Company stocks that exhibit a value tilt may outperform more growth-oriented names next year as interest rates are set to rise. Meanwhile, investors can gain diversified exposure to value stocks through targeted exchange traded fund options.
Patrick O’Shaughnessy, principal at O’Shaughnessy Asset Management, pointed out that value stocks have historically outperformed 14 of the past 17 rate tightening periods, reports Tom DiChristopher for CNBC.
“If anything, next year during a period of rising rates, we would recommend people reposition towards value stocks,”O’Shaughnessy told CNBC.
Furthermore, after the outperformance in the growth theme, more growth-oriented stocks appear too pricey on a historical basis.
On the other hand, Andrew Slimmon, senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, argues that value stocks are entering the final phase of selling as investors harvest losses for the year-end.
Value investing is a popular long-term investment strategy. Value stocks have historically outperformed growth stocks, or companies with high earnings expectations, in almost every market over the long-haul. ETF investors may lean toward value names through value-focused ETFs.
For instance, some of the largest value-related ETFs include the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (NYSEArca: IWD), which tracks value stocks taken from the large-cap Russell 1000 Index; the Vanguard Value ETF (NYSEArca: VTV), which tracks the CRSP US Large Cap Value Index; and the iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (NYSEArca: IVE), which includes value names taken from the S&P 500.
IWD shows a 16.77 price-to-earnings ratio and a 1.62 price-to-book. VTV has a 16.11 P/E and a 1.7 P/B. IVE trades at a 16.08 P/E and a 1.76 P/B. In contrast, the blended S&P 500 Index has a 18.53 P/E and a 2.38 P/B.
Looking at the value-theme, these ETFs include much heavier tilts toward the financials and energy. On the other hand, traditional benchmarks are overweight information technology after the run-up in growth-oriented tech stocks this year and underweight energy after the recent selling.
Year-to-date, IWD fell 3.8%, IVE dropped 3.2% and VTV dipped 1.0%.
Additionally, while the PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1000 Portfolio (NYSEArca: PRF) does not seek to target value stocks, the RAFI fundamental indexing methodology, which screens for sales, book value, cash flow and dividends, does target companies with relatively cheap valuations and trims exposure to pricier stocks. ETF investors may find that PRF acts like a value strategy. PRF is down 2.4% year-to-date.
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Max Chen contributed to this article.