Christmas isn’t Christmas without a verdant tree. While the evergreen never fails to bring in cheer to the most lonesome of hearts, we decided to do something very different this year – build a tree with the choicest of ETFs this season.
A Christmas Tree of ETFs
Let’s build the base first, which is the most valuable of all for investors, and of course where all the gifts are to be found. And nothing’s more fitting than SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA, which tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, to give a solid foundation to our tree. The Dow Jones has moved up 5,000 points this year — the biggest annual gain in its history — and is moving closer to another major milestone of 25,000. Additionally, the index has logged the 70th record close so far this year, representing the highest-ever number of record closes in a calendar year. As such, DIA has returned nearly 25% this year and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook.
Tax reform has added to more strength to the second-largest bull market and is expected to be the key catalyst to drive the stocks higher in 2018. A massive $1.4-trillion tax cut will create an economic surge, boosting job growth and reflation trade. It will further accelerate earnings, leading to increased dividend and buyback activities. Additionally, the tax repatriation will allow companies to bring offshore cash back home, paving the way for increased mergers and acquisitions.
If we talk about sectors, banks and retail will be the biggest beneficiaries of the tax cut to 21% from 35% as they have the highest effective tax rate. Therefore, an ETF from these two sectors could be the best option to deck up our Christmas tree. In particular, SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE – Free Report) and VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH – Free Report) could be intriguing. Both funds have a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) and have gained 6.8% and 20.6%, respectively, this year. So they form the fronds and leaves of our ETF tree.
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