A consulting firm has released its annual ranking of the world’s top brands. You can own the companies deemed well-positioned to withstand global challenges in exchange traded funds (ETFs).
According to a survey by consulting firm Interbrand, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is the world’s top global brand for the 11th year running, writes Daryl Paranada for Marketplace. Interbrand bases its polling on the financial performance of the brand’s products or services, the role of the brand in the purchase decision process and overall strength of the brand.
The survey remarks that “Coca-Cola gets almost everything right. Its brand promise of fun, freedom, spirit and refreshment resonates the world over and it excels at keeping the brand fresh and always evolving – all this, while also maintaining the nostalgia that reinforces customers’ deep connection to the brand.” [Fast Food ETFs Buoyed.]
PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) and McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) also made the list.
Coke is a major component of a number of ETFs, including:
- PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage (NYSEArca: PBJ): Coke is 5%, McDonald’s is 5%
- iShares Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Goods (NYSEArca: IYK): Coke is 10%, Pepsi is 8.5%
Also on the list were a smattering of tech brands, which made up five of the top 10: IBM (NYSE: IBM), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) moved up the list to 17th, aided by the release of its iPad and iPhone. [Tech ETFs: Sentiment Turns on a Microchip.]
- Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLK): Apple is 11%, Microsoft is 8.7%, IBM is 7.6%, Google is 5.3%, Hewlett-Packard is 3.4%
- Vanguard Information Technology (NYSEArca: VGT): Apple is 10.3%, Microsoft is 8.3%, IBM is 7.3%, Google is 4.8%, Intel is 4.7%
Perhaps the best way to get exposure to many of these companies in one shot is via SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEArca: DIA), which holds many of the world’s best global brands as ranked on this list, including: IBM, McDonald’s, Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), 3M (NYSE: MMM), Disney (NYSE: DIS), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Microsoft.
Other companies that suffered PR disasters in the last year saw their rankings suffer: BP (NYSE: BP) fell off the list after the Gulf oil spill fiasco. Toyota (NYSE: TM) dropped to 11th as a result of its recalls.
For more information on the tech sector, visit our technology category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.