4 Ignored ETFs Up More Than 20% YTD (GERJ, VROM, TAO)

Evaluation techniques for exchange-traded products often resemble the same process used by NFL franchises to figure out in which round a particular player is worthy of being drafted. Translation: Superficial numbers tell some of the story, but often leave out key elements. For example, a prospective NFL player can light it up at the draft combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds and bench pressing 225 pounds 35 times, but that doesn't mean he'll find his way to the Pro Bowl. Likewise, an ETF can be heavily traded, have over $100 million in assets under management and fulfill other superficial metrics deemed important by so-called experts, but those funds can be duds when it comes to what matters most: performance. ETF investing is just like any other aspect of the financial markets in that popularity is rarely a harbinger of alpha and an ETF's size is no promise of good returns, either. Just look at some of the funds that are up 20% or more year-to-date that are all but ignored. Market Vectors Germany Small-Cap ETF GERJ There's no doubt that touching any ETF with heavy Euro Zone exposure is a risk these days, but Germany ETFs have held up pretty well. In fact, the $2.8 billion iShares Germany Index Fund EWG is up more than 13% year-to-date. In general, that's impressive, particularly if one chooses to ignore the 20.2% gain offered by the $3.2 million Market Vectors Germany Small-Cap ETF, an ETF that trades just 800 shares per day. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund FBT With almost $251 million in AUM, the First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund is by no means small, but it is unheralded compared to its primary rivals, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF IBB and the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF XBI. Those ETFs are up 19.7% and 22.2%, respectively, year-to-date. That's nice, but only if one chooses to ignore the fact FBT exists because FBT is up 35% this year and is arguably home to better allocations to credible biotech takeover targets. It has been said biotech stocks are firecrackers and have their brand of dynamism. Looks like FBT is the king firecracker of biotech ETFs. Guggenheim China Real Estate ETF TAO A favorite past time of China bashers is calling for a real estate bubble that is on the cusp of bursting. They say it could ruin the world's second-largest economy and they talk about ghost cities and other ominous elements. Those issues should not be ignored, but the Chinese government is better equipped to deal with a credit crisis than its Western counterparts were several years ago due to the sheer fact that Beijing is better financed than Brussels or Washington, D.C. No, China real estate and TAO aren't without their risks. And yes, TAO with all of $21.2 million in AUM, has offered better than double the returns of the iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund FXI this year. Global X Auto ETF VROM VROM and the rival First Trust NASDAQ Global Auto Index Fund CARZ will each soon celebrate their first birthdays, but despite the fact that the auto industry is an integral part of the U.S. economy, neither fund has really gained any traction with investors. Automakers are usually viewed as discretionary plays and parts suppliers are arguably industrial stocks, so it's worth noting that thinly-traded VROM is up almost 25% this year compared to gains of 10% and almost 18%, respectively, for the Industrial Select Sector SPDR XLI and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR XLY. For more on lesser-known ETFs generating big returns, please click HERE.