ETFdb Logo
ETFdb Logo
  • ETF Database
  • Channels
    • Active ETF
    • Alternatives
    • Beyond Basic Beta
    • China Insights
    • Climate Insights
    • Commodities
    • Core Strategies
    • Crypto
    • Disruptive Technology
    • Dividend
    • Dual Impact
    • Emerging Markets
    • Energy Infrastructure
    • ESG
    • ETF Building Blocks
    • ETF Education
    • ETF Strategist
    • Fixed Income
    • Free Cash Flow
    • Future ETFs
    • Global Diversification
    • Gold/Silver/Critical Minerals
    • Innovative ETFs
    • Institutional Income Strategies
    • Leveraged & Inverse
    • Managed Futures
    • Market Insights
    • Megatrends
    • Modern Alpha
    • Multi-Asset
    • Night Effect
    • Portfolio Strategies
    • Retirement Income
    • Richard Bernstein Advisors
    • Tax Efficient Income
    • Thematic Investing
    • Volatility Resource
  • Tools
    • ETF Screener
    • ETF Country Exposure Tool
    • ETF Sector Tracker Tool
    • ETF Database Categories
    • Head-To-Head ETF Comparison Tool
    • ETF Stock Exposure Tool
    • ETF Issuer Fund Flows
    • Indexes
    • Mutual Fund To ETF Converter
    • ETF Data for Journalists
    • ETF Nerds
  • Research
    • First Bitcoin ETF
    • ETF Education
    • Equity Investing
    • Dividend ETFs
    • Leveraged ETFs
    • Inverse ETFs
    • Index Education
    • Index Insights
    • Top ETF Sectors
    • Top ETF Issuers
    • Top ETF Industries
  • Webcasts
  • Themes
    • AI ETFs
    • Blockchain ETFs
    • See all Thematic Investing ETF themes
    • ESG Investing
    • Marijuana ETFs
  • Multimedia
    • ETF 360 Video Series
    • ETF Trends on Videos
    • ETF Trends on Podcasts
    • ETF Prime Podcast
  • Company
    • About Us
    • Swag Store
  • PRO
    • Pro Content
    • Pro Tools
    • Advanced
    • FAQ
    • Pricing
    • Free Sign Up
    • Login
  1. The 2015 Investment Trends Outlook from Inside ETFs
News
Share

The 2015 Investment Trends Outlook from Inside ETFs

Stoyan BojinovJan 28, 2015
2015-01-28

This year’s Inside ETFs Conference proved to be an exciting and equally insightful event as some of the best minds in the industry met under one roof alongside Wall Street professionals of all walks.

The ETF conference spurred countless discussions and debates around the biggest developments that are shaping the industry itself. Likewise, issuers, advisors, and portfolio managers were also sharing ideas about the biggest trends that are likely to shape the investment landscape going forward. Below, we’ve compiled a list of the five most talked about investment trends for 2015 and the ETF categories to utilize for playing them.

5. Dividend Growth Trumps Yield

discussing investment strategies

Generating a meaningful current income stream was a hot topic at this year’s conference amid a persistently low-rate environment around the globe. With that in mind, many experts fervently communicated that dividend-focused strategies will remain in the spotlight even after hogging the headlines all of last year.

There’s over 80 Dividend ETFs on the market, although we’d advise considering those products focused on dividend-growth more so than high yield. The reason behind this is simple: dividend-growth strategies should outperform those based solely around high-yield securities as we enter a rising rate environment at home.


Content continues below advertisement

4. Frontier Markets Gain Traction

Investors have grown more and more comfortable with diversifying into overseas markets over the years. While many still retain a home-country bias, there’s a growing demand for exposure to foreign equity markets as the aging U.S. bull market slows down. One of the big topics this year was the importance of distinguishing between emerging and frontier markets, and how the latter offers a tremendous opportunity for growth to those with a stomach for risk and a long-term horizon in mind.

If you’re looking to take a broad-based approach to accessing Frontier Markets, there are only three options at the moment. However, you can also go down the country-specific route, and focus on areas like Africa and the Middle East.

3. Currency Volatility Will Linger

hand holding burning cash

Throughout 2014 we witnessed the incredible ascent of the U.S. dollar and the first month of 2015 opened the doors to rampant volatility in the currency market. In short, many experts are confident that volatility in the currency market will linger, if not intensify, in the New Year. As the Fed gears up to raise rates at home, most other major central banks are still very much in easing mode.

Luckily, the ETF universe spans far and wide and U.S. investors now have a handful of choices when it comes to protecting against currency fluctuations – if you’re eager to invest overseas, but prefer to maintain your exposure in U.S. dollar terms, consider the extensive lineup of Currency-Hedged ETFs currently available.

2. Take Advantage of Liquid Alts

The U.S. equity market has experienced a rough start to 2015 and many are anticipating that choppy conditions will persist as price appreciation clashes with valuations amid a sluggish global economy. With that in mind, many are turning to liquid alternatives as a means to generate uncorrelated sources of return and to help dampen their portfolio’s risk profile. A few years ago, turning to alternatives would have been completely out of the question for retail investors, but now investors have dozens of choices in the form of exchange-traded vehicles.

Consider any of the Alternative ETFs as a means to put your cash to work without over-exposing yourself to equities in case of a severe downturn on Wall Street.

1. U.S. Economy Leads the Way

The most talked about investment trend for 2015 was hands down the fact that the U.S. economy would continue to lead the way on the global stage. The main reasons why countless experts felt sure that this trend would hold true is due to a strengthening labor market matched with a low-rate environment that is likely to continue fueling growth in capital expenditures and rising consumer spending.

The corners of the domestic market that are deemed to be best positioned to beat the broad market in 2015 are:

  • Transportation
  • Healthcare
  • Retail
  • Industrials

It’s worth noting that suppressed energy prices are also expected to serve as a tailwind for many of the industries highlighted above.

The Bottom Line

ETFs have opened up the doors to countless asset classes that were previously out-of-reach for most. This in turn has allowed investors of all walks to now be able to take advantage of investment trends across borders and corners of the market they would not have been able to access in an easy and cost-efficient manner just a few short years ago. Be sure to keep an eye on the trends highlighted above as they look to take root in 2015.

Follow me on Twitter @SBojinov.

» Popular Pages

  • Tickers
  • Articles

Feb 03

Main Management Market Note: February 3, 2023

Feb 03

SPYI, a High-Income ETF Within Equities, Up 10%

Feb 03

Navigating Exchange FOMO for Advisors

Feb 03

In 2022, Main Supply of EU Electricity Was Renewable

Feb 03

VettaFi’s ETF Rising Stars: January 2023

Feb 03

Big Tech Is No Longer Certain; Consider Active

Feb 03

Equal-Weight Cloud Computing ETF WCLD Hits Buy Signal

Feb 03

American Century's KORP, VALQ Hit 5-Year Mark

Feb 03

Bitcoin Opens 2023 Strong, Outperforms Bonds

Feb 03

These 2 ETFs Show Growth Is Back in Style

QQQ

Invesco QQQ Trust

SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

VOO

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

VGT

Vanguard Information...

SMH

VanEck Semiconductor ETF

XLK

Technology Select Sector SPDR...

VTI

Vanguard Total Stock Market...

SOXX

iShares Semiconductor ETF

BLOK

Amplify Transformational Data...

META

Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF


Content continues below advertisement

Loading Articles...
Help & Info
  • Contact Us
Tools
  • ETF Screener
  • ETF Analyzer
  • Mutual Fund to ETF Converter
  • Head-To-Head ETF Comparison
  • ETF Country Exposure Tool
  • ETF Stock Exposure Tool
  • ETF Performance Visualizer
  • ETF Database Model Portfolios
  • ETF Database Realtime Ratings
  • ETF Database Pro
More Tools
  • ETF Launch Center
  • Financial Advisor & RIA Center
  • ETF Database RSS Feed
Explore ETFs
  • ETF News
  • ETF Picks of the Month
  • ETF Category Reports
  • Premium Articles
  • Alphabetical Listing of ETFs
  • Best ETFs
  • Browse ETFs by ETF Database Category
  • Browse ETFs by Index
  • Browse ETFs by Issuer
  • Compare ETFs
Legal
  • Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
  • © 2023 VettaFi LLC. All rights reserved.
Follow ETF Database
Follow ETF Database

Advertisement

Is Your Portfolio Positioned With Enough Global Exposure?

ETF Education Channel

How to Allocate Commodities in Portfolios

Tom LydonApr 26, 2022
2022-04-26

A long-running debate in asset allocation circles is how much of a portfolio an investor should...

Core Strategies Channel

Why ETFs Experience Limit Up/Down Protections

Karrie GordonMay 13, 2022
2022-05-13

In a digital age where information moves in milliseconds and millions of participants can transact...

}
X