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Is Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY) a Hot ETF Right Now?

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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY - Free Report) debuted on 04/20/2016, and offers broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs category of the U.S. equity market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $319.21 M, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Consumer Discretionary ETFs. IBUY is managed by Amplify Etfs. IBUY, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the EQM Online Retail Index.

The EQM Online Retail Index utilizes a rules based methodology to select a globally diverse group of companies with 70% or more of revenue from online and virtual sales.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for IBUY are 0.65%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Taking into account individual holdings, Tripadvisor Inc accounts for about 4.24% of the fund's total assets, followed by Iac Interactivecorp (IAC - Free Report) and Copart Inc (CPRT - Free Report) .

IBUY's top 10 holdings account for about 36.11% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The fund's year-to-date return has gained about 15.68%, and is up about 42.06% in the last one year (as of 06/01/2018). IBUY has traded between $33.55 and $47.70 in the past 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 16.30% for the trailing three-year period. With about 40 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.


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