One analyst gave Goldman Sachs (GS) a “buy” recommendation today, resulting in a banner day on Wall Street for financial-related exchange traded funds (ETFs). Goldman Sachs is expected to report big profits when it delivers its earnings report tomorrow. Analysts are predicting the bank earned as much as $2 billion in the second quarter, thanks to trading prowess in the world markets, report Graham Bowley and Jenny Anderson for The New York Times.
The bank’s profit may be the largest since it set an earnings record in 2007.
Meredith Whitney, the founder of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, gave Goldman Sachs the only buy recommendation among the eight banks she covers and says shares may climb 30%, say John Fineman and Ambereen Choudhury for Bloomberg.
ETFs can be a great way to play the financial sector, since you don’t have to try and pick a few winners among dozens of names. With a number of holdings in any given ETF, you have the opportunity to play a broad range of names and spread around the risk.
- Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF): down 3.6% year-to-date; GS is 6.7%
- iShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial Sector (IYF): down 5.4% year-to-date; GS is 4.6%
- iShares Dow Jones U.S. Broker-Dealers (IAI): up 22.8% year-to-date; GS is 10.9%
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.