GDX) D-	5.55%
Municipal - National	0.54%	Market Vectors LB AMT Fr Lng Mun (MLN) U	0.81%
Emerging Market Income	0.26%	PowerShares Emrg Mkt Sovereign Debt (PCY) U	0.42%
Municipal - High Yield	0.21%	PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly (PVI) U	0.21%
Corporate - High Yield	-0.12%	SPDR Lehman High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) U	0.39%
Global Income	-0.62%	SPDR DB Intl Gvt Inflation Pt Bond (WIP) U	0.25%
General Mortgage	-0.76%	iShares Lehman MBS Fixed-Rate Bond (MBB) B	-0.76%
Growth & Income	-0.89%	First Trust Lrg Cap Core AlphaDEX (FEX) U	2.77%
Municipal Single State	-0.91%	iShares S&P NY Municipal Bond (NYF) U	-0.75%
General Bd - Investment Grade	-1.06%	Bear Stearns Current Yield Fund (YYY) U	0.43%
Corporate - Investment Grade	-1.29%	iShares Lehman 1-3 Year Credit Bond (CSJ) B+	-0.62%
Government Bond	-1.49%	Ameristock/Ryan 1 Year Treasury ETF (GKA) U	0.56%
Sector - Financial Services	-3.65%	ProShares Ultra Short Financials (SKF) C-	9.21%
Source: TheStreet.com Ratings

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