Bet Big On A Rising Market With High Beta ETFs & Stocks

Wall Street has been on the second-longest bull run in U.S. history with no signs of a slowdown, and dodged all the ills of economy and politics. After logging its best year since 2013, the S&P 500 had the best start in many years with the longest winning streak since 1964 in the first six trading sessions. After dropping in the seventh session, it resumed its rally and hit a fresh high in the latest session (read: Top-Ranked ETFs Crushing the S&P 500 to Start 2018).

The strong momentum seen in 2017 has carried over into this year with higher optimism for a new tax structure, bizarre jump in oil prices, rounds of upbeat economic data and another strong quarter for corporate earnings. Manufacturing activity, as measured by the Institute for Supply Management, increased more than expected in December with the second-highest reading in six years. Construction spending hit record highs in November with broad-based gains in both private and public outlays.

The market is expecting that companies will come up with big gains in earnings and increased estimates for this year driven by tax cut savings. The S&P 500 companies are projected to grow earnings by about 8.8% according to the Earnings Trends while it is expected to grow 11% per the earnings factsheet (read: 4 ETFs & Stocks from Favorite Sectors for Q4 Earnings).

While every corner of the market is enjoying the ascent, high-beta stocks and ETFs are outperforming.

Why?

Beta measures the price volatility of the stocks or funds relative to the overall market. It has a direct relationship to market movements. A beta of more than 1 indicates that the price tends to move higher than the broader market and is extremely volatile while a beta of less than 1 indicates that the price of the stock or fund is less volatile than the market.

That said, high-beta stocks seek to capitalize on continued growth with market-beating returns. This is because when markets soar, high-beta stocks experience larger gains than the broader market counterparts and thus, outpace their rivals. However, these exhibit a higher level of volatility.

Given the bullishness in the economy and earnings, investors could find the following ETFs and stocks intriguing options:

ETF Picks

Using our database, we have chosen ETFs that are not confined to a specific sector or industry but offer exposure to the broad stock market. Additionally, these have AUM of at least $50 million to ensure better tradability and liquidity.

Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Value ETF RZV

This fund provides pure exposure to the small-cap value segment of the U.S. equity market by tracking the S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Value Index.

Zacks Rank: #3 (Hold)
Beta: 1.37
AUM: $184.1 million
Expense Ratio: 0.35%
YTD Performance: 3.4%

Oppenheimer Small Cap Revenue ETF RWJ

This product offers exposure to securities of the S&P SmallCap 600 but is weighted by revenues instead of market capitalization.

Zacks Rank: #3
Beta: 1.30
AUM: $521.2 million
Expense Ratio: 0.39%
YTD Performance: 3.3%

Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Value ETF RFV

This product offers exposure to the mid-cap value segment of the U.S. equity market by tracking the S&P Midcap 400 Pure Value Index (read: An ETF Retirement Portfolio for 2018).

Zacks Rank: #3
Beta: 1.28
AUM: $121.4 million
Expense Ratio: 0.35%
YTD Performance: 4.5%

Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Value ETF RPV

This product tracks the S&P 500 Pure Value Index and provides exposure to the pure value stocks in the large-cap segment.

Zacks Rank: #3
Beta: 1.23
AUM: $938.8 million
Expense Ratio: 0.35%
YTD Performance: 4.7%

Vanguard Russell 2000 Growth Index ETF VTWG

This fund offers exposure to the growth segment of the U.S. small cap market by tracking the Russell 2000 Growth Index (read: Best Small-Cap ETFs of 2017 with Huge Upside in 2018).

Zacks Rank: #2 (Buy)
Beta: 1.23
AUM: $231 million
Expense Ratio: 0.20%
YTD Performance: 3.5%

Stocks Picks

For stocks, we have chosen those that have a top Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 and a VGM Style Score of B or better along with high beta.

Bill Barrett Corporation (NYSE:BBG)

Based in Denver, CO, Bill Barrett is an independent energy company engaged in acquiring, exploring, and developing oil and natural gas resources in the United States (read: Oil Sees Strong Start to 2018 in 4 Years: ETFs to Play).

Zacks Rank: #2
VGM Style Score: A
Beta: 3.60
Market Cap: $350.9 million
YTD Performance: 4.5%

AK Steel Holdings (NYSE:AKS)

Based in West Chester, OH, AK Steel is a leading producer of flat-rolled carbon, stainless, electrical steel products and stainless tubular steel products that are used in automotive, appliance, construction and manufacturing markets.

Zacks Rank: #2
VGM Style Score: B
Beta: 2.90
Market Cap: $1.7 billion
YTD Performance: 13.8%

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN)

Based in The Woodlands, TX, Huntsman is among the world's largest global manufacturers of differentiated and commodity chemical products for a variety of industrial and consumer applications. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Zacks Rank: #1
VGM Style Score: A
Beta: 2.85
Market Cap: $7.4 billion
YTD Performance: 2.4%

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (NYSE:AEL)

Based in West Des Moines, IA American Equity Investment develops and sells fixed index and fixed rate annuity products in the United States.

Zacks Rank: #1
VGM Style Score: A
Beta: 2.55
Market Cap: $2.8 billion
YTD Performance: 6.8%

Triton International Limited (NYSE:TRTN)

Based in Hamilton, Bermuda, Triton International Limited offers acquisition, leasing, re-leasing, and sale of intermodal container.

Zacks Rank: #2
VGM Style Score: A
Beta: 2.71
Market Cap: $3.09 billion
YTD Performance: 6.1%

Bottom Line

Given the bullish trends, high-beta products will continue to generate outsized returns in the coming weeks and is suitable for risk tolerance investors given its volatile nature.

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Triton International Limited (TRTN): Free Stock Analysis Report

Huntsman Corporation (HUN): Free Stock Analysis Report

OPP-SC REVENU (RWJ): ETF Research Reports

GUGG-SP 600 PV (RZV): ETF Research Reports

GUGG-SP 400 PV (RFV): ETF Research Reports

GUGG-SP 500 PV (RPV): ETF Research Reports

VANGD-RUS 2000G (VTWG): ETF Research Reports

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (AEL): Free Stock Analysis Report

Bill Barrett Corporation (BBG): Free Stock Analysis Report

AK Steel Holding Corporation (AKS): Free Stock Analysis Report

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Zacks Investment Research