On Friday, 160 exchange traded funds and exchange traded notes hit all-time highs. That list includes leveraged products, but even when those ETFs are stripped out, the all-time list is still well-populated.
Even when the newer ETFs (for example, we excluded funds that are less than six months old) are removed, there are still plenty of ETFs hitting record highs Friday.
This list looks at five broad market, or “market-based,” ETFs that are making new highs today. Importantly, not all of these ETFs are small. Nor do they subscribe complex concepts that would imply a hyper focus that could potentially expose investors to higher levels of risk.
Rather, these are easy-to-understand to products that have been delivering the goods for investors this year. Some are “ex” funds while others focus on various forms of shareholder compensation. All are racing to record highs. [Take the Nasdaq, Leave the Tech]
Here is the list with comments included:
WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials Fund (NYSEArca: DTN)
YTD Gain: 15.8%
Comment: With financial services being one of the top-performing sectors this year, it might seem odd that an ETF that excludes the sector altogether is proving to be solid. With $1.1 billion in assets, it might be hard to believe DTN often goes overlooked. DTN features a trailing 12-month yield of 3%. Technology and utilities are the ETF’s top two sector weights, combining for just over 29% of the fund’s weight.
AdvisorShares TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF (NYSEArca: TTFS)
YTD Gain: 29.5%
Comment: TTFS is not a pure buyback ETF because TrimTabs uses other criteria in identifying fundamentally sound companies that are shrinking their floats beyond just share repurchase plans. TTFS focuses on these concepts: Shareholder-friendliness (measured by float shrink), profitability (measured by free cash flow relative to other securities) and solid balance sheet (measured by leverage ratio), according to the issuer. The rival PowerShares Buyback Achievers Portfolio (NYSEArca: PKW) also hit a record high.
FlexShares Morningstar U.S. Market Factor Tilt Index ETF (NYSEArca: TILT)
YTD Gain: 28.8%
Comment: TILT is a broader market ETF success story. At just over two years old, the fund has $437.1 million in assets. TILT falls into “smart beta” category as it eschews cap-weighting in favor of bias toward small-caps and value names. The approach is working as TILT has surged 65% since inception. [An Outperforming ‘Smart-Beta’ ETF with a Value Tilt]
Guggenheim Spin-Off ETF (NYSEArca: CSD)
YTD Gain: 40%
Comment: CSD is one of the most popular ETFs on this list. Sure, CSD stands as proof that some spin-offs perform well, but CSD has also benefited this year from a bias toward small- and mid-cap names. The average market cap of the ETFs’s 25 holdings is $6.4 billion, according to Guggenheim data.
WisdomTree MidCap Earnings Fund (NYSEArca: EZM)
YTD: 27.7%
Comment: EZM focuses on core earnings “computed by Standard & Poors, as the weighting metric. Core Earnings is a standardized calculation of earnings developed by Standard & Poors designed to include expenses, incomes and activities that reflect the actual profitability of an enterprises ongoing operations,” according to WisdomTree. Translation: EZM is a mid-cap ETF that is not cap-weighted and that is working. EZM has nearly tripled in the past five years. [A Must-Remember Mid-Cap ETF]
Max Chen contributed to this article. Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of TTFS and DTN.