There was a time earlier this year when value stocks and exchange traded funds with an advertised emphasis on value were the toast of the town.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the fervor over value ETFs coincided with the March/April swoon experienced by the biotechnology, Internet and social media sectors. Particularly in the case of biotech, those ETFs have come roaring back with several making new all-time highs this week. [So Much for the Biotech ETF Bubble]
That does not mean investors’ affinity for value fare has waned. At least not as far as the PowerShares Dynamic Large Cap Value Portfolio (NYSEArca: PWV) is concerned. Forty-four ETFs touched fresh all-time highs on Wednesday. PWV was one of those funds and with its 0.3% gain yesterday, the fund is now up 11% this year. PWV’s 2014 showing is 150 basis points better than the S&P 500 and 200 basis points superior to the Vanguard Value ETF (NYSEArca: VTV).
PWV tracks the Dynamic Large Cap Value Intellidex Index, which applies a 10 factor screen to achieve its value objective. With that value objective in mind, PWV is, not surprisingly, light on the richly valued consumer staples and utilizes sectors with those groups combining for just 8.7% of the ETF’s weight. [Don’t Ignore These Value ETFs]
PWV tries to improve its risk-adjusted returns by including additional screens for price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action and value.
Compared to rival value ETFs, PWV’s 50-stock roster is small, but there other points in the ETF’s including the ETF’s exposure to companies with tidy balance sheets that are not shy about rewarding shareholder via dividends, buybacks or both.
PWV’s top-10 holdings include Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), the two largest S&P 500 dividend payers in dollar terms. Add International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) to the mix, and three of PWV’s top-10 holdings are also three of the largest share repurchasers among U.S. companies. [Another ETF Gets an Apple Lift]
PWV does qualify as a smart or strategic beta, but investors would do well to not focus on the jargon and focus more on the results. And those results are hard to contest because over the past three-, five- and 10-year periods, the Dynamic Large Cap Value Intellidex Index has outperformed the S&P 500 Value Index and the Russell 1000 Value Index, according to PowerShares data.
Powershares Dynamic Large Cap Value Portfolio
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of Apple.