The major stock market indexes had a rip-roaring first half of the year before screeching to a grinding halt in July. The sell-off across market-leading sectors like technology contributed to the S&P 500's worst-performing July in the past 10 years. And then came a 3% pullback on Aug. 5.

As of market close on Aug. 6, the three best-performing stock market sectors year to date (YTD) are now utilities, communications, and financials. And Vanguard has a low-cost exchange-traded fund (ETF) for each sector.

Here's a quick look at the pros and cons of each sector and the benefits of using Vanguard sector ETFs to gain exposure to a particular theme.

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Source Fool.com