Given the rather abysmal start to the 2008 trading year, I thought it would be instructive to highlight the total 2007 stock market returns of some of the major indices like the Nasdaq and Dow of course, as well as some niche ETFs and international / emerging markets to give a sense of how they performed during 2007 and whether continued momentum in particular regions/sectors would be attractive for your portfolio in 2008. I will highlight some ETFs you've probably never heard of (for instance, I've been watching MOO to play the grain/food commodity run we've seen as a result of rising corn prices and the weak dollar-up 40% in just a few months!).

First, the U.S. Major Indices:

S&P500 SPY 5%
Powershares QQQ Trust QQQQ 18%
iShares Russell 3000 IWV 4%
Dow Diamonds DIA 9%

Next, some ETFs:

Now, for some real niche ETFs that you don't see everyday. Some of the returns are rather surprising (i.e. note the drastic differences between Health Shares Cancer and Emerging Cancer...you really have to know the underlying companies and what you're buying into). Since there are hundred of ETFs these days, I chose some that I thought had rather large gains or losses that might interest you. I expect that given the paltry volume on some of these, you may see some cease to exist after explosive new issues over the past 2 years; but as long as they're available, enjoy!

HealthShares (HS) Cancer HHK 15%**
HS Emerging Cancer HHJ -35%**
HS Diagnostics HHD 26%**
** Note, these HealthShares are only as of March 2007

iShares Energy IYE 42%
iShares AeroSpace & Defense ITA 28%
iShares Financial IYF -21%
iShares Real Estate IYR -21%
Market Vectors Steel XLX 90%
Market Vectors Gold Miners GDX 21%
Market Vectors Global Alt Energy GEX 47% *since launch May
Market Vectors Agribusiness MOO 40% *since launch Sep
Powershares Clean Energy PBW 60%

Now, International Markets:

iShares Australia EWA 28%
iShares Canada EWC 33%
iShares Hong Kong EWH 37%
iShares Latin America 40 ILF 40%
iShares Emerging Markets EEM 33%
iShares Malaysia EWM 40%
iShares South Africa EZA 22%
iShares South Korea EWY 35%
Powershares China PGJ 57%
Powershares Commodity DBC 37%

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In the world outside the U.S., I tend to like most of these above given some unique characteristics. Australia, with its natural resource play and strong economy; Malaysia and S. Korea, which sell massively into China - if you feel China's played out, why not invest in the economies that will continue to benefit from its growth? South Africa - the last frontier of emerging markets is Africa in general. Although South Africa is light years ahead of some central regions, it will still benefit from the growth you'll see in the rest of the continent, as there is no ETF for the sub-Saharan regions.

While considering 2007, don't forget to visit the year-end " Best of " edition which highlights various non-correlated market beating instruments, alternative investments and personal finance/savings links:

http://everydayfinance.blogspot.com/2007/12/everyday-finance-2007-best-of-edition.html