Zacks In The News
For Immediate Release
Zacks Releases Model Portfolio Rankings for Second Half of 2012
Also, the second half of 2012 produced some surprises in sector performance which helped propel several broker’s model portfolios to the top of the performance chart. "In the first half of 2012, technology and medical were both hot, especially the big insurers and rehab and at home service providers who were thought to benefit from Obamacare," says Zacks Equity Strategist, Tracey Ryniec. "The medical sector, however, cooled off in the second half once the Supreme Court ruled on Obamacare and President Obama was re-elected. The top performers were not heavily invested in the medical sector which helped when the cool off occurred."
On the flip side, according to Ryniec, the energy sector stocks struggled in the first half of the year. In the second half, however, patience was rewarded as it was energy which boosted the top performers, but not in the way you might have thought. "While Big Oil and the explorers still lagged, the refining sector stocks soared due to a very favorable crude spread. If you owned a refiner, 2012 was a very good year."
Zacks Research shows it also paid to be in the transports in the second half of 2012, as railroads, trucking companies and even airlines came into favor with investors for the first time since the Great Recession. "Those with the top performance took advantage of this change in investor sentiment and cashed in on those gains."
While all of the model portfolios ranked by Zacks had positive returns in the second half of the year, the top three outperformed the S&P 500 by wide margins. Taking top honors in the second half was McAdams Wright Ragen. Second and third place went to Charles Schwab and Goldman Sachs respectively. The portfolios of all three posted big improvement from the first half of the year.
The top ranked brokerages for second half 2012 (6/30/12- 12/31/12) are as follows…
Rank |
Brokerage Firm |
Total Return |
1. | McAdams Wright Ragen | 13.82% |
2. | Charles Schwab | 13.59% |
3. | Goldman Sachs | 11.85% |
4. | Edward Jones | 8.42% |
5. | MSSB | 5.97% |
6. | New Constructs | 3.73% |
7. | Wedbush Securities | 3.00% |
8. | Bank of America/Merrill Lynch | 1.96% |
9. | Raymond James | 1.13% |