Newly Rated ETFs Buy Money, Commodities

Befitting this era of crummy stock returns, exchange traded funds that invest in currencies, commodities and international securities dominate our list of newly rated ETFs.

Among the 24 recently added ETFs, seven are currency funds, one of which -- the Market Vectors Double Long Euro ETN(URR Quote) -- is leveraged. Another six buy commodities, including the leveraged PowerShares DB Commodity Double Long(DEE Quote). Seven more invest internationally, including five "global" ETFs that hold securities from the U.S. and abroad.

Despite the diversity of the newly rated offerings, only two have gained in value during the first five months of this year and in the previous 12 months. The WisdomTree Dreyfus Chinese Yuan Fund(CYB Quote) rode the export giant's strengthening currency to increase about 3% during both periods. The WisdomTree U.S. Short-Term Government Income Fund(USY Quote), which invests in bonds with short durations, rose 1.7% through May and 0.7% in the previous 12 months. The S&P 500 Index climbed 3.2% through May and lost 33% in the previous year.