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5 Safe ETF Bets to Consider Amid a Dull Wall Street

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Wall Street is seeing dullness as the impact of high inflation levels, supply-chain disruptions and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war crisis have started to show on corporate America’s earnings results. The market continues to grapple with rising benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields, the Fed’s aggressive stance on rate hikes and concerns stemming from resurging coronavirus cases in China, which has imposed a lockdown in its main financial hub, Shanghai. Also, cases are rising in Beijing.

As the war tension continues, rising commodity prices and fears of further disruptions in global supply-chain distributions might stoke higher inflation. Investors are also on edge as the threat of a nuclear attack seems real. Kremlin has itself been stressing on the significant risk posing the usage of the highly fatal nuclear weapons in the attack.

Considering the tough market conditions, let’s find out some investment options for the market participants who wish to ride safe:

Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT - Free Report)

The healthcare sector is a good defensive investment option as several investors believe consumers will have to purchase healthcare products even during tough and uncertain times. Also, the pandemic triggered a race to introduce vaccines, tests and treatment options, opening up investment opportunities in the healthcare sector.

Vanguard Health Care ETF seeks to track the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index. VHT charges 10 basis points (bps) of fees (read: Healthcare ETFs in Focus Ahead of Q1 Earnings).

iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (IVE - Free Report)

Value investing is looking to be more appealing. Value stocks seek to capitalize on the market inefficiencies. They are less exposed to the trending markets and their dividend payouts offer a shield against the market turbulence.

iShares S&P 500 Value ETF seeks to track the performance of the S&P 500 Value Index. IVE charges 18 basis points of fees.

 iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF (IYK - Free Report)

The consumer staples sector is known for its non-cyclical nature and acts as a safe haven during unstable market conditions. Moreover, like utility, consumer staples is considered a stable sector for the long term as its players are likely to offer decent returns. Moreover, like utility, consumer staples is considered a stable sector for the long term as its players are likely to offer decent returns.

iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. equities in the consumer staples sector. IYK charges 41 bps of fees (read: Bet on Consumer Staples ETFs as Recession Fears Intensify).

FlexShares Quality Dividend Index Fund (QDF - Free Report)

Quality stocks are rich in value characteristics with a healthy balance sheet, high return on capital, low volatility and high margins. These stocks also have a track record of stable or increasing sales and earnings growth. Compared to plain vanilla funds, these products help lower volatility and perform better during market uncertainty.

FlexShares Quality Dividend Index Fund seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Northern Trust Quality Dividend Index. QDF charges 0.37% of fees.

ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL - Free Report)

Dividend aristocrats are blue-chip dividend-paying companies with a long history of increasing dividend payments year over year. Moreover, dividend aristocrat funds give investors dividend growth opportunities compared to other products in the space but might not necessarily have the highest yields.

ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF seeks investment results before fees and expenses that track the performance of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index. NOBL has an expense ratio of 0.35%.

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