Weighing on the value outlook, the Federal Reserve may still hike interest rates, and energy companies, commodity producers and other firms dependent on emerging markets are vulnerable to losses if rates rise. Additionally, there is no guarantee that a reflation trade benefiting value stocks will develop, especially with the consumer price index showing tepid increases and overall inflation still stubbornly below the Fed’s 2% target.
Consequently, investors may target more cyclical U.S. stocks through growth-oriented ETFs. For instance, the PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) tracks the Nasdaq-100 and includes a heavy 55.4% tilt toward the tech sector, along with a 20.5% position in consumer cyclical.
Investors can also target growth-specific index ETFs, like the iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSEArca: IWF) and Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEArca: VUG). IWF takes growth picks from the large-cap universe of Russell 1000 stocks. VUG selects picks from the largest 85th percentile of the U.S. stocks. The ETFs overweight tech and discretionary names as well.
Investors can also capture mid cap growth stocks through the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (NYSEArca: IWP), Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth (NYSEArca: VOT), iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (NYSEArca: IJK) and Guggenheim S&P Midcap 400 Pure Growth ETF (NYSEArca: RFG). These funds also include heavy positions in consumer discretionary, industrials and technology sectors.
Lastly, for smaller company exposure with a growth style tilt, the iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (NYSEArca: IWO), Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (NYSEArca: VBK) and iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (NYSEArca: IJT) focus on the small-capitalization growth asset class category.
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Max Chen contributed to this article.