Kevin Baker
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 - Cramer on DUG - Stock Picks) 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 - Cramer on TUR - Stock Picks), 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 - Cramer on DEE - Stock Picks) is up 23.06%. Over the same period, the PowerShares DB Agriculture Double Short ETN(AGA Quote - Cramer on AGA - Stock Picks) returned 21.70%. Most of the remaining funds on the list hold biotech stocks like Genetech(DNA Quote - Cramer on DNA - Stock Picks), Amgen(AMGN Quote - Cramer on AMGN - Stock Picks) and Biogen Idec(BIIB Quote - Cramer on BIIB - Stock Picks). The best-performing of these biotechnology funds are the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF(XBI Quote - Cramer on XBI - Stock Picks) and the Biotech HOLDRs Trust(BBH Quote - Cramer on BBH - Stock Picks), appreciating 20.10% and 19.75%, respectively. Climbing out of the abyss, the Regional Bank HOLDRs Trust(RKH Quote - Cramer on RKH - Stock Picks) halved its loss over the last year with a solid, 16.60% performance in July. Top holdings include JPMorgan Chase(JPM Quote - Cramer on JPM - Stock Picks), Wells Fargo(WFC Quote - Cramer on WFC - Stock Picks) and Bank of America(BAC Quote - Cramer on BAC - Stock Picks).| 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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