Top 5 Best Performing Energy Mutual Funds - Best Performing Funds Year To Date

With every passing year, the world's appetite for energy continues to increase steadily. Governments and corporations alike are constantly on the lookout for new energy sources or more efficient technology. For fast growing economies such as China and India, the situation is even more acute. Prices of these scarce resources are surging and investors could benefit from the situation by investing in this sector. Energy mutual funds are a superior option for forays into the industry as they reduce risks involved by holding widely diversified portfolios

Below we will share with you the 5 best performing energy funds year to date. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all energy funds, then click here.

Mutual Fund	Zacks Rank	Total Return YTD
ProFunds UltraSector Oil&Gas Investor	#1 Strong Buy	15.7%
ProFunds Oil Equipment Services & Distribution	#1 Strong Buy	14.4%
Vanguard Energy Index	#1 Strong Buy	11.1%
Fidelity Select Energy Services	#1 Strong Buy	11.0%
Rydex Energy Services	#2 Buy	10.9%

ProFunds UltraSector Oil & Gas Investor (ENPIX) seeks to return daily investment results which are one and a half times the daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index. The fund primarily purchases equity securities and derivatives whose daily returns correspond to its investment objectives. The energy mutual fund has a ten year annualized return of 9.95%.

The fund manager is Todd Johnson and he has managed this energy mutual fund since 2008.

ProFunds Oil Equipment Services & Distribution (OEPIX) invests the majority of its assets in equity securities or derivatives whose daily return corresponds to that of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution index. The balance of its assets is invested in money market instruments. The energy mutual fund returned 109.75% over the last one year period.

The energy mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of $15,000 and an expense ratio of 1.80% compared to a category average of 1.65%.

Vanguard Energy Index (VENAX) seeks to mimic the performance of the MSCI U.S. Investable Market Energy 25/50 Index. The index consists of securities of domestic energy companies of different market capitalizations. This energy mutual fund has a five year annualized return of 7.54%.

The fund manager is Jeffrey D. Miller and he has managed this energy mutual fund since 2010.

Fidelity Select Energy Services (FSESX) invests a large proportion of its assets in companies from the energy services domain. These companies could provide services to both conventional and alternative energy firms. The energy mutual fund is non-diversified and has a ten year annualized return of 11.54%.

As of May 2011, this energy mutual fund held 42 issues, with 16.82% of its total assets invested in Schlumberger, Ltd..

Rydex Energy Services (RYVIX) seeks capital growth. A large proportion of the fund's assets are utilized to purchase equity securities of energy services firms which are traded in the U.S. The fund focuses on investing in small and mid-sized companies. The energy mutual fund returned 64.88% over the last one year period.

The energy mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of $2,500 and an expense ratio of 1.39% compared to a category average of 1.65%.

To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all energy mutual funds, then click here.

About Zacks Mutual Fund Rank

By applying the Zacks Rank to mutual funds, investors can find funds that not only outpaced the market in the past but are also expected to outperform going forward. Learn more about the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank at http://www.zacks.com/funds.

 
Zacks Investment Research