The S&P 500 just eclipsed 5,000 for the first time ever, having gained roughly 7% year to date already. And investors continue to ride that momentum with ETFs. If you are interested in adding ETFs to your investment mix, Fidelity's ETF Screener can help you quickly search for opportunities. Here are 3 ETF screens to think about with top results for each.
Will growth keep winning?
Growth stocks—and tech in particular—blew value stocks out of the water in 2023, and that trend has persisted in the early part of 2024 (see Growth continues to beat value chart below).
Big tech—led by most of the “Magnificent 7”—has been the biggest gainer during this bull market rally, leading the way for growth stocks. And if the Fed does begin to pull back on rates later this year, that could be another reason to be optimistic for growth-oriented investments—including big tech (many of which aggressively borrow to fund new projects, making the level of interest rates particularly important).
If you want to explore growth-focused ETFs, here are some with a "very high" historical earnings growth percentage (24.3% or higher) and a "very high" cash flow growth percentage (20.1% or higher), plus a "very high" 90-day trading volume average (216.5K or higher) to filter for stocks with strong liquidity, sorted by net assets, as of February 22, 2024:
- iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (
) - Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows 100 ETF (
) - Invesco S&P Midcap Quality ETF (
) - Wisdomtree India Earnings Fund (
) - iShares US Home Construction ETF (
) - Invesco S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF (
) - Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (
) - SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (
) - Pacer Developed Markets International Cash CWS 100 (
) - First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy IDX (
)
Screeners are a great tool for generating ideas, and after running any screen there are some next steps to think about. For example, this list includes some ETFs that are concentrated in specific industries like homebuilding, and if you were considering adding one of these ETFs to your investment mix, you should be aware of the potential for concentration risk. This is basically equivalent to putting your eggs in a single basket—if you are not diversified across the rest of your investments.
Should value be the focus?
Of course, stocks being at all-time highs might also call into question whether they offer good value. Indeed, valuations (as measured by the price-to-earnings ratio for the S&P 500) have steadily increased since hitting a cycle bottom in September 2011 (see S&P 500 P/E ratio chart, left).
Moreover, growth and value stocks tend to have a cyclical relationship (see Russell 1000: Growth vs. value chart, right), and many value investors think that after a long stretch where growth has dominated, it could be value’s time to take the lead.
If you are interested in exploring value-focused ETFs, there are several screening criteria that you can utilize. For example, here are 10 ETFs with a "very low" price-to-book ratio (under 1.54), a "very low" price-to-cash flow ratio (under 7.2), and a "very low" price-to-earnings ratio (under 12.0), sorted by net assets, as of February 22, 2024:
- iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (
) - Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF (
) - iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (
) - Dimensional US Targeted Value ETF (
) - Avantis US Small Cap Value ETF (
) - Vanguard International High Dividend Yield Index Fund ETF (
) - Dimensional International Value ETF (
) - Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Large Company ETF (
) - Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF (
) - iShares MSCI China ETF (
)
Another important step you can take after running a screen is to evaluate the quality of the list that is generated. Does it appear that the screen results match your search criteria and align with your objectives? Assessing the screen results as a whole can help you figure out if it's finding what you are interested in.
Analyst-rated ETFs
If you want to leverage the expertise of third-party analysts, there are a couple of options in the Fidelity.com ETF Screener, one of which is ratings from data provider FactSet. You can sort by highly rated ETFs based on FactSet’s analysis, and you have the ability to add in some filters of your own on top of these ratings.
For example, here are 10 ETFs with an "A" rating from FactSet—based on multiple fundamental factors—plus those with a "very low" net expense ratio (less than 0.33%), a "very low" tracking error (less than 4.34%), a "very low" tax cost ratio (less than 0.78%), and ETFs with a 0 or negative premium/discount 1-year average, sorted by net assets, as of February 22, 2024:
- SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (
) - iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (
) - Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (
) - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (
) - Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares (
) - iShares Core S&P Total US Stock Market ETF (
) - Schwab US Large-Cap ETF (
) - iShares National Muni Bond ETF (
) - iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (
) - iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (
)
Another tip when evaluating the results of an ETF screen is to take a look at the individual holdings. You can find an ETF's components on its ETF snapshot page on Fidelity.com, under Portfolio Composition. On that page, you can also find the ETF's style (value, growth, or blend) and size (large, mid, or small), as well as ratings and key statistics. This list is a diverse group of ETFs, and you may be able to get a better sense of each one by looking at the individual holdings.
ETF ideas and research
If you think one or more of the ETFs identified by a screen is worth considering to help manage the risk in your portfolio or achieve your objectives, your next step should be to research it further. And always remember to evaluate a fund's costs, including the following:
- Expense ratio: Look for low expense ratios to help reduce your overall costs.1
- Bid-ask spread: Look for small bid-ask spreads to help reduce costs of investing.
- Tracking error: Look for a low tracking error to find ETFs that indicate a better job of replicating their benchmark indexes.