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5 ETFs to Pick as Coronavirus Cases Continue to Soar Globally
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The world has now witnessed another grim milestone in the coronavirus outbreak as the number of confirmed cases has crossed the 100-million mark, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Going by the latest World Bank figures, considering the world population of about 7.67 billion, the global case numbers are signalling that about one in every 76 people has now had the coronavirus infection, as mentioned in a CNN report.
The data from Johns Hopkins University also reflects that the threshold of 1 million confirmed cases was surpassed globally on Apr 2, 2020, and 10 million on Jun 28, per a CNN report. The 50-million confirmed case mark was hit by Nov 7 before crossing the 90 million cases threshold on Jan 10, 2021, per the same CNN report. It seems like the mutations have increased the spread of the coronavirus.
United States has also sadly crossed another grim mark of recording more than 25 million coronavirus cases, with the death toll surpassing 400,000. Raising worries, health experts are "extremely" concerned about the new coronavirus variants that have been discovered in the United States, per a CNN report. The same report also states that variants like P.1 and B.1.1.7 (first spotted in the UK) have been detected in the United States.
Under the prevalent scenario of the surging work-from-home and online shopping trends, increasing digital payments, growing video streaming and soaring video game popularity are gradually becoming the “new normal.” With the new trends making way, a few major technology stocks are expected to keep gaining traction from the buoyancy in demand for their products and services.
Evidently, cloud computing has emerged as a key technology in the fight against coronavirus. Online shopping is gaining favor among shoppers in an attempt to minimize human-to-human contact as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the United States. A report by Mastercard SpendingPulse highlights the same. Keeping up with the digitization trend, online sales surged 49% from 2019 levels. Online sales also accounted for roughly 19.7% of overall retail sales, up from about 13.4% in 2019. Notably, the pandemic has been a boon for the e-commerce industry as people continue to prefer staying indoors and shop online.
Going by a Statista report, the global e-commerce market is expected to touch $3.3 trillion, at a CAGR of 7.4% between 2020 and 2025.
It seems like there is no stopping video game players this year, with the health crisis forcing people to stay indoors. Moreover, the boom in the video gaming space will likely sustain in the post-pandemic era as the health crisis has changed the lifestyle and preferences of Americans to a large extent.
According to new data from The NPD Group, the video game industry, including packaged media, digital, consoles and accessories, saw strong sales in December with people spending a total of around $7.7 billion. Notably, the figure is also up 25% year over year. In fact, consumer spending for pandemic-stricken 2020 touched a new record of $56.9 billion, rising 27% from 2019, per the same report.
ETFs to Watch Out For
Against this backdrop, we present some ETFs from several corners of the e-commerce segment in the technology or consumer discretionary sector that will continue gaining from the worsening outbreak due to the “new normal” trends.
This fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, before fees and expenses, of the ISE Cloud Computing Index. It charges investors 60 basis points (bps) in fees per year. The product has amassed $6.14 billion in its asset base (read: Cloud Computing Gets Bull & Bear Leveraged ETFs From Direxion).
This fund invests in companies positioned to benefit from the increased adoption of e-commerce as a distribution model, including companies whose principal business is in operating e-commerce platforms, providing related software and services, and/or selling goods and services online. It has accumulated $155.1 million in its asset base and charges 50 bps in annual fees (read: 4 Platform Providers to Tap Gains From E-commerce Boom in 2021).
The fund seeks investment results, before fees and expenses, that track the performance of the ProShares Online Retail Index. With an AUM of $1.21 billion, the fund has an expense ratio of 58 bps (read: Power-packed ETFs for Your Portfolio in 2021).
This ETF debuted in early June 2020 and has already attracted $315.9 million in AUM. This ETF is designed to offer retail and institutional investors global exposure to sports betting and iGaming industries by tracking the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming Index. The fund charges 75 bps in annual fees (read: 6 Consumer Discretionary ETFs Riding on Holiday Fervor).
The fund seeks to invest in companies that develop or publish video games, facilitate the streaming and distribution of video gaming or esports content, own and operate within competitive esports leagues, or produce hardware used in video games and esports, including augmented and virtual reality. With an AUM of $731.2 million, the fund charges 50 bps points in expense ratio (read: Video Gaming ETFs to Win as Sales Keep Rising Amid Pandemic).
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5 ETFs to Pick as Coronavirus Cases Continue to Soar Globally
The world has now witnessed another grim milestone in the coronavirus outbreak as the number of confirmed cases has crossed the 100-million mark, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Going by the latest World Bank figures, considering the world population of about 7.67 billion, the global case numbers are signalling that about one in every 76 people has now had the coronavirus infection, as mentioned in a CNN report.
The data from Johns Hopkins University also reflects that the threshold of 1 million confirmed cases was surpassed globally on Apr 2, 2020, and 10 million on Jun 28, per a CNN report. The 50-million confirmed case mark was hit by Nov 7 before crossing the 90 million cases threshold on Jan 10, 2021, per the same CNN report. It seems like the mutations have increased the spread of the coronavirus.
United States has also sadly crossed another grim mark of recording more than 25 million coronavirus cases, with the death toll surpassing 400,000. Raising worries, health experts are "extremely" concerned about the new coronavirus variants that have been discovered in the United States, per a CNN report. The same report also states that variants like P.1 and B.1.1.7 (first spotted in the UK) have been detected in the United States.
Under the prevalent scenario of the surging work-from-home and online shopping trends, increasing digital payments, growing video streaming and soaring video game popularity are gradually becoming the “new normal.” With the new trends making way, a few major technology stocks are expected to keep gaining traction from the buoyancy in demand for their products and services.
Evidently, cloud computing has emerged as a key technology in the fight against coronavirus. Online shopping is gaining favor among shoppers in an attempt to minimize human-to-human contact as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the United States. A report by Mastercard SpendingPulse highlights the same. Keeping up with the digitization trend, online sales surged 49% from 2019 levels. Online sales also accounted for roughly 19.7% of overall retail sales, up from about 13.4% in 2019. Notably, the pandemic has been a boon for the e-commerce industry as people continue to prefer staying indoors and shop online.
Going by a Statista report, the global e-commerce market is expected to touch $3.3 trillion, at a CAGR of 7.4% between 2020 and 2025.
It seems like there is no stopping video game players this year, with the health crisis forcing people to stay indoors. Moreover, the boom in the video gaming space will likely sustain in the post-pandemic era as the health crisis has changed the lifestyle and preferences of Americans to a large extent.
According to new data from The NPD Group, the video game industry, including packaged media, digital, consoles and accessories, saw strong sales in December with people spending a total of around $7.7 billion. Notably, the figure is also up 25% year over year. In fact, consumer spending for pandemic-stricken 2020 touched a new record of $56.9 billion, rising 27% from 2019, per the same report.
ETFs to Watch Out For
Against this backdrop, we present some ETFs from several corners of the e-commerce segment in the technology or consumer discretionary sector that will continue gaining from the worsening outbreak due to the “new normal” trends.
First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY - Free Report)
This fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, before fees and expenses, of the ISE Cloud Computing Index. It charges investors 60 basis points (bps) in fees per year. The product has amassed $6.14 billion in its asset base (read: Cloud Computing Gets Bull & Bear Leveraged ETFs From Direxion).
Global X E-commerce ETF (EBIZ - Free Report)
This fund invests in companies positioned to benefit from the increased adoption of e-commerce as a distribution model, including companies whose principal business is in operating e-commerce platforms, providing related software and services, and/or selling goods and services online. It has accumulated $155.1 million in its asset base and charges 50 bps in annual fees (read: 4 Platform Providers to Tap Gains From E-commerce Boom in 2021).
ProShares Online Retail ETF (ONLN - Free Report)
The fund seeks investment results, before fees and expenses, that track the performance of the ProShares Online Retail Index. With an AUM of $1.21 billion, the fund has an expense ratio of 58 bps (read: Power-packed ETFs for Your Portfolio in 2021).
Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (BETZ - Free Report)
This ETF debuted in early June 2020 and has already attracted $315.9 million in AUM. This ETF is designed to offer retail and institutional investors global exposure to sports betting and iGaming industries by tracking the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming Index. The fund charges 75 bps in annual fees (read: 6 Consumer Discretionary ETFs Riding on Holiday Fervor).
Global X Video Games & Esports ETF (HERO - Free Report)
The fund seeks to invest in companies that develop or publish video games, facilitate the streaming and distribution of video gaming or esports content, own and operate within competitive esports leagues, or produce hardware used in video games and esports, including augmented and virtual reality. With an AUM of $731.2 million, the fund charges 50 bps points in expense ratio (read: Video Gaming ETFs to Win as Sales Keep Rising Amid Pandemic).
Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?
Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >>