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November And YTD Asset Class Performance

The final month of the year is now upon us, but before thinking about December, let’s recap what happened across asset classes in November. Below is our matrix of key ETFs that highlights the recent performance of domestic and international equities, currencies, commodities and fixed income. For each ETF, we show its performance since the close on 11/20, during the month of November, and year-to-date through November. As shown, small-cap and mid-cap ETFs have done very well over the last ten days, and they outperformed for the month as well. The Russell 2,000 (NYSEARCA: IWM ) ETF gained 3.26% in November versus a gain of just 0.37% for the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA: SPY ). Looking at the ten U.S. sectors, Financials (NYSEARCA: XLF ) did the best in November with a gain of 1.99%, followed by Materials (NYSEARCA: XLB ), Industrials (NYSEARCA: XLI ) and Technology (NYSEARCA: XLK ). Outside of the U.S., just three of the country ETFs featured gained in November – Australia (NYSEARCA: EWA ), Germany (NYSEARCA: EWG ) and Japan (NYSEARCA: EWJ ). India (NYSEARCA: INP ) fell the most with a decline of 4.27%. For the year, Russia (NYSEARCA: RSX ) remains the big winner at +14%, while Brazil (NYSEARCA: EWZ ) is down by far the most at -38.4%. Commodities were crushed in November, with oil (NYSEARCA: USO ) and natural gas (NYSEARCA: UNG ) leading the way lower. Gold (NYSEARCA: GLD ) and silver (NYSEARCA: SLV ) both fell sharply as well. And while Treasury ETFs have bounced back since last Monday, they were down across the board for the month.

October ETF Performance

Below is a look at our key ETF matrix highlighting the recent performance of stocks and other asset classes. For each ETF, we show its performance over the last week, in the month of October, and year-to-date so far in 2015. The left-hand side of the matrix shows U.S. equity-related ETFs. As shown, both the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA: SPY ) and Dow 30 (NYSEARCA: DIA ) gained 8.5% in October, but it was the Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ: QQQ ) that did the best with a gain of 11.37%. Small-caps and mid-caps notably underperformed large-caps in October, while Materials, Energy, Technology and Telecom were the best performing sectors. Outside of the U.S., the last week of the month was pretty brutal. As you can see in the right-hand side of the matrix, country ETFs were all in the red last week, with China (NYSEARCA: FXI ), India (NYSEARCA: INP ) and Australia (NYSEARCA: EWA ) leading the way lower. The month of October was still strong for foreign markets, but it would have been much stronger were it not for last week’s pullback. Oil (NYSEARCA: USO ), gold (NYSEARCA: GLD ) and Silver (NYSEARCA: SLV ) were all up in October, but natural gas (NYSEARCA: UNG ) plummeted 15.5%, leaving it down 33.5% on the year. Finally, Treasury ETFs were all in the red last week, and only the T.I.P.S (NYSEARCA: TIP ) ETF was up on the month by a very small amount. Stocks were clearly the place to be in October after a brutal August and September.

Movers And Shakers Post-Fed

Below is a snapshot of recent asset class performance using key ETFs traded on U.S. exchanges. For each ETF, we highlight its performance over the last 2 days (since Wednesday’s close), so far in September, and so far in 2015. As shown, while the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY ) and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEARCA: DIA ) are both down month to date, the Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ: QQQ ) and mid-caps and small-caps are up nicely. Growth ETFs are up 1%+ month to date while value ETFs are in the red. Looking at sectors, Energy (NYSEARCA: XLE ) and Financials (NYSEARCA: XLF ) have gotten hit hard over the last two days since the Fed opted not to hike rates. Industrials (NYSEARCA: XLI ), Materials (NYSEARCA: XLB ), and Technology (NYSEARCA: XLK ) are all down as well. The Utilities ETF (NYSEARCA: XLU ) is the only sector that’s up post-Fed. Outside of the U.S., Brazil (NYSEARCA: EWZ ) continues to paint the tape red. It’s now down 35.44% year to date after falling 3.32% over the last two days. India (NYSEARCA: INP ) was bouncing Friday, but that’s about the only area in the green. Treasury ETFs have been the main winners since the Fed held rates unchanged, with the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSEARCA: TLT ) up 2.25% since Wednesday’s close. Gold (NYSEARCA: GLD ) and silver (NYSEARCA: SLV ) are up nicely as well. Share this article with a colleague