Four Hottest ETFs of Past Week - ERX, SEA, TYH, AGQ

Each week, I like to publish the past week's hottest ETFs to share some new trends and niche ETFs out there and give investors some new ideas. For this week, energy and tech were hot. Additionally, real estate stocks had a strong showing; who knows, between low interest rates and the resurgence of the 40 year mortgage loan (and longer - 50 & 60!) to fill the vacuum of poor lending standards that led to the last housing crisis, perhaps we'll finally see a rebound in housing soon and our next bubble before we know it.

ERX -Direxion Daily Energy Bull 3X - Up 18% - This ETF seeks to return 300% of the daily performance of the Russell 1000 Energy Index. This ETF is a routine placement on the weekly list. As long as the trend continues upward, outsized returns will outpace the spot price of oil. However, note that with these daily resetting ETFs as noted above, volatility eats into returns if the trend breaks as outlined here in this explanation of the degredation of value on both sides of the 3X ETF Long/Short play. In other words, if you hang on to these too long, you can lose money on either side of the fence, regardless of what happens to the underlying index.

SEA - Claymore/Delta Global Shipping ETF - Up 14% - With a 9% jump on Friday, this shipping ETF is now up 81% over the prior 3 month period as the cost of shipping materials globally starts to pick up as the credit freeze thaws and global conditions improve. While this ETF has little yield to speak of, the underlying shipping stocks are notorious for delivering high yields due to the cash-rich business they operate in during boom times. Check out Seaspan (SSW), Ship Finance Ltd. (SFL) and Frontline (FRO).

TYH - Direxion Daily Technology Bull 3X Shares - Up 14% - Tech has been hot during this rebound as well and contrary to prior bear markets, Tech has held up quite well. For 2009 YTD, this ETF is up 14% vs. a 1% gain for the S&P500. The top 3 underlying holdings are Apple (AAPL), Cisco (CSCO) and Google (GOOG). While people may have stopped buying cars and new homes, evidently, they can't do without that new iPhone and companies haven't stopped relying on tech to deliver productivity gains and advertising benefits while they slash spending in virtually all other areas, including payrolls.

AGQ - ProShares Ultra Silver - Up 15% - With a 7% move on Friday, this 2X leveraged ETF tracking the return of silver was up an amazing 58% for the month, as silver had its biggest run in 22 years. AGQ was highlighted in this column earlier in May as well.