ETFs to Consider as Consumer Sentiment Improves in July

Americans are feeling optimistic about the economy as consumer sentiment hit a five-month high in July. Rising consumer sentiment bodes well for household spending in the coming months. It is expected to have a positive impact on the consumer discretionary sector, which attracts a major portion of the spending. 

Investors can tap the encouraging trend in the basket form through consumer discretionary ETFs like Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY, Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF VCR, Invesco Dorsey Wright Consumer Cyclicals Momentum ETF PEZ and VanEck Vectors Retail ETF RTH. These funds have a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) each.

U.S. consumer sentiment surged to its strongest level in five months in July, offering a glimmer of optimism amid lingering policy uncertainty. According to preliminary data from the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, the Consumer Sentiment Index jumped to 61.8, up from 60.7 in June.

A key driver behind the improved sentiment was softening inflation expectations. Consumers now expect prices to rise 4.4% over the next year, down from 5% in June, the lowest short-term inflation outlook since February. Long-term expectations, spanning five to 10 years, also dropped to 3.6%, marking a five-month low.

However, concerns still persist. Joanne Hsu, director of the survey, noted that consumers remain cautious about business conditions, labor markets and personal income prospects compared to a year ago. However, she added that “the recent two-month lift in sentiment suggests that consumers believe the risk of the worst-case scenarios they expected in April and May has eased.”

ETFs Set to Gain

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) 

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund offers exposure to the broad consumer discretionary space and tracks the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index. It holds 51 securities in its basket, with key holdings in hotels, restaurants and leisure, broadline retail, specialty retail, and automobiles with a double-digit allocation each. Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund is the largest and most popular product in this space, with AUM of $22.3 billion and an average daily volume of around 4.5 million shares. It charges 0.08% in expense ratio (read: 5 Sector ETFs Set to Power Q2 Earnings Growth).

Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR) 

Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF follows the MSCI U.S. Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index and holds 296 stocks in its basket. In terms of industrial exposure, broadline retail, automobile manufacturers and restaurants occupy the top three spots. Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF is a low-cost choice in the space, charging investors only 9 bps in annual fees while volume is good at nearly 45,000 shares a day. The fund has managed $6 billion in its asset base so far.

Invesco Dorsey Wright Consumer Cyclicals Momentum ETF (PEZ)

Invesco Dorsey Wright Consumer Cyclicals Momentum ETF follows the Dorsey Wright Consumer Cyclicals Technical Leaders Index, which is designed to identify companies that are showing relative strength (momentum). It holds 37 stocks in its basket, with key holdings in hotel, restaurants and leisure, specialty retail, and entertainment. Invesco Dorsey Wright Consumer Cyclicals Momentum ETF has accumulated $30.6 million in its asset base and charges 60 bps in annual fees. It trades in a volume of around 1,000 shares a day on average. 

VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH)

VanEck Vectors Retail ETF provides exposure to the 26 largest retail firms by tracking the MVIS US Listed Retail 25 Index, which measures the performance of the companies involved in retail distribution, wholesalers, online, direct mail and TV retailers, multi-line retailers, specialty retailers and food and other staples retailers. VanEck Vectors Retail ETF has amassed $244.1 million in its asset base and charges 35 bps in annual fees (read: 5 ETFs to Profit From Amazon's Longest-Ever Prime Day Event). 

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research