Cautious on the Consumer

On the other hand, some cyclical sectors perform well when interest rates rise and consumer discretionary is a cyclical group.

Last year, index providers S&P and MSCI revealed they will be altering the telecom sector and renaming it communication services, meaning some of the media stocks currently held in XLY and rival cap-weighted consumer discretionary ETFs will leave that sector for the new communication services group. Those changes take place later this year.

Rivals to XLY include the Vanguard Consumer Discretionary (NYSEArca: VCR) and Fidelity MSCI Consumer Discretionary Index (NYSEArca: FDIS).

For more information on the consumer sector, visit our consumer discretionary category.