The Best and Worst All-ETF Portfolios of 2014
December 23 2014 - 8:00AM
ETFDB
Major equity indexes on the home front continued their
ascent in 2014, much to the bears’ growing frustrations. Amid
the run-up, the fairly short-lived periods of profit-taking served
as buying opportunities throughout the year. These rounds of
selling saw volatility levels spike more than they did the previous
year, perhaps showcasing the increasingly cautious nature of
investors in light of the stellar five-year bull run seen thus far
[see also The Best and Worst Sector ETFs of 2014].
Below, we break down the best and worst performing strategies
from our All-ETF Portfolio lineup to see how they stacked up
against one another as well as the broader market. Please note that
all returns are as of 12/19/2014, and at the time of writing,
the S&P 500 Index was up 11.8% on the year.
The Best Performers google.load('visualization', '1', {packages:
['corechart']}); function drawVisualization() { // Create and
populate the data table. var data =
google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([ ['Portfolio', 'YTD
Return',], ['Baby Boomers', 17.14], ['High Tech', 16.37], ['20
Years Til Retirement', 9.27], ['Alpha Seeker 2.0', 8.96], ['30
Years Til Retirement', 8.69], ['Monthly Dividend', 8.24], ['5 Years
Til Retirement', 8.21], ['10 Years Til Retirement', 8.21], ['Ready
to Retire', 8.11], ['High Yield', 7.82], ]); var formatter = new
google.visualization.NumberFormat( {suffix: "%"});
formatter.format(data,1); var options = { title:"Best Performing
ETFdb Portfolios of 2014", width:600, height:400, hAxis: {title:
""}, colors: ["green"] }; // Create and draw the visualization. new
google.visualization.ColumnChart(document.getElementById('visualization105691')).
draw(data, options); } google.setOnLoadCallback(drawVisualization);
The domestic health care and technology sectors beat the broad
equity market by a wide margin in 2014, helping to propel
our two sector-themed portfolios to the top of the returns
rankings. Among the biggest winners were several retirement-themed
portfolios, and it’s worth noting that those with a more aggressive
allocation towards equities came out ahead. Two yield-focused
portfolios, the Monthly Dividend and High Yield one, also turned in
solid performances on the year as dividend-paying securities
remained in the spotlight amid the low-rate environment.
The Worst Performers google.load('visualization', '1', {packages:
['corechart']}); function drawVisualization() { // Create and
populate the data table. var data =
google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([ ['Portfolio', 'YTD
Return',], ['LatAm Centric', -14.44], ['Euro Free Europe', -12.38],
['Energy Bull', -11.92], ['Futures Free Commodity', -11.40],
['Black Swan Hyperinflation', -10.96], ['Mining Boom', -10.86],
['Commodity Guru', -7.94], ['BRICK-or-Bust', -7.33],
['Easy-as-ABC', -6.32], ['Africa-Centric', -5.70], ]); var
formatter = new google.visualization.NumberFormat( {suffix: "%"});
formatter.format(data,1); var options = { title:"Worst Performing
ETFdb Portfolios of 2014", width:600, height:400, hAxis: {title:
""}, colors: ["red"] }; // Create and draw the visualization. new
google.visualization.ColumnChart(document.getElementById('visualization105695')).
draw(data, options); } google.setOnLoadCallback(drawVisualization);
Fears over lackluster growth prospects in Brazil, China,
and Russia, coupled with an anemic recovery taking place in Europe,
paved the way lower for many foreign equity markets in 2014. Among
the underperformers were commodity-themed portfolios as well,
largely due to the fact that this asset class endured headwinds
from a rising U.S. dollar matched with lackluster global growth.
More specifically, energy-related assets were in the limelight
as selling pressures in the crude oil futures market intensified
near the end of the year.
The table below lists the YTD
return for only those portfolios included above; see
all 50+ ETFdb Model Portfolios:
ETFdb Portfolio YTD Return
|
Baby Boomers |
17.14% |
High Tech |
16.37% |
20 Years Til Retirement |
9.27% |
Alpha Seeker 2.0 |
8.96% |
30 Years Til Retirement |
8.69% |
Monthly Dividend |
8.24% |
5 Years Til Retirement |
8.21% |
10 Years Til Retirement |
8.21% |
Ready To Retire |
8.11% |
High Yield |
7.82% |
Africa-Centric |
-5.70% |
Easy-As-ABC |
-6.32% |
BRIC-or-Bust |
-7.33% |
Commodity Guru |
-7.94% |
Mining Boom |
-10.86% |
Black Swan Hyperinflation |
-10.96% |
Futures Free Commodity |
-11.40% |
Energy Bull |
-11.92% |
Euro Free Europe |
-12.38% |
LatAm Centric |
-14.44% |
[For more ETF analysis, make sure to
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Disclosure: No positions at time of
writing.
Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.
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