These are the top funds in five major categories, ranked according to three-year returns. We primarily consider funds with managers in place for at least three years; the only exceptions are managers with at least three years’ experience in a similar capacity. We don’t rank funds with front- or back-end loads greater than 3 percent or funds that are closed to new investors, have less than $25 million in assets, have minimums of $10,000 or more, have trust restrictions or are single-state muni-bond funds. All data as of 05/31/09.

Source: Morningstar, Bloomberg

The Louis Rukeyser Honor Roll 

Funds that have been on The Rukeyser 100 more than 80 percent of the past three years (at least 29 out of 36 months) make it onto The Louis Rukeyser Honor Roll. Their names are in green and marked with laurels.

On the Move

-As expected, gold funds dominated our industry sector category this month after concerns over US monetary and fiscal policy generated heavy interest in the metal. We expect a slight reversal next month, but gold will likely continue to outperform in coming months.

–ETF Market Opportunity (ETFOX), essentially a fund of funds, barely made the cut for inclusion in the Rukeyser 100 this month. Holding a portfolio of 18 exchange-traded funds (ETF), ETF Market Opportunity may be intriguing on its face, but it’s not a cheap investment: The expense ratio clocks in at 2.22 percent.

– T Rowe Price New American Growth (PRWAX) has catapulted into the top 5 percent of large growth funds as bets on Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), Google (NSDG: GOOG) and Goodrich Corp (NYSE: GR) have paid off well. A fairly large stake in Whole Foods Market (NSDQ: WFMI), which has returned almost 125 percent on a year-to-date basis, hasn’t hurt either.

Funds Added This Month

TCW Small Cap Growth I
Robeco Long/Short Equity
Fidelity OTC
T Rowe Price New America Growth
ETF Market Opportunity
Heartland Value Plus
Bridgeway Blue Chip 35 Idx
FPA Crescent
GAMCO Gold AAA
Tocqueville Gold
US Global Inv Gold & Precious Metals
AmCent Global Gold Inv
Rydex Precious Metals
Managers Emg Markets Equity
Payden GNMA
Osterweis Strategic Income
Neuberger Berman High Income Bond
TCW Emerging Markets Income I
T Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond
Victory National Muni Bond A
DWS Managed Muni Bonds A

Funds Dropped This Month

Westport Select Cap R
Parnassus Small-Cap
Sequoia
Parnassus
FMI Large-Cap
AmCent Value
Vanguard Equity Income
T Rowe Price Personal Strat Income
Fidelity Select Consumer Staples
AmCent Utilities
Gabelli Utilities AAA
T Rowe Price Health Sciences
FBR Gas Utility Index
UMB Scout International
Dreyfus US Treasury Intermediate
Dreyfus US Treasury L/T
Harbor H/Y Bond
Payden Global Fixed Income
Loomis Sayles Global Bond
Vanguard Short-Term T/E
Vanguard Long-Term T/E