ETF Market Outlook & Picks for 2021

Neena Mishra

January 8, 2021 at 3:48 PM·3 min read

(1:45) - What Is Pushing The Current Market Rally?
(4:30) - How Should Investors Position Their Portfolios Heading Into 2021?
(11:00) - How Can Thematic ETFs Benefit Your Portfolio?
(16:55) - Top ETF Picks For 2021
(22:25) - What Is The Market Outlook For 2021?
(24:45) - Is Cyclical Growth The Sweet Spot For Investors?
(30:00) - Will Clean Energy See A Continued Boost In 2021?
(33:30) - ETFs In Healthcare And Commodities: Where Should You Be Looking?
(39:15) - WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Fund: EES
(43:00) - Emerging Markets and Inflation ETFs Heading Into 2021
Podcast@Zacks.com

In this episode of ETF Spotlight, we discuss the market outlook and ETF picks for 2021. In the first part, I am joined by Todd Rosenbluth, Head of ETF & Mutual Fund Research at CFRA, and my second guest is John Davi, Founder & CEO of Astoria Portfolio Advisors.

Stocks have rallied this week thanks mainly to prospects of a large fiscal stimulus after the democratic sweep. Additional relief and wide rollout of vaccines are expected to result in faster economic recovery. How should investors position their portfolios now?

2020 was a great year for the ETF industry with record inflows and a record number of ETF launches. Will this trend continue in 2021?

2020 was the year of thematic ETFs. Investors poured a lot of money into ETFs focused on themes like cloud computing, e-commerce, disruptive growth, work from home, and video gaming. What role do thematic ETFs play in an investor’s portfolio?

Bitcoin continues to soar and crossed $41,000 for the first time yesterday, up about 40% so far in 2021. Several ETF providers have filed for bitcoin and other crypto ETFs over the past few years, but all those applications have been rejected by the SEC. VanEck recently filed for a bitcoin ETF again. Will we see a bitcoin ETF in 2021?

Todd’s top picks for 2021 are: ProShares Online Retail ETF ONLN, Global X Telemedicine & Digital Health ETF EDOC, Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF QQQM, Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF RYH and Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF XLI.

Astoria is an investment management firm that specializes in ETF managed portfolios. They recently released their 10 ETFs for 2021 report, which recommends that investors should increase their exposure to cyclical growth, clean energy, healthcare, small-caps and emerging markets.

John’s top ETF picks to play these themes include: ARK Genomic Revolution ETF ARKG First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF FBT, iShares Global Clean Energy ETF ICLN, Invesco KBW Bank ETF KBWB and WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap ETF EES.

Tune into the podcast to learn more about these ETFs. Make sure to be on the lookout for the next edition of the ETF Spotlight and remember to subscribe! If you have any comments or questions, please email podcast@zacks.com.

(In full disclosure, Neena owns shares of EDOC in the ETF Investor Portfolio.)

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