Precious metals performers: Shiny but scary

It’s expected of a fund tracking precious metals to experience volatility, with holdings in ETFs climbing almost 21% earlier this year and then gold prices jumped as much as 8.1% after U.K.’s Brexit vote, the most since the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, according to Bloomberg News.

Short-term data depicts just how essential a quick flood to the category can be. Those who selected gold, silver or other precious metal funds in light of recent market volatility have been able to profit handsomely all of the category’s top YTD performers raked in triple digit returns while the same funds over the long-term all experienced double-digit negative returns.

Click through our slideshow for the top YTD returns in the category, contrasted with long-term performance numbers. All data provided by Morningstar.