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Just because sector funds are something of a crapshoot is no reason to ignore cost comparisons. Shop wisely.

Of the eight sector groups tracked by Lipper, five have fared better than the S&P 500 since the start of the year. But there isn't much to brag about, as many of these recent winners suffered massive losses during the past market downturn. And while there is no guarantee that any fund will continue to perform as well as it has over the past few months, this is particularly true of funds that bet on just a slice of the market.

Whatever you decide about the suitability of a sector fund for your portfolio, don't put up with high overhead costs. The Best Buy sector funds on this page and the next balance five-year performance with low overhead charges (the sum of annual expenses and a fifth of any sales load).

REAL ESTATE These funds can be a hedge during stock market slumps, but with interest rates so low, they are also prospering in the current market rally. The average fund in this category has a 19.1% return through the end of July.

Best Buy CGM Realty ($442 million assets) has a weighted average P/E of 16, considerably lower than the other real estate funds in our table. The fund has a five-year annualized return of 13.2% and overhead costs of $1.05 per $100 in assets.

COMMUNICATIONS Lipper's Telecommunications index has a 17.4% return so far this year. That's small comfort because the average fund in this group lost 9.2% annually over the past five years. No-load T. Rowe Price Media & Telecommunications has a five-year annualized return of 6.3% and an expense ratio of 1.25.

EMERGING MARKETS Morgan Stanley's emerging markets index is up 20.7% through July, and its indexes for China and Thailand show returns of 27% and 38%, respectively.

Guinness Atkinson China & Hong Kong has a FORBES rating of A for up markets and B for down markets. This fund's expenses run $1.98 per $100 in assets--a bit above the average for its sector--but many of its peers are burdened with a sales charge.

ENERGY These funds have not had a positive year since 2000, but that pattern could break this year. Through July the average energy fund has a 6.5% return. Within this group Vanguard Energy is the biggest bargain, charging investors only $0.40 per $100 in assets, almost half the amount of the next cheapest Best Buy energy fund. This fund's five-year annualized return: 9.3%.