E Volatility, Growth And Value Investing

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is back to a more familiar territory of 15-20 points after spending some time well below that range. The second half of the year 2017 saw the VIX oscillate within the confines of about 9.50-11.50 marking one of its lowest sessions in history.

This period was accompanied by what investors perceived to be a stable stock market with stocks rallying steadily without major pullbacks. However, that changed at the start of this year, especially last month when the VIX spiked to hit 29 points before pulling back to settle at the current range of about 17-19 points.

Chart via GuruFocus.com

When the markets are extremely volatile, it is difficult to point the immediate direction for individual stocks that have a high beta. These are the stocks whose stock prices are likely to mirror the movement of major market indices. When the market volatility is high, their risk profiles rise with it. So, in this case, you could put major technology stocks in that bracket, as well as, some large banks.

Generally, these are the types of stocks that are not atypical of value stocks. If you go by the general concept of value investing, which focuses on the company’s intrinsic value per share versus the market price, then you are unlikely to find mega-cap tech, bank or even health stocks that can be perceived to be undervalued. And with volatility up in the sky, it even becomes a lot more difficult to identify reliable value plays.

Therefore, under these circumstances some investors find themselves chasing stocks that trade at relatively low prices in dollar terms, including penny stocks. However, according to Ray Blanco of Agora Financial, and the editor the publisher’s penny stock newsletter, identifying value in penny stocks can be costly and trickier than in blue-chip stocks. That said, when an investor manages to scour the market and find the best growth candidates then the returns are equally generous.

Growth stocks are probably some of the best candidates for value in a volatile market. Investors choose them with a long-term view that’s backed by ongoing projects and the ability to deliver better results in the foreseeable future, rather than their present intrinsic value versus the market value.