The Trump administration may create powerful tailwinds for two vastly different market groups: Big banks and small cap stocks.
In the case of financials, Astoria Portfolio Advisors’ John Davi predicts deregulation — along with a boost in IPO and mergers and acquisitions — to spark multi-year strength.
“The funny thing about the banks is that they were actually from an earnings standpoint fundamentally getting very attractive prior to the Trump administration,” the firm’s founder and CEO told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week. “The large-cap money centers like Goldman [Sachs], JPMorgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley… That’s really the area you want to hone in on with this new administration.”
The money center banks are coming off a strong week. Shares of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley hit record highs on Friday.
Those historic gains are a major reason why Davi likes the Invesco KBW Bank ETF. Its top holdings include JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, according to FactSet.
The ETF is up almost 10% since Jan. 1 and more than 49% over the past 52 weeks.
Year-to-date chart of the KBWB ETF
While bank stocks rally, VettaFi’s Todd Rosenbluth expects small cap stocks to shine under Trump 2.0. He implies the group would be largely insulated from reshoring and tariff threats.
“If we have a focus on the U.S. and making America even stronger, then small-cap companies stand to benefit from that because they have less multinational exposure,” the firm’s head of research said.
Rosenbluth suggests the T. Rowe Price Small-Mid Cap ETF and Neuberger Berman Small-Mid Cap ETF as ways investors can play the group.
He also likes the VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF, which has solid exposure to biotech. Its top three holdings, according to the fund’s website, are Royalty Pharma, Oscar Health and Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and its mission statement is to target “quality small cap companies, trading at a discount with favorable growth prospects.”
VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF,
According to Rosenbluth, the ETF “takes a focus on companies with high quality, strong free cash flow generation, but it has a growth filter to it.” He added the filter sets a high bar when it comes to which small caps ultimately make the cut.
The VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash ETF is up almost 10% over the past year while the Russell 2000, which tracks the group, is up about 17%.
By CNBC “ETF Edge” Staff
