Biotech, Bank Funds Got Healthier in July

The real estate sector was the only other one to post positive returns during the month.

By Kevin Baker August 13, 2008

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When we aggregate all of the July total return data for each equity fund objective, two sector fund groups averaged the highest one-month performances: Health and biotechnology ranks first, outperforming all others with an average return of 6.71%; financial-services funds followed closely behind, averaging 4.52%.

Only two other fund objectives joined them with positive return averages. The real estate sector, closely tied to the fortunes of the financial services sector, added 1.09%. Funds focusing on small capitalization stocks just barely eked out a positive average return of 0.49% for the month.

Topping the list is the ProFunds Biotechnology UltraSector ProFund (BIPIX), soaring 28.35% in July alone. The fund is leveraged 150% to members of the Dow Jones U.S. Biotechnology Index such as Gilead Sciences (GILD), Amgen (AMGN) and Genentech (DNA).

The financial sector bottomed in July. Funds like the ProFunds Banks UltraSector ProFund (BKPIX) recovered 26.19% in July but are still way down for the year.

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Financial stocks like Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Citigroup (C) are being tested in August to see if the bottom for this sector will hold.

Over the first seven months of this year, the Bloomberg Real Estate Investment Trust Index has been 83.7% correlated to the daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Banks Index. Given that, the Newberger Berman Real Estate Fund (NBRFX), with an allocation of 89.1% REITS, also bounced back from its losing position by the end of July returning 6.59%.

Public Storage (PSA) and Simon Property Group (SPG) are the top two holdings of the fund, at 7.15% and 5.99% of assets respectively.

Lastly, the best of the small-cap funds in July is the Highmark Small Cap Advantage Fund (HSAAX) with a positive return of 8.88%. The fund is diversified with 7.3% in retail, 7.2% in health-care services, 6.3% in oil & gas, 6.3% in insurance, 6.0% in consumer services, and 5.1% in transportation.

July's Best Performing Equity Mutual Funds for Each Objective
Objective	Avg July Perf %	Fund (Ticker) Rating	July 2008 Total Return %
Sector - Health/Biotechnology	6.71	ProFunds-Biotech Ultra Sector Inv (BIPIX) B-	28.35
Sector - Financial Services	4.52	ProFunds-Bank UltraSector Inv (BKPIX) E-	26.19
Sector - Real Estate	1.09	Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund (NBRFX) D-	6.59
Small Cap	0.49	HighMark Small Cap Advantage A (HSAAX) U	8.88
Equity Income	-0.85	PIMCO Small-Cap Stock PLUS Tr A (PCKAX) U	3.87
Growth & Income	-1.16	Van Kampen Value Opportunities A (VVOAX) E	5.95
Growth - Domestic	-1.65	ING GET Series-V (IGFVX) D-	29.12
Sector - Tech/Communications	-1.72	North Track NYSE ArcaTech 100 Idx A (PPTIX) C-	2.73
Sector - Other	-2.16	Direxion Developed Mkt Bear 2.0X Fd (DXDSX) U	6.46
Aggressive Growth	-2.32	Rydex Ser-Russell 2000 1.5x Strgy A (RYAKX) E-	4.47
Mid Cap	-2.34	MassMutual Select Mid Cap Value A (MLUAX) U	6.12
Global Equity	-2.68	Janus Global Opportunities Fund (JGVAX) D-	2.85
Non-US Equity	-4.00	ProFunds-Ultra Sh Latin America Inv (UFPIX) U	18.87
Emerging Market Equity	-4.75	Profunds-Ultra Sh Emer Mkt Inv (UVPIX) U	15.29
Sector - Utilities	-6.59	Gabelli Utilities A (GAUAX) B+	-1.57
Sector - Precious Metals	-10.80	ProFunds Short Precious Metals Inv (SPPIX) U	13.39
Sector - Energy/Natural Res	-13.07	ProFunds Short Oil & Gas Inv (SNPIX) U	15.37
Source: TheStreet.com Ratings

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