Democrats and Republicans may not see eye-to-eye on Capitol Hill, but on Wall Street, they can agree on financial stocks. Meanwhile, retail investors can also capitalize on the millionaire politicos’ bets through broad financial sector exchange traded funds.
For instance, the Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLF) tracks the S&P Financial Select Sector Index, which is comprised of S&P 500 financial stocks. The iShares U.S. Financials ETF (NYSEArca: IYF) follows a similar group but reflects the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Financial Index. Additionally, the Vanguard Financials ETF (NYSEArca: VFH) tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Index Financials 25/50, which takes a broader exposure to the industry, including mid- and small-cap companies.
Over the past three months, XLF added 1.5%, IYF gained 1.3% and VFH returned 1.3%.
Both Republican and Democratic millionaires are bullish on financial stocks, reports Eric Rosenbaum for CNBC. Additionally, investors on both sides of the political fence are reducing exposure to the tech sector.
Specifically, according to the CNBC Millionaire Survey, 32% are in financial stocks, compared to 21% in October 2014. Meanwhile, millionaires have cut exposure to tech stocks to 13% from 21%.
“I don’t think political leanings have a lot to do with how people invest. People invest based on their wallet,” Tom Wynn, director of affluent research at Spectrem Group, said in the article. “As the economy grows, banks and financials are more busy.”