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ETF Strategies & Best Practices Amid Coronavirus Volatility

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  • (1:00) - What Can Investors Expect From This Market Volatility
  • (6:55) - How Should You Be Positioned In The Current Market Environment
  • (11:40) - Are There Any Safe Haven Investments?
  • (15:10) - Why Are ETFs Being So Highly Traded Right Now?
  • (22:30) - The Impact of the Fed Buying Corporate Debt
  •      Podcast@Zacks.com

In this episode of ETF Spotlight, I speak with Matthew Bartolini, Head of SPDR Americas Research at State Street Global Advisors.

Stocks have been on a roller coaster ride amid concerns about coronavirus outbreak’s impact on the global economy. They are down today after a three-day rally that had pushed the Dow into a new bull market.

Is the worst over for the markets?

Tech is still the best performing sector this year, down about 13%, whereas the S&P 500 index has lost about 21%. Energy continues to be worst--down more than 50%.

Which sectors are likely to outperform when the stock market finally begins to recover? Find out why the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK - Free Report) , the SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF (XSW - Free Report) , the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV - Free Report) and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP - Free Report) are worth a look now.

Should investors look at some assets that have low correlations to traditional markets, like gold? The SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust ETF (GLDM - Free Report) , which comes with an expense ratio of just 18 basis points, has gained about 8% this year.

Ultra-popular ETFs like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) have seen record trading volumes in the past few weeks as investors tend to gravitate towards ETFs during uncertain market environments. And ETFs have passed their resilience test during these unusual times.

Usually ETF prices are very close to the value of their underlying holdings, but many bond ETFs have been trading at discounts to their NAVs lately.

What do investors need to know and how can they protect themselves from these dislocations?

On Monday, the Federal Reserve announced it would start buying corporate debt including bond ETFs, to inject liquidity into the markets. What does Fed’s purchase of corporate bond ETFs mean for investors?

Tune into the podcast to learn more.

Make sure to be on the lookout for the next edition of ETF Spotlight! If you have any comments or questions, please email podcast@zacks.com

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