Cinderella ETFs for March Madness

A Cinderella story is one of great achievement and excitement. Characterized by overcoming the odds despite having all the chips stacked against you, these stories tend to have a following of doubters that look to dispel the story. With the chaos of March Madness about to kick off it is only right that the ETF industry's Cinderella stories be highlighted. Below are a number of ETFs that may not be the most well known ETFs or have, but they have performed well and have unique strategies that will certainly add a certain spice to any portfolio. The Guggenheim Solar ETF TAN follows 29 companies across seven countries that are involved in the solar industry. Solar has been widely criticized as not being a viable investment option and an impractical energy source. The top individual holdings are Hanergy Thin Film Power Group making up 21 percent of the ETF, Sunedison Inc SUNE at 8.8 percent, and First Solar Inc FSLR at 8.3 percent. The solar ETF is down 10 percent over the last 12 months, down 2 percent over the last six months, however it has been shining in 2015, up 26 percent. TAN has an expense ratio of 0.71 percent. The Global X Guru Index ETF GURU is made up of 42 companies and aims to mimic the investment strategy and holdings of hedge fund geniuses such as John Paulson, David Einhorn, Bill Ackman and more. This may seem strange to many investors but in the volatile market were currently experiencing, growth isn't coming as easy as it has in the past few years. Therefore peering over the shoulder of an expert for some guidance may not be a bad idea. The top holdings include Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company HMHC with a 2.6 percent holding, Pandora Media Inc P making up 2.6 percent of the ETF as well, and R.R. Donnelley & Sons company RRD also coming in at 2.6 percent. GURU is up 5 percent over the last 12 months, down 2 percent over the last six months and unchanged in 2015. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.75 percent. The Guggenheim Spin-Off ETF CSD provides investors exposure to companies that have been spin-off over the last 30 months with capitalizations under $10 billion. Spin offs typically are viewed as viable investments due to the fact they are now free of the parent company and are able to be valued appropriately. The top holdings of CSD are Mallinckrodt Plc MNK at 5.8 percent, WhiteWave Foods Inc WWAV totaling 5.3 percent, and The ADT Corp ADT coming in at 4.9 percent. The spin-off ETF down 1 percent over the last 12 months, down 1 percent over the last six months, and up 3 percent in 2015. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.66 percent.