There seemed to be little to cheer about on the ETF front earlier this year. Healthcare, consumer staples and utilities--the defensive sectors--were the rare sectors showing some decent returns.  But then the stock market turnaround also pulled ETFS higher, as the S&P gained 32% from March through May.

The top performing ETFs included technology with a 22.1% year-to-date gain through the end of May; basic materials was up 28.3%; consumer discretionary, gained 13%, and gold up 38.3%.

"An impressive three-month run also wasn't enough to pull financials out of their yearly loss. Despite a three-month double-digit rise, the Ultra Financials ProShares fund was still down 56.3% for the year. In fact, some investors began to unwind their ETF positions in financials in exchange for more single-stock exposure, as investors began to trust certain firms again," wrote Stacy Schultz in Financial Planning.

Still there was other good news to brighten investor moods. Commercial real estate investment trusts were rising as real estate put in a solid 39% gain in the three-month period ending May 31. And what about the suddenly hot emerging market sector? China regional and Latin American Funds were up 35.9 and 47.9%. The U.S. diversified emerging-markets category was up 26% year-to-date through the end of May.

While new ETFs continues to emerge, others are shutting down. According to Schultz 29 new ETFs opened this year and 45 closed up. "But ETFs' ability to provide investors with a hedge against the market is still attracting flows. Those who believe today's market hasn't yet reached its bottom--as well as those looking to capitalize on recent gains-are using leveraged ETFs."