Stay-at-home orders have no doubt reshaped consumers’ habits. From relying on online retail for basic goods to using videoconference software for human interactions, the coronavirus outbreak is opening pathways for niche exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that can capitalize on the changing times.
“When we’re not sitting on Zoom calls, foraging for supplies, or fretting about health or finances, our thoughts turn to what life will be like when the madness subsides,” Michael Solomon wrote in Forbes. “We’ll probably witness significant changes in how we relate to others (no more handshakes?), how we work, how we play, and certainly how we consume.”
Furthermore, these changes will have lasting effects even once the pandemic passes–from an economic standpoint to the way consumers behave.
“The pandemic will change our world for years after the virus disappears, causing consumers to rethink their purchase decisions (both large and small). Marketers will need to respond to life in The New Normal,” Soloman added. “No one has a crystal ball to tell us what the future will hold. However, we can make some educated guesses. After all, while for many of us this is the biggest disaster we’ve ever experienced, the world has seen many others. And we know that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.”
Tracking Consumer Trends with this ETF
As more consumers are looking online to purchase goods and services, various ETFs are poised to take advantage of the Goldman Sachs Motif New Age Consumer ETF (GBUY ). The fund holds familiar names like Amazon and China powerhouses like Alibaba Group.
GBUY seeks to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Motif New Age Consumer Index. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its assets in securities included in its underlying index.
The index is designed to deliver exposure to companies with common equity securities listed on exchanges in certain developed markets that may benefit from the on-going structural shifts in the consumer market due to changes in demographics, technology and preferences (the “New Age Consumer Theme”).
The index seeks to “track bespoke indices created by Motif, an industry leader in applying data science and automation to thematic investing. Motif analyzes traditional and alternative data and weights companies by a function of ‘thematic beta’ to provide precise exposure to theme,” according to the Goldman Sachs website.
This article was originally published on ETF Trends.
