July's Best ETFs: Pro-Biotech, or Anti-Commodity

In July, the best-performing exchange-traded funds bet either against commodities, or on biotechnology stocks.

With the sharp pullback in the price of oil to the $110 level from the $140 level, the UltraShort Oil & Gas ProShares(DUG Quote) gained 32.24% in July. The fund tracks the inverse of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index with 200% leverage.

The second-best performer, iShares MSCI Turkey Investible Market Index Fund(TUR Quote), added 25.23% for the month. This index fund, which began trading on March 28, is off to a good start.

Two other hot newcomers with even shorter track records focus on shorting commodities. For July, the PowerShares DB Commodity Double Short ETN(DEE Quote) is up 23.06%. Over the same period, the PowerShares DB Agriculture Double Short ETN(AGA Quote) returned 21.70%.

Most of the remaining funds on the list hold biotech stocks like Genetech(DNA Quote), Amgen(AMGN Quote) and Biogen Idec(BIIB Quote).

The best-performing of these biotechnology funds are the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF(XBI Quote) and the Biotech HOLDRs Trust(BBH Quote), appreciating 20.10% and 19.75%, respectively.

Climbing out of the abyss, the Regional Bank HOLDRs Trust(RKH Quote) halved its loss over the last year with a solid, 16.60% performance in July. Top holdings include JPMorgan Chase(JPM Quote), Wells Fargo(WFC Quote) and Bank of America(BAC Quote).

Best Performing ETFs in July
Fund (Ticker) Rating	1 Month Total Return %	3 Month Total Return %	Objective
ProShares Ultra Short Oil & Gas (DUG) E	32.24	13.27	Sector - Energy/Natural Res
iShares MSCI Turkey Inv Mkt Idx (TUR) U	25.23	6.45	Non-US Equity
PowerShares DB Commodity Double Sht (DEE) U	23.06	NA	Growth - Domestic
PowerShares DB Agri Double Sht (AGA) U	21.70	NA	Growth - Domestic
SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) B-	20.10	25.30	Sector - Health/Biotechnology
HOLDRS Biotech (BBH) C+	19.75	26.56	Sector - Health/Biotechnology
First Trust AMEX Biotechnology (FBT) C-	17.29	15.57	Sector - Health/Biotechnology
HOLDRS Regional Bank (RKH) D+	16.60	-14.22	Sector - Financial Services
iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (IBB) C+	15.70	14.80	Sector - Health/Biotechnology
PowerShares Dynamic Biotech&Genome (PBE) C-	15.65	12.13	Sector - Health/Biotechnology
Source: TheStreet.com Ratings

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