July Skims Another 2.0% from Investors

The ETF 50 Index™, the industry's leading measure of ETF performance, fell 2.0% in July, dragged down by a sharp fall in energy and foreign funds, notably emerging markets.

Markets are chaotic; investors are panicked by inflation, which shot up to 5.0% in the latest government report. With all this uncertainty about domestic politics and global economic conditions, money can't find anyplace to hide.

The largest ETF, SPDR S&P 500 Trust (SPY), slipped only 0.9% in July. But Nos. 2 and 3, iShares MSCI EAFE Index (EFA) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM), skidded 3.3% and 5.5%, respectively. No. 4 PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ), representing the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index, actually eked out a 0.6% gain. No. 5 SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) declined 1.4%.

SPDR S&P Energy (XLE) tumbled 15.7% as oil prices retreated from their historic highs. Other commodities also sank, with PowerShares Commodity Tracking Index (DBC) off 10.8% and PowerShares DB Agriculture down 9.9%.

Domestic small-cap stocks proved surprisingly resilient, with iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM) ahead 3.3%. iShares Russell 2000 Value (IWN) spurted 4.0%. iShares Lehman Aggregate Bond (AGG) was unchanged.

Beleaguered financial stocks rallied, with SPDR S&P Financial Sector (XLF) ahead 6.9%

The ETF 50 Index™ represents the price-only asset-weighted price performance of the 50 largest exchange-traded funds. The index consists of a broadly diversified universe of funds representing domestic and foreign stocks, bonds, commodities and real estate, and is a better indicator of actual investor returns than indices tied to particular markets.