New Alt Energy, Africa ETFs Disappoint in October

Possibly the most conventional offering on the table, the iShares S&P Global Nuclear Index Fund (NUCL Quote), contains established stocks such as McDermott International (MDR Quote), FPL Group (DPL Quote) and First Energy (FE Quote).

Philosophically, NUCL is arguably the antithesis of the iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Industry Fund (ICLN Quote), the major holdings of which include First Solar (FSLR Quote), energy-from-waste pioneer Covanta Holdings (CVA Quote) and Sunpower (SPWRA Quote).

Of the Africa-Middle-East pair of ETFs on the list, the PowerShares MENA Frontier Countries Fund (PMNA Quote), with large positions in securities such as Arab Bank and Kuwait Finance, is more heavily invested in the oil-rich Persian Gulf than in the emerging African region.

On the other hand, the Market Vectors Africa Index ETF (AFK Quote) is invested in large African corporations.

Selected New 'Concept' ETFs Name (Ticker), TheStreet.com Ratings Grade Inception Date Advisor Investment Concept Oct. Total Return (%) 3-Month Total Return (%) First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy Index Fund (FAN), U 6/16/2008 First Trust Advisors ISE Global Wind Energy Index -45.17 -57.27 iPath Barclays Capital Gl Carbon Idx Tot Retn (GRN), U 6/24/2008 Barclay's Global Barclays Capital Global Carbon Index Total Return -18.91 -14.45 iShares S&P Global Nuclear Index Fd (NUCL), U 6/24/2008 Barclay's Global The S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index -19.49 -39.86 iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Ind (ICLN), U 6/24/2008 Barclay's Global S&P Global Clean Energy Index -39.73 -55.07 PowerShares Global Wind Energy Port (PWND), U 7/1/2008 Invesco PowerShares NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Global Wind Energy Index -38.10 N/A PowerShares MENA Frontier Countries (PMNA), U 7/9/2008 Invesco PowerShares Middle East or African & New Frontier Countries -21.00 N/A Market Vectors Africa Index ETF (AFK), U 7/10/2008 Van Eck Associates Dow Jones Africa Titans 50 Index -26.07 -40.33 S&P 500 Total Return -16.78 -23.11

Source: TheStreet.com Ratings (Data as of 9/30/2008) For more information, check out an explanation of our ratings.