We have pointed out recent inflows interest in both XLY (SPDR Consumer Discretionary, Expense Ratio 0.16%) and related fund FXD (First Trust Consumer Discretionary AlphaDEX, Expense Ratio 0.70%), and this presents an opportunity to shed some more light on a specific subsector within the greater Consumer Discretionary space, “Media.”
PBS (PowerShares Dynamic Media, Expense Ratio 0.63%) is our barometer for the Media space as it debuted nearly ten years ago, having gathered about $142 million in assets under management since inception.
Like some other PowerShares sector products, the fund follows the proprietary methodology of the “Intellidex” index approach, which isolates Media companies by fundamental metrics such as fundamental growth, stock valuation, investment timeliness, and factors such as risk.
Top holdings in PBS currently are DISH (>6%), TWX (>5.4%), FB (>5.1%), DIS (>5%), and DTV (>4.9%). Some may be surprised to see the likes of FB and DIS for example ranking among the top components of the index, but the reality is, both firms are embedded in the daily media not only through traditional channels like television and movie content, but in FB’s case serving as a daily news aggregator for millions whom rely on the service on their iPhone and Android devices for example to keep up on the news dynamically.
PBS has pulled back from recent highs reached just five trading sessions ago to find some support at current levels near its 50 day MA.