Unchartered Waters

Monday, March 16, 2020 – Once again, markets are rapidly moving this morning as the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a second emergency rate cut to zero on Sunday in conjunction with Central Banks around the world. Chairman Jerome Powell announced that Monetary Policy had run its course and that a Fiscal Stimulus is needed to stabilize the economy and markets. Nevertheless, today, equity markets in Europe collapsed down over 9% and several European airlines announced plans for bankruptcy filings unless they received government bailouts. There are also signs that global money markets are starting to freeze up although the issues have been managed to date. The drop in U.S. interest rates will help relieve stress in Emerging Markets.

This comes despite President Trump’s attempt to calm the markets late Friday afternoon with announcements that the U.S. would attempt to stabilize oil markets with buying for the U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve and a relatively weak fiscal cushion for workers affected by the downturn. Obviously, investors worldwide are not impressed with the U.S. policies designed to address the situation. Washington’s response is viewed as a day late and dollar short to address this crisis. This will not go unnoticed in the upcoming November elections should they not get postponed if virus containment strategies continue into the Fall. In a short period of time, the Corona medical crisis has transformed into an economic downturn and a financial crisis.

Last week, oil prices appeared to stabilize around the low $30s and all equity prices made moves in excess of 5% up or down daily. While this morning, the 10 Year Treasury Yield bond lingers around .8%.  Nevertheless, the US appears to be heading toward negative interest rates.

As we head into this week, “Cash is King” with the SPY down almost 9% in pre-market trading.

U.S. markets closed down last week with the S&P 500 finishing down 8.79% and the Nasdaq Composite 8.17%. The broad market, as measured by the S&P 500, closed the week at 2,711.02. The NASDAQ Composite closed at 7,874.88. Both indexes ended the week down sharply with the DJIA officially entering a bear market. For the record, the Bear Market occurred in 19 days from top to bottom. As a footnote, the S&P 500 Energy Index dropped 24.28% for the week and is down 47.14 YTD. These numbers are of historic proportions.

This is a developing crisis on the scale of 2008 at least or perhaps worse. Expect emergency Central Bank Rate Cuts have run their course. Expect preparations for sector bailouts and large fiscal spending plans to “save capitalism.” These efforts however will be stymied by supply chain bottlenecks and public fear of the Coronavirus. Recession across the globe is occurring although not officially verified. Expect dislocations in political regimes.

Despite global volatility, ETPs had USD $31.52 billion in net inflows in February and $98.68 billion YTD.   A bright spot for ETF Issuers. The main losers of the current meltdown are likely to be mutual funds, hedge funds and private credit funds.

Investors should take heed of the underlying securities in high yield ETFs and money market funds as credit markets should be expected to freeze up. At some point, asset prices will reach a bottom and investors should be prepared to take advantage of ETFs to build portfolios. Rapid price volatility challenge quantitative strategies and ratings.

To best support the ETF selection process, our ETFG Weekly Select List highlights the 5 most highly rated ETFs per Sector, Geographic Region and Strategy as ranked by the ETFG Quant model. We suggest keeping a mindful eye on tools like our Select List and Risk and Reward Ratings that can be used to evaluate the vast set of opportunities in the ETF marketplace. Today’s market realities require a new approach to macro investing, one in which individual investors now have access to tools via ETPs to customize risk and return profiles in their portfolios. Use our Scanner to find those funds.

Thank you for reading the ETF Global Perspectives!

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Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income.

Oil and Coronavirus Drive Rapid Readjustment in Asset Values

Monday, March 9, 2020 - Markets are rapidly moving this morning as oil prices drop 20% to mid $30s and all equity prices plummet. U.S. Futures price halts are triggered. The 10 Year Treasury Yield drops below .4%. The U.S. appears to be heading toward negative interest rates.

While concern of the economic fallout of the Coronavirus drove markets last week, the breakdown of  Russian and Saudi cooperation in managing oil supplies and prices on Friday creates a new reality in the Middle East and Oil Geopolitics. As of now, “Cash is King.”

While unbelievable, U.S. markets closed higher last week with the S&P 500 finishing up .61% and the Nasdaq Composite .10%. The broad market as measured by the S&P 500 closed the week at 2,972.37. The NASDAQ Composite closed at 8575.62. Both indexes ended the week largely flat despite volatility of historic proportions. Markets across Asia dropped approximately 5% while European markets recovered to roughly minus 5% after initial drops of 8.5%.

This is a developing crisis on the scale of 2008. Expect emergency Central Bank Rate Cuts, as well as, preparations for sector bailouts and large fiscal spending plan. These efforts, however, will be stymied by supply chain bottlenecks and public fear of the Coronavirus. Recession across the globe is likely.  Expect dislocations in political regimes.

Investors should take heed of the underlying securities in high yield ETFs and money market funds as credit markets should be expected to freeze up. Get ready for a roller-coaster week thanks to Mr. Putin!

All of this creates opportunities for traders and active investors who can use ETFs to take advantage of real-time market volatility – both up and down! 

To take advantage of this, we suggest looking at our ETFG Weekly Select List. To best support the ETF selection process, The ETFG Weekly Select List highlights the 5 most highly rated ETFs per Sector, Geographic Region and Strategy as ranked by the ETFG Quant model.

We suggest keeping a mindful eye on tools like our Select List and Risk and Reward Ratings that can be used to evaluate the vast set of opportunities in the ETF marketplace. Today’s market realities require a new approach to macro investing, one in which individual investors now have access to tools via ETPs to customize risk and return profiles in their portfolios.

Thank you for reading the ETF Global Perspectives!

ETFG 21 Day Free Trial:  https://www.etfg.com/signup/quick

_______________________________________________________

Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income.

Markets Hit Hard

Monday, March 2, 2020 - It was one of the worst weeks for US Equity Markets since the financial crisis as Coronavirus fears became very real for Investors.

For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3,583 points or 12% closing at 25,409. The S&P 500 fell 11% to 2,954 while the Nasdaq Composite also knocked off 11% of its value to fall to 8,567. This coming as there is now a greater risk of a pandemic scenario created by the virus and definite supply chain and business implications for the World.

In ETFs, we saw outflows from some of the largest products in the marketplace. SPY, the SPDRS S&P 500 ETF, lost over $17B (yes, you read that correctly) in assets during this week. That was followed by HYG, the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF, which shed about $3B in assets or about 18% of its AUM. In inflows, we saw investors move their assets to Treasuries and safe-haven assets. IEF, the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF saw some of the greatest inflows for the week, gaining over $1.5B in AUM. That was followed by SPTI, the SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Treasury ETF, gained over $787M in assets which accounted for a 64% increase in its AUM. This all according to our ETFG Fund Flow Summary.

ETFG Weekly Select List - Because of this strategy’s success, we’d like to highlight some substantial movement in the Consumer Discretionary portion of this week’s Select List to last. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF, XRT, held steady at the top spot on the list. Following that was PSCD, the Invesco S&P SmallCap Consumer Discretionary ETF which knocked XHB, the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF, down one spot to 3^rd place. Rounding out the list was a swap between ECON , Columbia Emerging Markets Consumer ETF and PEJ, Invesco Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment ETF, which finished 4^th and 5^th on the list respectively, as opposed to last week when they finished in the opposite order.

As the Coronavirus seems like it will inevitably continue to spread, we will be paying close attention to how investors react to any news coming from Global governments and health agencies.  Last week, President Trump’s remarks on the spread of the virus did very little to calm the fears and unknowns in the Markets. With another week of pattern studies of the Virus and more caution taken by both the US and other Countries, some good news would be a welcome sign to get the markets back on track.

Thanks for reading ETF Global Perspectives!

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_______________________________________________________

Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income.

Coronavirus Now Impacting Earnings Estimates

Monday, February 24, 2020 - As Coronavirus cases and deaths continue to rise, investors showed a sign of retreat during this shortened trading week knocking major US indices from their two weeks of gains. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.4% closing at 28,992. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also were hit by the fear, losing 1.9% and 1.6% respectively. This all coming as we have started to hear of the first companies reporting that their quarterly estimates for Q1 may not be met due to the business implications brought about by the Coronavirus.

In ETFs, there were outflows from some of the largest products in the marketplace. SPY, the SPDRS S&P 500 ETF, lost about $5.3B in assets during the shortened trading week. That was followed by HYG, the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF, which shed about $776M in assets. For inflows, investors poured money into a low volatility ETF, SPLV, the Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF, which gained over $1.3B in assets. That was followed by IVV, the iShares S&P 500 fund, which gained over $1.1B in assets, all according to our ETFG Fund Flow Summary.

ETFG Quant Movers - Those ETFs who have had the largest weekly change in their respective, overall ETFG Quant ratings.

ETFG Quant Winners: In the ETFG Quant Movers, we saw European based ETFs gain the most percentage points to their overall scores. The Franklin FTSE Europe Hedged ETF, FLEH and the iShares MSCI Poland ETF, EPOL, added 24.26% and 20.82% to their overall ETFG Quant scores respectively.

ETFG Quant Losers: On the loser’s side, we saw safe-haven security based ETFs drop percentage points in their overall scores. The First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF, FPE and the ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF SDOG lost 26.66% and 21.07% to their overall scores respectively.

ETFG Weekly Select List - Because of this strategy’s success, we’d like to highlight some substantial movement in the Basic Materials portion of this week’s Select List. The SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF, XME, held steady at the top spot on the list. Following that was a full list of newcomers compared to last week. PSCM, the Invesco S&P SmallCap Materials ETF and BATT, the Amplify Advanced Battery Metals & Materials ETF, finished in 2^nd and 3^rd this week knocking GOEX, the Global X Gold Explorers ETF and GOAU, the U.S. Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF off the list. Rounding out the top 5 were both SIL, the Global X Silver Miners ETF and GDX, the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF which came in 4^th and 5^th respectively.

Markets seem to be paying even greater attention to the global implications the Coronavirus and will surely be watching closely this week.

Thanks for reading ETF Global Perspectives!

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_______________________________________________________

Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income.

Despite Angst, Positive Persists in U.S. Markets

Tuesday, February 18, 2020 – We hope that everyone enjoyed a wonderful Presidents’ Day and welcome back! This past week, the markets continued to trend the same way they have for the past month, positively. Able to build off last week’s momentum, the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed this week with gains of 1.02%, 1.58% and 2.21% respectively.

In what is a volatile time in the world, with the Coronavirus still at large and the US election season on the horizon, the market seems to be defying all odds with its continued strong showing. As we stated last week, the US continues to be a safe investment place in the world while the Coronavirus devastates other large markets, mainly China. With investors likely pulling money out of anything that is associated with the virus, the United States continues to make its strong push.

ETFG Quant Movers - Those ETFs who have had the largest weekly change in their respective, overall ETFG Quant ratings.

ETFG Quant Winners:  On to the ETFG Quant Movers, we will look at this week Top % Gainers and % Losers. On the Gainers side, this week’s winners from 1-5 are JPLS, LDRS, PNQI, FIVA and GAMR. Our number one % Gainer, JPLS had a staggering change of 109.06%. This ETF, which is actively managed, both invests long and short in stocks based on relevant return factors.

ETFG Quant Losers:  On the % Losers side, this week’s top 5 losers were FNDE, FPE, SDOG, ZDEU and TPYP respectively. The biggest loser, FNDE, had a % loss of -59.28% in our model. FNDE, which is the Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Large Company Index ETF, likely got hit hard because of the Coronavirus, which is proving very difficult to stop in China. China, which is an emerging market, has been hit hard by the virus over the past month and ETFs that have interests there, such as FNDE, will likely suffer until China can get control of the deadly virus.

Thanks for reading ETF Global Perspectives!

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_______________________________________________________

Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income.

Despite Global Panic, U.S. Markets Stay Strong

Monday, February 10, 2020 - The deadly Coronavirus that has caused widespread panic throughout the world, as containing it is proving difficult, was not able to damage the U.S. markets this week. Another strong week came our way, as the Nasdaq Composite, Dow Jones Industrials and S&P 500 were up 4.04%, 3%, and 3.17% respectively. Perhaps in this week of global turmoil, especially in China, investors may be looking towards U.S. companies as a safe haven. In addition, was another strong showing for the economy in the form of the Job Report for January. The report showed us that employers added around 225,000 jobs the previous month. Overall, the three indices were at record highs on Thursday and it seems, for the short term, that the epidemic is not going to stop the U.S. markets’ momentum.

ETFG Quant Movers - Those ETFs who have had the largest weekly change in their respective, overall ETFG Quant ratings.

ETFG Quant Winners: On to the ETFG Quant Movers table, we can see this week’s five biggest % Gainers were PNQI, LDRS, JKD, JPLS and SKYY. Worth noting is that the top three ETFs on this list either actively invest or track an index that reflects the overall US economy. Whether that be Large Cap companies (JKD) or an index that tracks the top ranking ETFs (LDRS), what our ETFG Quant Model is showing is that the US economy showed well this week against the rest of the world and these ETFs that are heavily invested in it reaped the benefits.

ETFG Quant Losers: On the % Losers side this week, FNDE, PWV, EDIV, QDEF, FGD led the way. Two of the top 3 losers, FNDE and EDIV, are both emerging markets ETFs, which is interesting as China is considered an emerging market. Perhaps our model is showing us that the biggest losers this week can be linked to ETFs that have large interest in China, which is dealing with the Coronavirus epidemic.

ETFG Weekly Select List - Finally, we’ll take a look at the ETFG Weekly Select List and compare the last two weeks’ worth of data. Looking at the Sector portion of our select list, we can see our biggest winner this week was XME, from the Basic Materials focus, as it moved all the way from last place 5^th to 1^st place this week. Other notable winners include FIDU from the Industrials focus, moving to 1^st place this week from 3^rd place the previous week, and FNCL from the Financials focus, which had an impressive move from 4^th place to 2^nd place.

Thanks for reading ETF Global Perspectives!

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_______________________________________________________

Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income.

Worsening Fears

Monday, February 3, 2020 - Growing uncertainty over the scope of the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak rippled through the markets this week, sending stocks to their largest weekly declines since October and erasing this year's gains. As the outbreak continued to escalate, the World Health Organization officially issued a global public health emergency. These mounting concerns spurred a rally in safe-haven assets, while growth-sensitive assets like stocks and commodities plunged.

Against this backdrop of anxiety, several notable economic events took place - Q4 GDP registered a 2.1% annual growth rate, consumer spending moderated slightly, corporate earnings continued to be largely positive, while the Fed maintained its cautious posture and left interest rates unchanged.

These developments, however, were subordinated by the intensifying coronavirus outbreak and drove the DJIA, S&P 500 and NASDAQ down 2.5%, 2.1% and 1.8% respectively. Despite a strong start to the year, the coronavirus-induced selloff shattered the placid market environment and led all three indexes to experience their worst January performance since 2016.

This backdrop of volatility is reflected in the year-to-date performance of broad asset classes. Equity indexes are largely all in negative territory this year, with the familiar tech heavyweights and income-producing groups like utilities and real estate propping them up from further declines. Trade and global growth-sensitive oil prices are down 13.1% this year, as measured by WTI prices, reflecting the sharpening concerns over the global economic growth trajectory. Gold has advanced 3.9% and long-dated U.S. treasuries are up 6.7%. Taken together, asset class performances to start the year signal a sharp reversal from Q4's sanguine outlook to one of considerably more gloom and uncertainty.

ETFG Quant Movers - Those ETFs who have had the largest weekly change in their respective, overall ETFG Quant ratings.

ETFG Quant Winners: The top five gainers in ETFG Quant Total Score were the First Trust Australia AlphaDEX Fund (FAUS), First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (FAN), First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund (FXG), iShares MSCI Belgium ETF (EWK), and iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (EWW).

ETFG Quant Losers: The ETF experiencing the steepest weekly declines were the AdvisorShares Vice ETF (ACT), SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US ETF (SPDW), Vident International Equity Fund (VIDI), Invesco PureBeta FTSE Developed ex-North America ETF (PBDM), and BMO Elkhorn DWA MLP Select Index ETN (BMLP).

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Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice.  ETF Global LLC (“ETFG”) and its affiliates and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively ETFG Parties) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy or timeliness of any information, including ratings and rankings and are not responsible for errors and omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information and ETFG Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such information. ETFG PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.  In no event shall ETFG Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

ETFG ratings and rankings are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. ETFG ratings and rankings should not be relied on when making any investment or other business decision.  ETFG’s opinions and analyses do not address the suitability of any security.  ETFG does not act as a fiduciary or an investment advisor.  While ETFG has obtained information from sources they believe to be reliable, ETFG does not perform an audit or undertake any duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only correct as of the stated date of their issue.  Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested.  Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate.  Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor's currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income.