TheStreet.com Ratings Guide to Exchange-Traded Funds

TheStreet.com Ratings editors analyze hundreds of mutual funds each quarter, condensing all of the available data into a single composite opinion of each fund's risk-adjusted performance.

The intuitive, consumer-friendly ratings allow investors to instantly identify those funds that have historically done well and those that have under-performed the market. And while there is no guarantee of future performance, the TheStreet.com Investment Ratings provide a solid framework for making informed investment decisions. Each quarterly edition identifies the top-performing exchange-traded funds based on risk category, type of fund, and overall risk-adjusted performance.

The rating scale, A through E, gives you a better handle on a exchange-traded fund's risk-adjusted performance.

For those investors looking to tailor their mutual fund selections based on age, income, and tolerance for risk, we've also assigned two component ratings to each fund: a performance rating and a risk rating. With these, you can identify those funds that re best suited to meet your - or your client's - individual needs and goals. Other features include:

• Top & Bottom 200 Exchange-Traded Funds
• Performance and Risk: 100 Best and Worst Exchange-
• Traded Funds
• Investor Profile Quiz
• Performance Benchmarks
• Fund Type Descriptions

Each quarterly edition identifies the top performing exchange-traded funds based on risk category, type of fund, and overall risk-adjusted performance.

With the growing popularity of mutual fund investing, consumers need a reliable source to help them track and evaluate the performance of their mutual fund holdings. Plus, they need a way of identifying and monitoring other funds as potential new investments. Unfortunately, the hundreds of performance and risk measures available multiplied by the vast number of mutual fund investments on the market today can make this a daunting task for even the most sophisticated investor, so this Guide will serve as a useful tool for both the first-time and seasoned investor.

TheStreet.com Ratings Guides
TheStreet.com’s rating scale is extremely straightforward and easy to understand. There are no complicated number grades to interpret, no colored paper to decode, and no stars to count. Instead, each entry gets a simple, intuitive letter grade that immediately identifies the wheat from the chaff. This is one more reason why TheStreet.com Ratings is widely recognized as "America's Consumer Advocate for Financial Safety." The TheStreet.com Safety Ratings have been proven to be the most accurate available from any of the major rating agencies. Plus, unlike the other major rating agencies, TheStreet.com does not accept compensation from the companies it rates, and thus does not allow companies to influence the ratings they receive or to suppress the release of their ratings. In fact, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) validated TheStreet.com’s accuracy in its Insurance Ratings study, and that same superior rating methodology is used when deriving all other ratings as well.

Please Note: This publisher is in a remote location. As such, it may take up to 4 business days before a hard copy order is able to be shipped from this location.

Introduction

Welcome

How to Use This Guide

About TheStreet.com Investment Ratings

Important Warnings and Cautions

Section I. Index of ETFs and Other Closed-End Funds

Section II. Analysis of ETFs and Other Closed-End Funds

Section III. Top ETFs and Other Closed-End Funds

Section IV. Bottom ETFs and Other Closed-End Funds

Section V. Performance: Best and Worst ETFs *

Section VI. Top-Rated ETFs by Fund Type *

Appendix

What is a Mutual Fund?

How Do Open-End Funds, ETFs and other Closed-End Funds Differ?

Performance Benchmarks

Exchange-Traded Funds Summary Data

Fund Type Descriptions

TheStreet.com Ratings’ Products

* Includes other Closed-End Funds