@Soupkitchen:there have been several threads on the Capital Group's suite of ETFs. If you put tickers such as CGUS, CGDV, or CGGR in the search box on the Discussions page, you'll be directed to those discussions. Several MFOers appear to be shareholders.

@Charles
Thank you very much for your explanation and detail.
I would just add this as further explanation for my prior post and questions.
Maybe to people in the industry, and maybe to avid ETF investors, of which I am neither, "Cathie was the flavor for seven years ... and then 2022 came." You would know that, and I did not.
But to the proverbial average investor, Katie Wood was not a household name until ARKK's (and other funds of hers) had parabolic gains starting on that infamous date, March 20, 2020, the depths of the COVID sell off.
Then in Feb 2021, the first leg of per parabolic drop started, and by June 2022, ARKK was back to its March 2020 level.
She stayed a mainstay on the interview circuit for a while, but the average investor had moved on from her. So for me, and I trust many other average investors, she had a newsworthy shelf life of about three years at most. She's been pretty much out of sight, out of mind for me since sometime in 2022.
But I do understand now why you posted what you did. Thanks again for the history lesson and insights.

Factoid:

The reshuffle led to some stunning stats. The S&P 500 dropped 1% even as 400 of its members rallied. A version of the benchmark index that strips out market-cap bias surged 1.2%, beating the weighted index by the most since November 2020.

dinky linky.
SPGP, RWL, and SPHD were up today. SPHQ was down, but not quite as much as SPY.
Saw a paywalled blurb at Marketwatch saying the smart people are wondering where the beef is with AI.
The article about the 493 that I posted the other day also suggested that folks are getting itchy to be doing something else.
We shall see what tomorrow brings

@stillers. Yep. Agree that's where most of the clamor came in 2020/2021. There were lots of 100% Club funds during that time and a few 200% Club funds.
See David's commentary: "291 funds (and uncounted ETFs) have 12-month returns in excess of 100%."
But in the years leading up to COVID, Cathie ruled, seriously.

Both of the below links are active; meaning the data shown is current dependent upon the viewing time. The 'etf' link is active during 'markets open' periods, showing data with a 15 minute delay. The closing daily data will stay in place until the next trading day begins (US markets are open). The page is linked with the '%Chg' column selected, which is a daily column. You may select any other column to sort returns for that time frame.
Major global and U.S. etf categories This list is set with %Chg, which will be for changes for today, July 10; being from most positive to most negative returns.
Per a request, this link is added to this thread at this beginning page.
The data shown is an indicative gauge of direction and isn't a monitor of trading in an open and active market. REF: Finviz shows about +5% at midnight for Japan; while the active and open market there is +10% at this time.
FINVIZ futures
3pm, Thursday:
Peeking around areas I watch, one finds weakness today with the Mag 7, and money flows to the Russell 2000; and other equity sectors. With lower inflation reported and possible FED rate cuts in the future, of course; one also finds interest rate sensitive areas having gains. The reported inflation is about 3%. Not the 2% the FED wants but probably close enough. Somewhere I have a link that expresses that the very long term official average CPI is 3.3%.
Bond yields, of course; have dropped today, per the hope of a rate cut. Many traditional bond funds first moved to small positive YTD returns last week. Those holding most bond funds today with find a nice price bump.
Well, enough from me. Let us discover what B of A and the other big players have to say. :)
Remain curious,
Catch

Cathie was the flavor for seven years ... and then 2022 came.

Huh? Seven years? Until 2022?
You got me there.
ARKK's heyday was all of 2020 to very early 2021.
https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ARKK?qsearchterm=arkk
(Set graph to "ALL.")
After early 2021, she was still regularly in the news but only to try to 'splain why her funds were in disaster mode.

I've owned a stake in CGDV (Capital Group Dividend Value) for 13-mo now. Honestly II bought it for the dividend aspect but there's really not much going on in that regard so far. I have been pleased with the fund's total return and performance to date.

Here's The Barron's Daily take on her letter to investors:
Cathie Wood, the architect behind the ARK fund, has a delicate task in her latest letter to investors. The fund came to prominence with big gains in 2020 when the broader market was tanking. Now she has to explain both why her funds haven’t been doing well lately, and how they will do better.
It starts with Wood pointing out that her flagship fund, which focuses on “disruptive innovation,” is 72% below its peak while the S&P 500 is hitting all-time highs. The reason given is that the S&P is driven by just a few stocks, and the ARK fund has been hurt more than others by higher interest rates—implying that her high-growth picks have been disproportionately hit by weaker risk appetite for the past few years.
Of course, Wood famously sold Nvidia before it went on its spectacular run. And she recently started selling Tesla just as it started to climb more aggressively. These are both the very kinds of companies that fit the bill for ARK.
It’s a lesson for investors everywhere. Sometimes you can be right about big ideas and still get the timing wrong. Or, in some cases, you have the right idea and pick the wrong stocks. Getting timings right on market moves is very hard.
Second, it’s really hard to beat the market as an active investor, especially when the S&P 500 is up 26% over the past year. Even Warren Buffett’s vast wealth can largely be explained by compound interest—he has basically matched market returns for the past two decades.
There’s one more thing worth remembering when reading Wood’s letter. And it’s that her job is more about convincing investors to join her—getting the best returns for her investors is a secondary consideration. Recent outflows suggest it isn’t going well. She may well be right about the future and her stock picks may turn out to be excellent. The hard part is convincing others to join her.

...
How long can Tech lead?

Historically, quite a while, e.g., see 2017-2020:
https://novelinvestor.com/sector-performance/
And, looking forward, who knows?:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-nvidia-could-be-headed-for-a-seismic-moment-another-3-trillion-in-market-cap-133122970.html

Not apples to apples, but a comparison where the manager uses an alternative strategy using specific stock picks compared to the same strategy using representative index ETFs would be Leuthold Core Investment, LCORX versus LCR. I would assume LCORX is picking their best stock picks represented in the LCR indexes.
Amazing to me, but using PerfCharts, it shows starting at LCR's inception, Jan 2020, to today, a bit over 4 1/2 years, LCR and LCORX both have the exact accumulated return, 39.6%. The trend lines don't lay exactly on top of each other, but close, and they end up with the same return.
I don't know what to make of this other than management's preferred stock picks (LCORX) don't return any more or any less than a comparative index (LCR). The gain or loss is in the management process.

Discounts or not, be wary of the income generated by many CEFs use high degrees of leverage. That 7-12% yield might be great, but everything has a price --- interest rates/leverage costs, fund fees, etc. If a CEF has more than 20, 25% leverage, I would not be interested. And if the fund isn't generating enough income from its holdings and/or appreciated cap gains, it could be paying out 'destructive' return of capital, which means the dividend could be at risk longer term.
(I only hold 1 equity CEF right now (ASGI) and have a few on watch lists, all of which are unlevered)

@Edmond: "Go to portfoliovizualizer.com. Run a asset comparison from 2000-current. Gold has actually outperformed the S&P."
Ugh, well that's a great place to start your (cherry-picked) comparison period, right at the start of "The Lost Decade" for stocks!
Let's go back a bit further, say to 1990, eh?
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/020915/has-gold-been-good-investment-over-long-term.asp
Excerpt:
From 1990 to 2020, the price of gold increased by around 360%.
Over the same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 991%.
Not. Even. Close.
Then there's the most popular gold ETF on the planet, GLD, that is more than 2x the size of the next most popular gold ETF. How has GLD done since its inception on 11/18/04?
Growth of $10,000
GLD: $48,539 +385%
FXAIX: $69,484 +595%
Again.
Not. Even. Close.
@Edmond: "Have to laugh at the silly objections I sometimes read from the gold-haters."
Chuckle, chuckle backatcha!.

YBB,
Why bother buying and holding any index of small or mid caps? Tech companies go public these days as near large caps. So, very little growth potential left while in these indices. Seems like loss potential to zero and limited upside for components. The successful components graduate to SPY and the remaining unlimited potential is captured there. Seems like active is the only solution if one is itiching to buy and hold these caps.

the median cap weight of companies that IPO (not tech specific) over the previous 20 years was around 100 million (adjusted for inflation). 2020/2021 it was 180 million. only 19% of IPO's in 20/21 were over 500 million in market cap.

Barron’s Funds Quarterly (2024/Q2–July 8, 2024)
https://www.barrons.com/topics/mutual-funds-quarterly
(Performance data quoted in this Supplement are for 2024/Q2 and YTD to 6/30/24)
Pg L2: In comparing the best mutual funds (typically, active) vs the best ETFs (typically, passive, as the active ETFs are still evolving) in categories, the former were ahead (the 1st mentioned). Beware that leading active funds don’t maintain their lead after a few years; and some of these leading active funds are also concentrated. (Picture would change if average or typical mutual funds and ETFs were considered) (By @LewisBraham at MFO)
US Large-Caps GQEPX vs VOO, FDGRX vs QQQ
US Small-Caps AVALX vs RWJ, HFCGX vs IJR, NEAGX vs XSMO
Balanced/Hybrids DGIFX vs NTSX, FPURX vs OCIO (an unexciting category for ETFs)
International GSINX vs IDMO, BISAX vs FYLD, MSMLX vs EEMS
Bonds LCTRX vs FBND, FAGIX vs FALN (FAGIX may be conservative-allocation due to its equity)
Pg L6: Funds with exposure to Nvidia/NVDA and/or Eli Lilly/LLY did well, especially large-cap growth – HCMGX / HCMIX, FOCPX, VPMCX / VPMAX, VIGRX / VIGAX; ETFs QQQ, IWY, VUG (some leveraged funds are mentioned also). Other fund categories that did well include India, precious metals, utilities. (By @LewisBraham at MFO)
MORE Fund Stories (Part 2)
FUNDS. SMALL-CAP (SC) R2000/IWM is more cyclical after the June 28 rebalancing as companies such as SMCI have moved out. The Top 5 R2000 stocks are FTAI, INSM, ANF, FN, SFM, accounting for a whopping 1.93%. The Top 5 sectors are healthcare, industrials, financials, tech, consumer cyclicals. If you own R2000/IWM, keep an eye on Fed news. (Better, own SP SC 600 IJR, SPSM)
SCs are going through a period of profit slump. This notwithstanding that 40% of R2000/IWM are unprofitable. A simple solution is to use better SC index SP SC 600 (IJR, SPSM), or SC-quality DFAS (active).
INTERVIEW/Q&A. FUNDS. David BARON, BFGFX / BFGIX. He likes large positions in founder-led growth companies that are trading at discount from firm’s intrinsic value estimates, for example, TSLA, SpaceX (private), BIRK, ONON, SPOT, SHOP, H, FIGS, etc. His goal is to double the money in 4-5 years. He thinks that sideline money can support this rally; his upside now is 20-30%, downside 10-15%. Ron BARON (81) founded Baron Capital and now sons David (44) and Michael also work for the firm. Both are involved with multiple funds.
RETIREMENT. Don’t overstay in “cash” when rates start dropping. Gradually increase maturity – T-Notes, CDs, short/intermediate-term bond funds. Consider buffer funds such as MAXJ – it holds IVV with option collars.
LINK

Do you use resting stop loss orders on the ETFs you buy to preserve your gains? If so, how do you determine the margin for error to account for?
Thanks.

@Shostakovich, fwiw, I've held IAU since the start of covid in 2020. I've added and subtracted slightly during that time. This year I'm probably at my highest total. I believe it to be a good diversifier. Portfolio Visualizer shows gold to have a low .27 correlation to the S&P 500, SPY, from the start of 2020 to present. That's what I'm looking for. It's made 9.7% annual return during that time frame which isn't too shabby.
I like it as a diversifier, but it's only been 3-5% of portfolio. I held SLV for a short time, but it was much more volatile for my liking.

I owned it too until they changed it over at which time I sold it. The old fund was expected to pay $7/$8 per share capital gain on the brink of the change, so I unloaded it.

Just in passing, we should note that the Artisan International Explorer strategy existed before the fund launched. The strategy initiated in November, 2020. The fund launched in May, 2022. The strategy, as a whole, has over $350 million in assets.
Mr Zhou was an analyst under Mr Samra for 7 years before leaving to become a portfolio manager for Matthews. He returned to Artisan in 2020 but, I would guess, he returned bearing a non-compete agreement. And so he was able to run private but not public money.
Since inception, the strategy has returned about 13.7% annually while it's benchmark index has returned just under 8%. It has outperformed in both up and down years with an active share of 99.3%.
I've spoken with Mr Zhou twice. The first time was in person and I was deeply impressed. The second time was a weird video call with him and his co-manager in a conference room with a robo camera. The danged camera kept pivoting and refocusing. I think it was ceiling mounted. It did not engender a good conversation. Perhaps I should try again.

We haven't held any gold/metals related since 1979 - early 1980's. The below charts are gold miners, gold and SPY for a reference.
GDX vs GLD vs SPY chart 2006 to present
Chart August 2008 - August 2010, 2 years during 2008 market melt
Chart COVID period, January 2020 - January 2022
Chart Ukraine invasion, January, 2022 - July, 2024
Chart YTD
NOTE: a fellow I worked with for 30 years was/is a guns and gold kinda person.
He became so freaked out with the market melt in 2008, that he cashed out a portion of his T-IRA to purchase physical gold at a local coin dealer store. That wasn't a good plan.

@WABAC and BenWP I've added to two other performance charts for different time frames when Value could have provided some 'head fakes'.
--- Chart line colors likely vary by device type; but my laptop, for my very good eyes show red, a lime green and blue. Also, one may hover a pointer over the graph line at any point to 'see' the name of the fund/etf.
VUG vs VTV vs SPY (a reference choice) This chart is for 2 years and covers the full years of 2022 and 2023.
This chart is for the beginning of the COVID period and covers the full years of 2020 and 2021.
'Course, I'm showing these as time frames for various periods which can cause any of us who may want to make decisions in 'real time'. A tough road, for sure. Being, is this investment area really a solid 'trend' and/or rotation?
BIAS NOTE: We've been mostly U.S. centric investors for many years and fully since the melt of 2008. This includes equity and bonds. We obtain small pieces of international exposure via U.S. fund holdings. The 'other' bias is that we've been oriented to growth. 'Course there have a few scary periods for growth investors.