{"id":3614,"date":"2025-10-17T17:42:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T17:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/?p=3614"},"modified":"2025-10-17T17:42:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T17:42:42","slug":"2025-3q-review-bears-capture-headlines-while-bulls-and-gold-bugs-garner-profits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/2025-3q-review-bears-capture-headlines-while-bulls-and-gold-bugs-garner-profits\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 3Q Review: Bears Capture Headlines While Bulls and Gold Bugs Garner Profits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Strategists, economists, and all manners of pundits have been somberly telling us since January why market euphoria is misplaced.\u00a0 There has been no shortage of rationales for their bearish forecasts.\u00a0 Tariffs, systemic instability, recession, inflation, ridiculously unprecedented valuations and more have explained why a major correction or potential crash has been inevitable this year.\u00a0 Their conclusions were that it was time to pare down on positions in \u201crisky assets\u201d such as equities and precious metals.<\/span><\/p>\n

All research 5,000+ stocks and 700+ ETFs updated on <\/span>www.ValuEngine.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The table below including data for 11 asset class benchmark ETFs illustrates that investors ignoring this advice performed quite well in the three periods analyzed in this blog: one-month, three months, and year-to-date ending September 30, 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Ticker\u00a0<\/b><\/td>\nETF Name<\/b><\/td>\nYTD Price Change\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

(as of Sept. 30, 2025)<\/b><\/td>\n

3rd Quarter\u00a0<\/b><\/td>\nReturn (Aug29\u2013<\/b><\/p>\n

Sept30)<\/b><\/td>\n

YTD Rank<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GLDM<\/b><\/td>\nSPDR Gold MiniShares Trust<\/span><\/td>\n47.05%<\/b><\/td>\n16.68%<\/b><\/td>\n9.00%<\/b><\/td>\n1<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EEM<\/b><\/td>\niShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF<\/span><\/td>\n27.69%<\/span><\/td>\n10.70%<\/span><\/td>\n5.70%<\/span><\/td>\n2<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EFA<\/b><\/td>\niShares MSCI EAFE ETF<\/span><\/td>\n23.49%<\/span><\/td>\n4.45%<\/span><\/td>\n1.50%<\/span><\/td>\n3<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
QQQM<\/b><\/td>\nInvesco NASDAQ 100 ETF<\/span><\/td>\n17.42%<\/span><\/td>\n8.82%<\/span><\/td>\n4.50%<\/span><\/td>\n4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
VUG<\/b><\/td>\nVanguard Growth ETF<\/span><\/td>\n17.26%<\/span><\/td>\n9.40%<\/span><\/td>\n4.71%<\/span><\/td>\n5<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
VPU<\/b><\/td>\nVanguard Utilities ETF<\/span><\/td>\n15.90%<\/span><\/td>\n7.31%<\/span><\/td>\n3.00%<\/span><\/td>\n6<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SPLG<\/b><\/td>\nSPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF<\/span><\/td>\n13.64%<\/span><\/td>\n7.77%<\/span><\/td>\n3.64%<\/span><\/td>\n7<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
VTV<\/b><\/td>\nVanguard Value ETF<\/span><\/td>\n10.15%<\/span><\/td>\n5.52%<\/span><\/td>\n2.33%<\/span><\/td>\n8<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
IWM<\/b><\/td>\niShares Russell 2000 Small Cap ETF<\/span><\/td>\n9.50%<\/span><\/td>\n12.13%<\/span><\/td>\n2.60%<\/span><\/td>\n9<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
AGG<\/b><\/td>\niShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF<\/span><\/td>\n6.13%<\/span><\/td>\n2.04%<\/span><\/td>\n1.11%<\/span><\/td>\n10<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MDY<\/b><\/td>\nSPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust<\/span><\/td>\n5.55%<\/span><\/td>\n5.22%<\/span><\/td>\n0.30%<\/span><\/td>\n11<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFS can be viewed<\/span> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Followers of this blog who read the last article know that gold has been on an unprecedented streak this quarter-century thus far.\u00a0 The spot price of gold has outperformed the S&P 500 Index for the period beginning January 1, 2000 through September 30 of this year, for the 2020\u2019s, and year-to-date.\u00a0 The year-to-date rise of 47%\u00a0 easily tops our list of year-to-date price gains.\u00a0 For reasons explained in our last blog article, there are many reasons behind the surges. The bottom line is that I don\u2019t see the rationales for these surges reversing merely because of valuation.\u00a0 <\/span>GLDM <\/b>is our choice here among the exchange-traded \u201cETFs,\u201d actually grantor trusts, which hold gold. For most investors, it makes little sense to pay more than 4 times the expense ratio for <\/span>GLDM <\/b>to garner precisely the same exposure to gold bars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond gold, a number of strategic experts, notably Van Eck and Sprott, have discussed a de-dollarization theme underlying investment rotations, especially by many of the largest European institutional investors.\u00a0 This explains the next highest performers on the highest gainers\u2019 list.\u00a0 The two ETFs are<\/span> EEM, <\/b>iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF<\/span> and <\/span>EFA<\/b>, the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For US-only equity ETFs, growth has generally outperformed value in defiance of strategists\u2019 predictions of a rotation.\u00a0 This is why the highly correlated Invesco Nasdaq-100 ETF, <\/span>QQQM <\/b>(lower fee than <\/span>QQQ <\/b>Trust) and the Vanguard Growth ETF (<\/span>VUG<\/b>) led the way in this category with 17.5% and 17.3% returns, respectively.\u00a0 Both topped the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Index ETF, <\/span>SPLG<\/b> as the established benchmark index gained 13.6%. \u00a0 In contrast, the Vanguard Value ETF, <\/span>VTV<\/b>, gained just 10.2% with similar lags in the 3<\/span>rd<\/span> quarter and in September.\u00a0 Although small caps spent the first quarter of the year in negative territory, standard-bearer, <\/span>IWM, <\/b>iShares Russell 2000 Small Cap ETF, rebounded sharply in the 3<\/span>rd<\/span> quarter with its 12.1% gain, leading the way among equity ETFs.\u00a0 Even with that lift, <\/span>IWM<\/b>\u2019s 9.5% year-to-date return\u00a0 finished even below value as represented by <\/span>VTV.\u00a0 <\/b>By far the laggard in almost every time period was <\/span>MDY<\/b>, the S&P MidCap 400 ETF.\u00a0 Its 5.5% year-to-date return placed it even below US aggregated bonds.\u00a0 The latter, represented by <\/span>AGG<\/b>, iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF, posted a 6.1% return for the period.\u00a0 MidCap stocks have become an unhappy medium in recent years.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other ETF placed here as an asset class benchmark would normally be considered a sector benchmark.\u00a0 However, our contention is that utilities, long considered a value sector valued only for high dividend yields and price stability, have been transformed into a hybrid growth and value sector as earnings growth has been competitive with other sectors in recent years and with technological changes. This is expected to continue.\u00a0 We used <\/span>VPU<\/b>, Vanguard\u2019s Utilities ETF, as its representative.\u00a0 The ETF outgained <\/span>SPLG<\/b>, 15.9% to 13.6%, with more than double the dividend yield.\u00a0 This has been a comparative trend throughout the decade.\u00a0 Conservative investors may wish to consider a separate equity allocation to <\/span>VPU <\/b>for the remainder of this decade.\u00a0 We observe that this may constitute a paradigm shift.<\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of ValuEngine\u2019s predictive model, we rate seven of the above ETFs, the ones covering US stocks.\u00a0 Generally, our forecasts for the next 1-to-12 months are in line with the recent year-to-date trends we just observed.\u00a0 Top-rated at <\/span>5 <\/b>(Strong Buy) is <\/span>VUG<\/b>, Vanguard Growth ETF, with <\/span>QQQM <\/b>right behind it at <\/span>4 <\/b>(Buy).\u00a0 As a bell curve is behind most of our ratings, it is no surprise that most of these ETFs are rated <\/span>3 <\/b>(Hold).\u00a0 That includes: <\/span>SPLG<\/b>, <\/span>VPU, VTV <\/b>and <\/span>IWM.\u00a0 <\/b>We see no upswing ahead for laggard <\/span>MDY.\u00a0 <\/b>The SPDR MidCap Index ETF gets our only poor rating, <\/span>2 <\/b>(Sell).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a similar story for US Sector Index ETFs using State Street\u2019s Select Sector SPDRs representing sectors composed exclusively of S&P 500 Index member stocks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFS can be viewed<\/span> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Ticker<\/span><\/td>\nName<\/span><\/td>\nVE Rating<\/span><\/td>\n1 Month Chg. %<\/span><\/td>\nYTD Chg. %<\/span><\/td>\n5 Year Returns<\/span><\/td>\nDiv. Yield %<\/span><\/td>\nRank<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
XLC<\/span><\/td>\nCommunication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund<\/span><\/td>\n5<\/b><\/td>\n6.63%<\/span><\/td>\n23.36%<\/b><\/td>\n15.90%<\/span><\/td>\n1.0%<\/span><\/td>\n1<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
XLK<\/span><\/td>\nTechnology Select Sector SPDR Fund<\/span><\/td>\n5<\/b><\/td>\n7.53%<\/b><\/td>\n21.79%<\/span><\/td>\n20.44%<\/b><\/td>\n0.5%<\/span><\/td>\n2<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
XLI<\/span><\/td>\nIndustrial Select Sector SPDR Fund<\/span><\/td>\n3<\/span><\/td>\n1.88%<\/span><\/td>\n18.25%<\/span><\/td>\n16.64%<\/span><\/td>\n1.4%<\/span><\/td>\n3<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
XLU<\/span><\/td>\nUtilities Select Sector SPDR Fund<\/span><\/td>\n3<\/span><\/td>\n4.12%<\/span><\/td>\n17.63%<\/span><\/td>\n11.55%<\/span><\/td>\n2.7%<\/span><\/td>\n4<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
XLF<\/span><\/td>\nFinancial Select Sector SPDR Fund<\/span><\/td>\n4<\/span><\/td>\n0.10%<\/span><\/td>\n12.61%<\/span><\/td>\n19.89%<\/span><\/td>\n1.4%<\/span><\/td>\n5<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
XLB<\/span><\/td>\nMaterials Select Sector SPDR Fund<\/span><\/td>\n1<\/span><\/td>\n-2.42%<\/span><\/td>\n8.07%<\/span><\/td>\n9.45%<\/span><\/td>\n1.9%<\/span><\/td>\n6<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
XLY<\/span><\/td>\nConsumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund<\/span><\/td>\n3<\/span><\/td>\n3.59%<\/span><\/td>\n7.53%<\/span><\/td>\n11.34%<\/span><\/td>\n0.8%<\/span><\/td>\n7<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
XLE<\/span><\/td>\nEnergy Select Sector SPDR Fund<\/span><\/td>\n1<\/span><\/td>\n-0.32%<\/span><\/td>\n6.87%<\/span><\/td>\n29.27%<\/span><\/td>\n3.2%<\/b><\/td>\n8<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
XLV<\/span><\/td>\nHealth Care Select Sector SPDR Fund<\/span><\/td>\n1<\/span><\/td>\n1.73%<\/span><\/td>\n2.50%<\/span><\/td>\n7.74%<\/span><\/td>\n1.8%<\/span><\/td>\n9<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
XLP<\/span><\/td>\nConsumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund<\/span><\/td>\n2<\/span><\/td>\n-2.32%<\/span><\/td>\n1.60%<\/span><\/td>\n7.14%<\/span><\/td>\n2.7%<\/span><\/td>\n10<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The two top sectors in terms of year-to-date performance are also the two most highly ranked sectors by ValuEngine\u2019s forecast model.\u00a0 Communications, led by Meta (<\/span>META<\/b>), Alphabet (<\/span>GOOGL<\/b>) and Netflix (<\/span>NFLX<\/b>) has our highest rating of <\/span>5<\/b> (Strong Buy).\u00a0 At this time, our forecast model sees current trends continuing to be investors\u2019 friends.\u00a0 The Technology ETF (<\/span>XLK<\/b>) is just second in the year-to-date category and is also rated <\/span>5 <\/b>(strong buy) by ValuEngine.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/b>The only other sector ETF rated a buy by the ValuEngine models is <\/span>XLF,<\/b> with a ranking of 4 (buy).\u00a0 Three sector ETFs are rated <\/span>1 <\/b>(Strong Sell) representing Materials, Energy and Health Care, respectively.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Using ETFdb.com from VettaFi also allows us to look at the top performing Smart Beta ETFs and the top performing actively managed ETFs.\u00a0 When we profile such ETFs here, we prefer to omit ETFs with less than $50 million in assets along with leveraged and inverse ETFs as that may distort results.\u00a0 Smart Beta\u2019s are built with a particular time-tested strategy as the basis for investment.\u00a0 Therefore, this look can validate which strategies have been working year-to-date.<\/span><\/p>\n

Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFS can be viewed<\/span> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Ticker<\/span><\/td>\nName<\/span><\/td>\n1 Month Returns<\/span><\/td>\nYTD Price Change<\/span><\/td>\n5 Year Returns<\/span><\/td>\nDiv. Yield %<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SGDJ<\/span><\/td>\nSprott Junior Gold Miners ETF<\/span><\/td>\n24.48%<\/b><\/td>\n115.83%<\/b><\/td>\n13.61%<\/span><\/td>\n3.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GOAU<\/span><\/td>\nUS Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF<\/span><\/td>\n20.50%<\/span><\/td>\n112.33%<\/span><\/td>\n15.05%<\/span><\/td>\n1.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
AFK<\/span><\/td>\nVanEck Africa Index ETF<\/span><\/td>\n8.72%<\/span><\/td>\n57.53%<\/span><\/td>\n10.01%<\/span><\/td>\n0.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FGM<\/span><\/td>\nFirst Trust Germany AlphaDEX Fund<\/span><\/td>\n2.63%<\/span><\/td>\n54.17%<\/span><\/td>\n8.73%<\/span><\/td>\n0.7%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FDD<\/span><\/td>\nFirst Trust STOXX European Select Dividend Index Fund<\/span><\/td>\n2.17%<\/span><\/td>\n48.56%<\/span><\/td>\n16.00%<\/span><\/td>\n5.1%<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FEUZ<\/span><\/td>\nFirst Trust Eurozone AlphaDEX ETF<\/span><\/td>\n2.69%<\/span><\/td>\n48.47%<\/span><\/td>\n13.13%<\/span><\/td>\n2.5%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FCA<\/span><\/td>\nFirst Trust China AlphaDEX Fund<\/span><\/td>\n5.50%<\/span><\/td>\n48.10%<\/span><\/td>\n7.44%<\/span><\/td>\n2.2%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FEP<\/span><\/td>\nFirst Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund<\/span><\/td>\n3.52%<\/span><\/td>\n46.75%<\/span><\/td>\n13.14%<\/span><\/td>\n3.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GVAL<\/span><\/td>\nCambria Global Value ETF<\/span><\/td>\n2.09%<\/span><\/td>\n43.57%<\/span><\/td>\n16.50%<\/b><\/td>\n2.3%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FDT<\/span><\/td>\nFirst Trust Developed Markets ex-US AlphaDEX Fund<\/span><\/td>\n3.99%<\/span><\/td>\n42.40%<\/span><\/td>\n12.41%<\/span><\/td>\n3.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
KGRN<\/span><\/td>\nKraneShares MSCI China Clean Technology Index ETF<\/span><\/td>\n11.07%<\/span><\/td>\n41.95%<\/span><\/td>\n1.99%<\/span><\/td>\n1.1%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFS can be viewed<\/span> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

The central themes of gold\u2019s strength and global de-dollarization are present throughout this top 10 list of qualifying Smart Beta ETFs.\u00a0 Sprott Junior Gold Miners (<\/span>SGDJ<\/b>) uses three smart beta factors to select which Junior Gold Miner stocks to include.\u00a0 The others also take fundamental factors into account.\u00a0 One surprise to us on this list is <\/span>GVAL, <\/b>Cambria Global Value ETF, which selects global value stocks based upon fundamental factors.\u00a0 Its methodology was so in favor that even though value stocks generally underperformed growth stocks, this price-sensitive fund with value as part of its objective managed to make it into the top 10.\u00a0 Among the top 10 year-to-date, it also has the best 5-year annualized return.\u00a0 For those considering a combination of smart beta and de-dollarization, a fund this resilient in multiple environments might be worthy of further investigation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, a quick look at actively managed ETFs looking for the same criteria\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Ticker<\/span><\/td>\nName<\/span><\/td>\n1 Month Returns<\/span><\/td>\nYTD Price Change<\/span><\/td>\n5 Year Returns<\/span><\/td>\nDiv. Yield<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ARKW<\/span><\/td>\nARK Next Generation Internet ETF<\/span><\/td>\n13.16%<\/span><\/td>\n59.92%<\/b><\/td>\n11.28%<\/span><\/td>\n0.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BLOK<\/span><\/td>\nAmplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF<\/span><\/td>\n16.83%<\/b><\/td>\n55.43%<\/span><\/td>\n28.22%<\/b><\/td>\n3.9%<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ARKF<\/span><\/td>\nARK Fintech Innovation ETF<\/span><\/td>\n9.22%<\/span><\/td>\n54.36%<\/span><\/td>\n8.56%<\/span><\/td>\n0.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ARKK<\/span><\/td>\nARK Innovation ETF<\/span><\/td>\n15.21%<\/span><\/td>\n49.18%<\/span><\/td>\n-0.70%<\/span><\/td>\n0.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GVAL<\/span><\/td>\nCambria Global Value ETF<\/span><\/td>\n2.83%<\/span><\/td>\n44.11%<\/span><\/td>\n16.16%<\/span><\/td>\n2.3%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ARKQ<\/span><\/td>\nARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF<\/span><\/td>\n15.54%<\/span><\/td>\n42.63%<\/span><\/td>\n14.70%<\/span><\/td>\n0.0%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BATT<\/span><\/td>\nAmplify Lithium & Battery Technology ETF<\/span><\/td>\n16.54%<\/span><\/td>\n40.11%<\/span><\/td>\n5.51%<\/span><\/td>\n2.3%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
AVDV<\/span><\/td>\nAvantis International Small Cap Value ETF<\/span><\/td>\n4.82%<\/span><\/td>\n38.53%<\/span><\/td>\n17.17%<\/span><\/td>\n3.5%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
IMOM<\/span><\/td>\nAlpha Architect International Quantitative Momentum ETF<\/span><\/td>\n4.21%<\/span><\/td>\n35.40%<\/span><\/td>\n8.07%<\/span><\/td>\n3.3%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
UTES<\/span><\/td>\nVirtus Reaves Utilities ETF<\/span><\/td>\n4.90%<\/span><\/td>\n31.36%<\/span><\/td>\n20.18%<\/span><\/td>\n1.1%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
AVDE<\/span><\/td>\nAvantis International Equity ETF<\/span><\/td>\n2.57%<\/span><\/td>\n30.53%<\/span><\/td>\n13.08%<\/span><\/td>\n2.7%<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFS can be viewed<\/span> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

We were a bit surprised that the top of this list was dominated by ETFs managed by ARK Asset Management, taking four of the first 6 slots for year-to-date performance.\u00a0 In the latter part of the past decade, ARK ETFs helped legitimize the actively managed ETF category within the industry with excellent returns in several consecutive years, attracting a formidable level of assets for a fledgling asset manager.\u00a0 They did this through concentrated research into the companies that make and efficiently use technology innovations.\u00a0 Unfortunately, that also made ARK a target for critics who were delighted when many of these ETFs underperformed in the early part of this decade. Therefore, this return to performance leadership is a welcome rebound.\u00a0 For the most part, other than their Genome ETF, the ARK family performed quite well last year and is thriving even more thus far this year.\u00a0 <\/span>ARKW<\/b>, the ARK next generation ETF, led the way with 59.9%.\u00a0 The other three are <\/span>ARKF<\/b>, <\/span>ARKK<\/b> and <\/span>ARKQ.\u00a0 <\/b>Other sponsors with two or more actively managed ETFs include Amplify with Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF.\u00a0 Also noteworthy, the aforementioned <\/span>GVAL<\/b> is also on this list.<\/span><\/p>\n

Current ValuEngine reports on all covered stocks and ETFS can be viewed<\/span> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look inside a select few of these ETFs for highly ranked stocks.\u00a0 There are several stocks in the top 10 holdings of some of these ETFs worth mentioning.\u00a0 For example, in <\/span>ARKW<\/b> we rate <\/span>SHOP<\/b> (Shopify), a Canadian e-retailer, and <\/span>NTLA <\/b>(Intellia Therapeutics) with the top rating of <\/span>5 <\/b>(Strong Buy). <\/span>NTLA <\/b>is a leading genome editing company. \u00a0 The largest holding in <\/span>BLOK (<\/b>Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF) is Cipher Mining, (<\/span>CIFR<\/b>).<\/span> CIFR is an industrial scale bitcoin mining company rated <\/span>4 <\/b>(Buy) by the ValuEngine models.\u00a0 It should be noted that <\/span>BLOK <\/b>has the highest 5-year return of any ETF on this list.\u00a0 A personal favorite of mine that has been on this list a long time is <\/span>UTES, <\/b>the Virtus Reaves Utilities ETF, the first US active ETF to focus on utilities.\u00a0 Far ahead of the curve of competitive earnings growth for utilities, this actively managed ETF focuses on capital appreciation rather than income. Its top holding is <\/span>VST<\/b> (Vistra Corp.), which is currently rated <\/span>4 <\/b>(Buy).\u00a0 As a result of its focus on growth rather than value in the utilities sector, <\/span>UTES <\/b>has enjoyed a 31.3% increase this year, about double that of <\/span>VPU <\/b>which we use to monitor the utilities sector. <\/span>UTES <\/b>also has the second highest 5-year annualized gain on our list.\u00a0 ValuEngine reports are available for all of these stocks along with almost all of these year-to-date top-performing ETFs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Financial Advisory Services based on ValuEngine\u2019s research models: <\/b>www.ValuEngineCapital.com<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n

Wrapping up this third quarter wrap-up, it has obviously been a very strong year thus far for almost every asset class category as measured by indexed ETFs.\u00a0 Beyond that, many smart beta strategy and actively managed ETFs have also had strong years, especially if they were more focused on growth and capital appreciation than traditional value metrics and dividend yield.\u00a0 As documented, the great rotation into value and smaller stocks many were expecting has not happened yet in 2025.\u00a0 Despite all this documentation on how well many equity ETFs have performed this year, only a very select few have managed to surpass the 47% posted year-to-date by gold as represented by <\/span>GLDM<\/b>.\u00a0 It is fascinating to see all this global equity bullishness alongside the continued new highs made by gold, attributed to lack of confidence in fiat currencies and potential systemic risk.\u00a0 For the next three-to-six months our models are bullish on growth stocks and the major cap-weighted index ETFs even though our valuation model rates more than 60% of the stocks we cover as overvalued.\u00a0 Since the trend is our friend until we see signs of reversal, staying on course with current asset class allocations may be the wisest thing to do for now.\u00a0 It appears that the inevitable correction, or worse, may be delayed until some time in 2026.\u00a0 No one actually knows, but that is our best forecast at this time given our quantitative models and available information.<\/span><\/p>\n

_____________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n

By Herbert Blank<\/b><\/h5>\n
Senior Quantitative Analyst, ValuEngine Inc ( <\/b>www.ValuEngine.com<\/b><\/a> )<\/b><\/h5>\n
support@ValuEngine.com \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (321) 325-0519<\/b><\/h5>\n
All of the over 4,200 stocks, 15 sector groups, over 250 industries, and 700 ETFs have been updated on<\/b> www.ValuEngine.com<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n
Financial Advisory Services based on ValuEngine research available through<\/b> ValuEngine Capital Management, LLC<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n
FREE Two-Week Trial to all 6,000 plus equities and ETFs covered by ValuEngine<\/b> HERE<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n
Subscribers log in <\/b>HERE<\/b><\/a><\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Strategists, economists, and all manners of pundits have been somberly telling us since January why market euphoria is misplaced.\u00a0 There has been no shortage of rationales for their bearish forecasts.\u00a0 Tariffs, systemic instability, recession, inflation, ridiculously unprecedented valuations and more have explained why a major correction or potential crash has been inevitable this year.\u00a0 Their … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[130,1,39],"tags":[1986,2738,1939,2748,2145,1716,2752,2750,2749,2747,2754,2755,2720,2719,1760,1761,1719,2742,2740,2745,2743,2741,2739,1776,2737,2644,2744,1731,2751,1834,2746,1833,2643,2657,2753,2006,1510,1713,2736,2416,2290,2078,2757,1699,1687,1935,28,1659,2406,2756,2462,2403,2121,2085,2277,1849,2279,1887,1814,1900,2276,2278],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3614"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3615,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3614\/revisions\/3615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.valuengine.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}