Tag: First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)

4 ETFs You Should Start To Buy

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Over the last few weeks, we heard first-quarter earnings from some major US companies. And while most of the earnings reports only gave a small glimpse of how the economic shutdown has affected their businesses, some companies performed much better than others. The companies one would expect to struggle when non-essential companies were forced to close and Americans were told to 'stay at home' obviously struggled. However, the technology companies that are allowing us to purchase products and have them delivered to our front doors, the companies that are allowing us to communicate with friends and family remotely and the infrastructure firms who offer the back-bone for millions of Americans to successfully work from home, well those companies are doing great, maybe better than ever.

So, let's take a look at some ETFs that hold those companies and one that may be a little outside the box but could be focused on one industry that could be a huge winner from 'stay at home' orders.

The first is the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN). FDN invests in a market-cap-weighted index of the largest and most liquid US internet companies. The FDN has 43 holdings, all of which are US-based companies. Its top 10 holdings make up 48% of the fund and the weighted average market cap is $214 billion. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.52%. Amazon, Facebook and Netflix are its three largest holdings and if Alphabet's stock wasn't split into two classes, that would likely be in the top four of FDN. The fund is up 6.29% year-to-date and higher by more than 21% over the past month, so as of May 1st, you have not lost any money owning this ETF in 2020, better yet, your up unlike most investments right now. Continue reading "4 ETFs You Should Start To Buy" →

9 ETFs To Consider As Coronavirus Takes Hold

Posted on by Matt Thalman

In this three-part series, I first discussed why the Coronavirus is important to investors and what the Health Care officials who have been tasked with working on controlling the situation have said in terms of where we are and how people should not panic, but be prepared.

With that thought in mind, I recently wrote about the types of stocks and ETFs investors should consider avoiding if this virus outbreak does get worse and turns into a real pandemic. Now I would like to discuss the types of stocks and Exchange Traded Funds that investors should consider owning if the virus continues to spread uncontrollably and the situation worsens. (Again, though, fear and panic don't help anything, so most of the stocks and ETFs I will be discussing are good options to own regardless of what happens with the Coronavirus outbreak.)

When the major markets turn negative and investors pull out of 'growth' stocks, the first 'safe haven' they run to are bonds. However, we have already seen bond prices jump and interest rates plummet as this trade has become very crowded. One reason they do this is that they are looking to 'protect' their investable capital but also still wanting some sort of yield, even if it's minimal. Even a 1.2% Treasury yield is better than a savings account or, worse, losing 5% in stocks.

So, once the bond trade gets warn out, investors then move into dividend-paying stocks. Ideally, dividend-paying stocks that have a proven track record of paying their dividends even when economic times get tough. This elite group of stocks is called the Dividend Aristocrats and they have not only been paying a dividend for long periods of time but they have consistently increased their dividend amount each and every year for a very long time, at least 25 years to be exact. These stocks are such companies as AT&T, Exxon Mobile, Walgreens, and Coca-Cola, to name a few of the currently 64 companies that hold that title. Continue reading "9 ETFs To Consider As Coronavirus Takes Hold" →

Now May Be The Time To Buy A FANG ETF

Posted on by Matt Thalman

The phrase the FANG stocks, which was coined by CNBC’s Jim Cramer, represents five high flying technology stocks, Facebook (FB), Amazon.com (AMZN),Netflix (NFLX), and Google’s parent company Alphabet (GOOG - GOOGL). Cramer coined the phrase because how incredible these stocks where performing when compared to other technology stocks, or the market as a whole. These stocks have been market leaders for a few years, during which time we have seen their valuations go through the roof. But, the old saying on Wall Street, “stick with what’s working” has simply continued to work with the FAANG stocks. Until recently.

Facebook, Amazon.com, Netflix, and Google’s parent company Alphabet have all now reported quarterly earnings for the second quarter and while Amazon, Google, and Netflix didn’t get destroyed like Facebook, the group combined with Apple (AAPL), had lost $185 billion in market value during the last few days of trading in July. This decline had some investors wondering if the FANG rally is over, while others are considering this a good buying opportunity.

I personally am in the latter camp considering Gross Domestic Product figures came in at 4.1%, the recent job reports have all been strong, and despite some issues, mainly caused by those in Washington, all economic data indicates that the US consumer and economy is strong.

Furthermore, a strong case can be made that Facebook hurt itself regarding growth due to changes it is implementing following the data scandal back in the spring. The stock fell 19% in one day after reporting earnings. For the most part, the rest of the FANG stocks reported good quarterly earnings from most points of view, despite perhaps not topping lofty expectations set by Wall Street analysts. Continue reading "Now May Be The Time To Buy A FANG ETF" →