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Trump Nearing 100 Days in Office: ETF Winners & Losers

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President Donald Trump is about to complete his 100th day in office, and it’s the stock market where the party is on. The three major indices – the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq Composite – are scaling multiple highs and gained 5.2%, 5.9% and 8.5%, respectively, though bout of volatility kept crossing the bulls.

The rally almost ignored the fact that Trump has failed to deliver on promises on almost all fronts until now. This is especially true given that some priority plans like repealing Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) and building a border wall has been on hold while other policies are yet to show any sign of materializing. As a result, Trump’s big bet on sectors like financials, industrials, materials, and aerospace & defense lost momentum in recent weeks.

Additionally, the risk of a government shutdown is looming large as government funding is set to expire on April 28 if the Congress does not pass the new spending bill (read: Don't Let Trump ETFs & Stocks Fool You).

However, just couple of days before of his 100-day landmark, Trump has proposed the long-awaited tax reform plan. He seeks to cut corporate tax to 15% from the current 30%, reduce the number of U.S. tax brackets from seven to three and push the top bracket rate down from 39.6% to 35%. The proposal lacks details and will likely increase fiscal deficit, if enacted. As such, the approval from both House and Senate is likely to face hurdles.

In the ETF corner of the trading universe, we can see both good and bad response to the Trump presidency. Given below the funds that topped or flopped during the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s rule.

Top ETFs

BioShares Biotechnology Clinical Trials ETF (BBC - Free Report)


The biotech sector has made a strong comeback this year driven by cheap valuation, robust earnings results, encouraging industry trends, as well as Trump’s move to reduce drug regulations and push for faster drug approvals. Additionally, Trump’s proposed tax reforms and cash repatriation policy supported the rally. Notably, BBC is the showstopper with an 18.4% increase (read: Best ETFs & Stocks from Top Sectors of Q1).

BBC is a small cap centric fund, having amassed $24.3 million in its asset base. It charges 85 bps in fees per year from investors and trades in a light average daily volume of around 14,000 shares. Holding 69 stocks in its basket, it is widely spread out across various components with each holding less than 3.7% share. The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 or ‘Hold’ rating with a High risk outlook.

PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors Fund (PSI - Free Report)

Semiconductor stocks are on stellar ride thanks to improving overseas demand and innovative technologies. New areas such as autonomous cars, cloud computing, gaming, wearables, VR headsets, drones, virtual reality devices and Internet of Things are fueling growth in the sector, offsetting struggling traditional businesses like PCs and smartphones. That being said, PSI, with AUM of $230.5 million and average daily volume of around 60,000 shares, has gained 16.4% since Trump took office on January 20.

The fund holds a basket of 30 securities with each holding less than 5.7% share. The product charges a fee of 63 bps a year and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 or ‘Buy’ rating with a High risk outlook (read: Will Chip ETFs Continue Their Solid Run As Q1 Unfolds?)

iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB - Free Report)

The homebuilding and construction sector has been on tear given growing demand for both new and existing homes. Increased hiring, rise in wages and ongoing job creation will continue to fuel growth in the homebuilding sector. Additionally, slower and gradual rate hikes is adding to the strength.

ITB provides a pure play to home construction stocks and holds a basket of 44 stocks with double-digit allocation to the top two firms. The product has amassed $1.5 billion in its asset base and trades in heavy volume of around 2.7 million shares a day on average. It charges 44 bps in annual fees and has gained 15.9% in the same time frame. The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 with a High risk outlook (read: Top Ranked Housing ETFs for a Hot Spring Selling Season).

PowerShares S&P SmallCap Utilities Portfolio (PSCU - Free Report)

Being the low-beta sector funds, utility ETFs have gained immense popularity on Trump’s protectionist and anti-trade policies and growing geopolitical tensions. This is because these are relatively protected from large swings (ups and downs) in the stock market and is thus considered a defensive investment or a safe haven in turbulent times. Additionally, the hunt for higher yield in the lower rate environment has spurred a rally in related stocks as utilities offer solid dividend payouts (read: 4 Safe Haven ETFs to Escape Geopolitical Tensions).

As a result, PSCU, targeting the small cap segment of the utilities sector, gained 10.1%. It holds a small basket of 16 stocks with heavy concentration on some of the top firms. The ETF is often overlooked by investors as depicted by its AUM of $46.7 million and average daily volume of 8,000 shares. Expense ratio comes in at 0.29%. It has a Zacks ETF Rank of 5 or ‘Strong Sell’ rating with a Medium risk outlook.

Flop ETFs

PowerShares S&P SmallCap Energy Fund (PSCE - Free Report)


The energy sector has been struggling this year as optimism surrounding the historic OPEC output cut deal evaporated by surging U.S. shale output leading to a decline in oil price. PSCE provides exposure to the energy sector of the U.S. small cap segment and holds 29 securities in its basket with large concentration on the top two firms. The fund is unpopular with AUM of $49.7 million and average daily volume of 64,000 shares. It charges 29 bps in fees per year and tumbled nearly 21% in the same time frame. PSCE has a Zacks ETF Rank of 4 or ‘Sell’ rating with a High risk outlook.

SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME - Free Report)

The immediate ETF winner of the Trump victory, XME has now became one of the worst performing ETFs losing 7% since the President took office. Trump has promised to revive U.S. manufacturing and rehabilitate the country’s aging infrastructure. He seeks to spend a trillion dollars on rebuilding highways, bridges, hospitals and other U.S. infrastructure. However, no action has been taken in this regard so far. The ETF offers broad exposure to the U.S. metal and mining industry and holds 30 stocks in its basket. It has accumulated $844.4 million in its asset base and trades in large volume of more than 4.4 million shares a day on average. The product charges 35 bps in annual fees.

Ranger Equity Bear ETF (HDGE - Free Report)

Since the broad stock market has been on a stellar ride, HDGE suffered as it seeks capital appreciation by taking short positions in a number of U.S. listed companies. This actively managed fund has amassed $179.9 million in its asset base while trades in a solid volume of around 303,000 shares a day on average. It is a bit pricey charging 2.80% in annual fees. The ETF has lost 5.3% since Trump took office.

Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Value ETF (RZV - Free Report)  

After outperforming the broader market in November and December on Trump’s victory, small cap stocks have lost their luster this year. The delay in the implementation of Trump’s domestic pro-growth policies, the travel ban debacle, collapse of the healthcare bill, shift in investors’ sentiment and Fed rate hike concerns have weighed heavily on the pint-sized stocks. In particular, RZV has lost 4.5% in the Trump presidency so far (read: Small Cap ETFs: Leaders or Laggards).

The fund provides exposure to the pure value segment of small cap market and holds well-diversified 156 stocks. It has been able to manage $234.3 million in its asset base while trading in a paltry volume of about 30,000 shares a day on average. It charges 35 bps in fees per year from investors and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 with a High risk outlook.

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