LETTER TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS
(concluded)
began to fall late in the quarter, as high U.S. yields were expected to offset concerns about shortages in some crops like wheat. High inventory and slack demand combined to keep the price of a barrel of oil stuck in a narrow range, although it traded toward the high end ($82) of the range by September.
In contrast to the second quarter, when worries about European sovereign debt and a possible double-dip recession in the U.S. loomed large, stocks in countries around the world had strong gains in the third quarter. The MSCI EAFE Index* was up 15% for the third quarter and the MSCI EAFE Emerging Markets Index* was up 18%. The latter index was among the best-performing indices for the past six months, up 6%. Markets in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Philippines, were at all-time highs, while India and South Korea also flirted with record highs. The domestic stock market of China, which this year is expected to overtake Japan as the world’s second-largest economy, pared its loss for the year, gaining 11% in the third quarter, as investors think the government may be reducing its efforts to rein in the economy. The STOXX 50®* Index also offset year-to-date losses with a 7% rise in the third quarter, despite a weak outlook issued by the European Central Bank. The Nikkei -225 Stock Average Index*, off 11% for the year, rose 6% in September, helped in part by foreign exchange market intervention designed to hold down the value of the yen.
Rydex|SGI has a full lineup of fundamental alpha, target beta and alternative investment products designed to provide investors with the tools needed to participate in all types of markets and market environments. Contact us if you wish to learn more, and thanks for the trust you place in us.
Sincerely,
Michael Byrum
President & Chief Investment Officer
*Indices are defined as follows:
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500) – a capitalization-weighted index covering 500 industrial, utility, transportation and financial companies of the U.S. markets (mostly NYSE Euronext issues).
Nikkei-225 Stock Average Index – a price-weighted index of 225 blue-chip companies traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, Far East) – a market-capitalization index designed to measure equity market performance in developed markets, excluding the U.S. & Canada. Consists in 2010 of the following 22 developed market country indices: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
MSCI EAFE Emerging Markets – a market-capitalization index designed to measure equity market performance in emerging markets. Consists in 2010 of the following 21 emerging market country indices: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey.
The STOXX 50 Index – Europe’s leading Blue-chip index for the Eurozone, provides a blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone. The index covers 50 stocks from 12 Eurozone countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The STOXX 50 Index is licensed to financial institutions to serve as underlying for a wide range of investment products such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETF), Futures and Options, and structured products worldwide.
Performance displayed represents past performance which is no guarantee of future results. Of course, fund performance is subject to daily market volatility and may be better or worse since the end of the last quarter. For up-to-date fund performance, call us at 800.820.0888 or visit www.rydex-sgi.com.
Read each fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) carefully before investing. It contains the fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information, which should be considered carefully before investing. Obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) at www.rydex-sgi.com or call 800.820.0888