Here’s How To Profit From The Market’s M&A Craze

2015 continues to be the year of the deal.

The value of merger and acquisition deals so far this year has topped $3.2 trillion and is closing in on the record of $3.4 trillion set in 2007. And by all accounts, there are more deals to come in 2016.

One way to play this strategy is with ETFs. The IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (NYSE: MNA) has consistently been the best performing ETF in the space. It has outperformed the S&P 500 by nearly six percentage points over the last year.

However, longer-term the M&A ETF has yet to prove itself. Over the last three years it has underperformed the S&P 500 by 20 percentage points. And since its inception in 2009, the M&A ETF has underperformed by 63 percentage points.

Beyond that, there’s the Credit Suisse X-Links Merger Arbitrage ETN and ProShares Merger ETF, both of which are underperformers as well — underperforming the S&P 500 by 71 and 43 percentage points, respectively, since inception.

Just something to keep in mind if you’re looking for an easy way to play M&A (read: there is no easy way). It takes work and diligence. With that in mind, here are the top three places to look for profits from M&A activity:

Best Place to Play M&A No. 1: Oil

The wave of mergers and buyouts that were expected to come from the selloff in oil just haven’t come to fruition.

Rather, the best plays in the industry appear to be in derivative oil industries. It might still be too early for any M&A among oil explorers, but companies that transport oil and make oil-related equipment could be worth considering here.

Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB) is perhaps the most interesting name among oil and gas companies right now. This comes as it’s flirting with  Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE: ETE) as a potential buyer.

Energy Transfer Equity offered an all stock buyout over the summer that valued Williams Companies at roughly $64 a share. Energy Transfer has since sweetened the deal by offering to pay for about 15% of the deal using cash. The two are meeting this week to discuss the details more.