Top 5 Best Performing Energy Funds Year to Date

Energy mutual funds offer an attractive opportunity to investors with a long term horizon since they represent a stable industry with a bright future. The demand for energy continues to rise steadily and this is particularly true of nations growing at a rapid pace such as China and India. Along with this trend, the pressure on natural resources which are harnessed to provide energy and related services has also increased considerably. With the advantages of professional management and well diversified portfolios mutual funds are the most viable route to invest in this sector.

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, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.

Calvert Global Alternative Energy A ( CGAEX - MF report ) seeks capital appreciation. The fund invests a large share of its assets in domestic and foreign companies from the alternative energy sector. The fund focuses on acquiring common stocks of small and mid-cap companies. The energy mutual fund has a three year annualized return of -3.91%.

The fund manager is Jens Ni Peers and he has managed this energy mutual fund since 2007.

Ivy Global Natural Resources A ( IGNAX - MF report ) invests the majority of its assets in equity securities of companies, whose primary operations are related to natural resources, including suppliers and service providers. The energy mutual fund has a three year annualized return of 23.54%.

The energy mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of $500 and an expense ratio of 1.39% compared to a category average of 1.46%.

DWS Clean Technology A ( ) seeks growth of both capital and income. The fund invests heavily in domestic and foreign companies whose principal operations are related to energy and resource efficiency. Not more than 40% of its assets may be invested in merging market securities. This energy mutual fund has a three year annualized return of 8.86%.

As of February 2012, this energy mutual fund held 77 issues, with 7.24% of its total assets invested in Danaher Corporation.

JHancock2 Natural Resources 1 ( JINRX - MF report ) invests a large share of its assets in equity and related securities of companies across the world whose primary operations involve natural resources. The fund selects firms which are expected to gain from increasing demand for natural resources. This energy mutual fund has a three year annualized return of 21.74%.

The fund manager is John O’Toole and he has managed this energy mutual fund since 2009.

To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all energy mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.

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.