Bank Stocks and ETFs – Time to Buy?

The Editor-in-Chief of well-respected publisher ETF Stream, Tom Eckett, published a rare editorial Friday March 24 saying the big selloff in banks due to fear of contagion was close to over.  He said at these levels, bank ETFs were at rarely seen low levels compared with earnings expectations and should not be thrown off too … Read more

5 US Stocks to Consider Now for Conservative Portfolios

Looking at this week’s list of stocks rated 5 (Strong Buy) from ValuEngine for year-ahead performance, I note that there are a number of relatively well-known large cap and midcap stocks that meet my minimum criteria as appropriate for conservative institutional-quality portfolios. As we will see, all five are in popular large cap and midcap … Read more

How Much Runway Room Remains for the Aerospace/Defense Sector?

This year Aerospace stands out as one of the few industry sectors with a positive return other than energy and utilities.   For example, the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA), the largest ETF by assets representing the industry, returned 15.2% over the past twelve months in contrast to the -13.6% return posted by … Read more

Screening for Dividend Yield, Value AND Expected Price Appreciation

In 2022, the majority of stocks and stock ETFs that have outperformed their peer groups were classified as value, high income, or both.  That may or may not continue into the future.  Last week, a colleague who prefers investing in stocks to ETFs asked me if I knew any stocks that the ValuEngine model ranked … Read more

ESG & ETFs: Between BlackRock and a Hard Place

An excellent ETF.com article was posted on September 22.  “NYC Comptroller: Blackrock ESG Standards Alarming” highlighted a very public effort by Brad Lander to shame Blackrock into being more environmentally conscious.  New York City Comptroller Brad Lander demands the company bolster its climate disclosures and publish a plan that establishes its commitment to net-zero greenhouse … Read more

Communications Services – 4 Years After Its Debut

In 2018, the General Industry Classification System (GICS) that defines the sector and industry groups of the S&P 500 made major changes to better reflect the changing global stock market environment.  The primary change was the creation of the Communications Services sector and elimination of a separate Telecommunications Services Sector.   All of the approximately 5,000 … Read more

3rd Quarter US Benchmark ETF Update

The third quarter was a tale of two halves.  The market staged what turned out to be a bear market rally throughout July and the first two weeks of August.  Then it was as if somebody blew a whistle.  The next six weeks saw the bear return with a vengeance.  The ETF reports on ValuEngine … Read more

Six-Month Update – Wealth Preservation with Limited Market Participation in a Risk-On Environment

Six months ago, I discussed ways that investors could stay invested with one eye squarely on wealth preservation in a risk-on environment.  We are still in a risk-on environment where the choices we reviewed in March are still relevant. One half of the list included five stock-based ETFs without derivatives that focus on stocks with … Read more

Should You Consider Buying Single-Stock ETFs?

The following news item is an excerpt from an Investment News Article dated August 18, 2022. The full article can be viewed HERE. Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin announced a ‘sweep’ of firms offering the new ETFs, which he compared to gambling at a casino. With the first single-stock ETFs only about a month … Read more

Do Not Be Alarmed By the Closing of JP Morgan Indexed ETFs.

Do Not Be Alarmed By the Closing of JP Morgan Indexed ETFs.  I say this even as I say that I believe this may be part of an emerging trend.  Many mutual fund companies that are known for touting active management but stuck their feet in the water with ETFs will likely follow suit.   The … Read more