Exchange-traded funds are popular among investors seeking to match the performance of the overall market, which this month hit two-year lows.

Beating the S&P 500 consistently is a daunting task, but four mutual funds have done so for the past nine years, according to research by Dave Dierking, an investment adviser writing on Seeking Alpha.

“It might not be as big a surprise to learn that each of the four are focused on the health care sector, an area that has vastly outperformed the broader market,” he writes. “It's been a nice run and the run of outperformance could continue but don't count on it.”

The risks include possible price caps on pharmaceuticals and stretched valuations that are due for a pullback, Dierking says.

4 Mutual Funds That Beat the S&P 500

1. Fidelity Select Health Care (FSPHX)
2. Fidelity Advisor Health Care A (FACDX)
3. T. Rowe Price Health Sciences (PRHSX)
4. VALIC Company I Health Sciences (VCHSX)

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