Ditto natural gas. Mr. Segner's fund, one of the top-ranked energy funds in the US this year, is up 40.8 percent since Jan. 1. That is occurring in a market when most stock funds are either barely holding their own or turning in negative numbers. Nothing is replacing either oil or natural gas as the energy product of choice. Alternative energy sources are really just science projects at this point.
Capacity is tight.
There is little or no surplus product available for the market right now. Nothing is replacing either oil or natural gas as the energy product of choice. Little wonder then that the energy sector has been on a tear of late. The sector, which includes some 64 stock funds, is up 15.4 percent through Oct. 31, according to information firm Morningstar Inc., in Chicago. The Wilshire 5000 Index, which measures the total US stock market, is down 3.6 percent through Oct. 31.