Undeterred by lofty valuations metrics, some investors continue to embrace streaming entertainment firm Netflix (NasdaqGS: NFLX). The company continues to reward that faith. After being one the best performers in the S&P 500 last year, shares of California-based Netflix are up nearly 16% in 2014.
That ongoing ascent is, of course, making Netflix a larger contributor of performance for some exchange traded funds after being an ETF afterthought for much of its 267% surge over the past two year. As of late January, the two ETFs that held the largest allocations to the stock, the PowerShares NASDAQ Internet Portfolio (NasdaqGS: PNQI) and the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (NYSEArca: FDN), allocated an average of 3.25% to Netflix. [Netflix Doesn’t Mean Much to ETFs]
Those numbers have since increased to 4.1% in the case of PNQI and nearly 3.8% in PNQI. However, PNQI and FDN are cap-weighted funds, meaning Netflix’s increased prominence in the ETFs is a direct result of the stock’s higher price.
Netflix is now a top-10 holding in almost 15 ETFs, including FDN and PNQI, a roster that includes a swath of smart beta funds, according to S&P Capital IQ data.
While being a top-10 holding in equal weight ETFs such as the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEArca: XRT) and the Guggenheim S&P Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF (NYSEArca: RCD) means Netflix is not a dominant player in those funds (no stock is), an array of ETFs to employ momentum strategies now feature Netflix among their 10-top holdings as well.
For example, the PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio (NYSEArca: PBS), which tracks an Intellidex index, features one of the largest weight to Netflix at 4.8%. The stock is the ETF’s eighth-largest holding. [The Best March Madness ETF]
In addition to PBS and PNQI, another PowerShares ETF, the PowerShares DWA Consumer Cyclicals Momentum Portfolio (NYSEArca: PEZ), has 3.5% weight to Netflix. PEZ, which recently switched indices, did not even have Netflix in its lineup at the end of last year.
Netflix is also a top-10 holding in the SPDR Morgan Stanley Technology ETF (NYSEArca: MTK) with a weight of 3.2%. Like PEZ, MTK did not feature Netflix among its top-10 holdings at the end of 2013.
PowerShares DWA Consumer Cyclicals Momentum Portfolio
