Greetings!
Below please find the ETF Spotlight newsletter containing highlights of the research and data on www.etfresearchcenter.com as well as a recap of the past week's action in the ETF market. Feel free to share it with anyone who may be interested.
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In this week's issue
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 Paying for Protection
- Chart of the week: Relative P/E multiples, Staples & Utilities vs. S&P500
- Fund Focus: Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP)
- Revisions, asset flows & short interest
- 2012 Sales per share estimates, annual change, and P/S multiples for major ETFs
- Market monitor - movers & categories
To download the full newsletter click here.
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| Chart of the week |
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Paying for Protection
Since the global financial crisis investors have been willing to pay an increasing premium for defensive sectors like Consumer Staples (XLP) and Utilities (XLU), even as the market and earnings have recovered. During the most recent quarter as markets again teetered on the verge of a debt crisis, the relative premiums fetched by those sectors compared with the S&P500 shot up to new heights, and at the fastest rate in at least five years. We too are bearish on the global economy, but perhaps investors are paying too much for the relative safety of Staples and Utilities?
Download the full newsletter here.
Figure 1: Relative P/E multiples vs. S&P500
Source: AltaVista Research
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| Fund Focus |
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Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP) 
Sales are growing significantly for the first time since 2008 as firms pass along higher costs for raw materials in order to maintain margins. However, XLP's rich price-to-book value multiple reflects the sector's relatively high and stable profitability (ROE) over the long term, resulting in an ALTAR Score below that of the S&P500. To download the full newsletter, click here. |
