If the Federal Reserve moves toward interest rate normalization in December, some market segments and sector exchange traded funds could underperform during the rising rate environment.
Erin Gibbs of S&P Investment Advisory Services is singling out the industrial and materials sector since both higher rates and a stronger dollar would put pressure on these two market segments, reports Stephanie Yang for CNBC.
For ETF investors, that could spell trouble for industrial sector-specific funds, including the Industrial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLI), Vanguard Industrials ETF (NYSEArca: VIS), iShares U.S. Industrials ETF (NYSEArca: IYJ) and Fidelity MSCI Industrials Index ETF (NYSEArca: FIDU).
Gibbs, though, believes that the materials sector could stand to suffer the most. Investors may want to keep an eye on the Materials Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLB), Vanguard Materials ETF (NYSEArca: VAW) and iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (NYSEArca: IYM).
“Obviously these are both heavily tied to the dollar story,” Gibbs told CNBC. “But I think the most vulnerable fundamentally is really the materials sector.”
The materials sector has been suffering under a stronger dollar, which has diminished foreign revenue streams and weighed on commodity prices.