Three Newly Rated ETFs to Buy

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - TheStreet Ratings initiates coverage of seven exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, that accrued a sufficient track record of risk and performance data by the end of April 2010. Just three of these funds that opened for business in April of 2009 received 'buy' range grades. All three scored our highest possible rating of A+, or Excellent.

The best performer of the bunch, Vanguard FTSE All World ex-US Small-Cap ETF (VSS) gained 26% in the year ending April 30, 2010. The shares have plunged in May on global debt concerns providing a potentially opportune entry point for this fund. The fund is allocated to 43% Europe, 23% emerging markets, 19% Pacific, and 16% North America with key holdings of Crescent Point Energy, Eldorado Gold (EGO), Silver Wheaton (SLW), and IAMGOLD (IAG).

Two SPDR ETFs also start out at A+. The SPDR Barclays Capital Convertible Securities ETF (CWB) topped a 23% return in one year by tracking convertible bonds. Up 20% over the same period, SPDR KBW Mortgage Finance ETF (KME) is benefiting from new single family home sales reaching a two-year high in April.

The past year was the wrong time to bet against 10 year or 30 year treasuries with 300% leverage. Direxion Daily 10-Yr Treas Bear 3X (TYO), rated at D+, lost nearly 12% and Direxion Daily 30-Yr Treas Bear 3X (TMV), rated at D, was mauled for 27%.

-- Reported by Kevin Baker in Jupiter, Fla.

Kevin Baker became the senior financial analyst for TheStreet Ratings upon the August 2006 acquisition of Weiss Ratings by TheStreet.com, covering mutual funds. He joined the Weiss Group in 1997 as a banking and brokerage analyst. In 1999, he created the Weiss Group's first ratings to gauge the level of risk in U.S. equities. Baker received a B.S. degree in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. with a finance specialization from Nova Southeastern University.