Most loyal readers of my column know I've been positive on the
global stock market for a few years. So far, that view has worked,
as the S&P 500 is up over 90 percent from the March 2009
low.
However, a recent five-week losing streak for the index makes it
worth looking more closely at my bullish outlook for stocks. I'll
discuss my current outlook on the market and whether investors
should continue to stay the course or shift to the bearish
camp.
One of the most difficult times for long-term investors is a
market sell-off in which they watch their portfolio values fall
from multiyear highs. It doesn't matter who you are, and it becomes
harder to stay the course when the values continue to drop.
Unfortunately in the stock market, and everything else in life,
sometimes you have to take a beating before you hit a new high
note. Until you realize taking a beating is a normal part of
long-term investing, you'll hurt the overall performance of your
portfolio.
Current Valuation
One of the reasons I continue to suggest investors stay the
course with exposure to equities via stocks and ETFs is the
valuation of the U.S. market. The general estimate for 2011 S&P
500 earnings is approximately $96.
Based on a historical average P/E ratio of 15, this puts the
index at 1440, or 12 percent higher than Monday's closing price.
What's even more promising is that estimates for 2012 jump to the
ballpark of $107.
Based on such valuations, the market is, at a minimum, a
hold.
Historically, when the temperature begins to rise, the stock
market often falls. Last year, the market hit a top in April and
continued to fall through July before buyers jumped in. Over the
next 10 months, the S&P 500 rallied 35 percent.
I'm not saying the exact same pattern is forming this year, but
I do believe there could be more potholes ahead for stocks before
buyers grasp that there are bargains to be had, and begin to buy in
earnest.
The important support zone for the S&P 500 is 1227 to 1250.
The top end of the range is less than 3 percent from Monday's
close.
That suggests now is not the time to sell stocks. Rather, now's
the time to begin fine-tuning your buy list.
The Buy List
There are a few ways to go about building a buy list for when
the market is flashing the green light. One would be to take the
conservative approach by investing in the entire market via one or
two ETFs.
A great example would be the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF
(NYSEArca:VTI), which invests in more than 3,000 stocks that
represent the whole of the U.S. market. The extremely low expense
ratio of 0.07 percent makes this ETF very attractive for the
buy-and-hold crowd.
There's nothing inherently wrong with the conservative approach
to investing, but I think some investors can take a little more
risk for the potential of much higher reward. A few of the ETFs I
would be targeting when the buying begins are below.
IQ Global Resources ETF (NYSEArca:GRES) tracks an index that
uses both momentum and value to identify global companies that
operate commodity-specific sectors such as energy, metals, grains,
etc. There are a total of 148 stocks in the ETF, which rebalances
every month.
Going back to October 2007, GRES has easily beaten the Dow
Jones-UBS Commodity Index in performance. Its expense ratio is 0.79
percent.
Another good example for those interested in a bit more risk is
the Emerging Global Shares Emerging Markets Consumer ETF
(NYSEArca:ECON). It's composed of 30 leading emerging market stocks
in the consumer goods or services industries. The top five
countries represented include Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, India
and Chile.
The thesis behind buying ECON is that the economies within the
emerging markets will continue to outpace that of domestic
countries, and the exposure to the financial crisis that has
affected the developing world is minimal. The expense ratio is 0.85
percent.
Vanguard Small Cap ETF (NYSEArca:VB) is a low-cost investment
option that covers the entire small-cap asset class with over 1,700
stocks in the allocation. The expense ratio is 0.17 percent. The
fact that the top 10 holdings make up only 3 percent of net assets
speaks to the true diversification the ETF gives investors
throughout the small-cap arena.
Patience
Sometimes I read an article and it excites so much I want to run
out and buy the ETF or stock mentioned.
But this isn't one of those articles.
Instead, I suggest you wait for the S&P 500 to hit the buy
zone I highlighted, and then at that time, you can pull out your
list of favorite ETFs and start doing a bit of buying.
Matthew D. McCall is editor of The ETF Bulletin and
president of Penn Financial Group LLC, a New York-based
wealth management firm specializing in investment strategies
using ETFs.
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