+Satuit Capital Mico Cap (SATMX) makes its first appearance in The Rukeyser 100, knocking Hodges Small Cap (HDPSX) off the list, as micro-cap stocks rallied on an improving US economic outlook. The fund’s 12 percent weighting to financials drove the fund’s performance as strong bank earnings helped shore up the sector.

Micro-cap stocks can add pop to a portfolio, but investors should view them with caution. Satuit Capital Micro Cap ranks in the top 3 percent of its category on a three-year basis with a 14.9 percent return. But this performance has come with significant volatility–the fund has a standard deviation of more than 27 percent.  

–ETF Market Opportunity (ETFOX) dropped out of The Rukeyser 100 this month, lagging its large-growth peers because of high expenses. The fund’s 2.04 percent expense ratio underscores the point that although exchange-traded funds are on the whole excellent investment vehicles, they become extremely expensive when bundled into a mutual fund.