In this week's ETF and Markets video we look at...

• April's near record intake for ETFs
• Where tactical equity flows stand
• Contrast among cyclical sectors

Definitions:

S&P 500 – A widely used stock market index that tracks 500 large-cap U.S. companies across multiple sectors. The S&P 500 defines its industries by classifying its 500+ constituent large-cap U.S. companies into 11 primary sectors based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS).

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) –designed to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index.

Equity ETF – An ETF that invests primarily in stocks, providing exposure to a broad market or specific sectors.

Fund Flow - Fund flow refers to the net movement of cash into and out of investment vehicles (like mutual funds or ETFs) or the movement of working capital within a company. It tracks investor sentiment and capital allocation, with net inflows indicating popularity and net outflows signaling divestment, independent of the asset's actual performance.

Semiconductors - A semiconductor (semi) ETF is an exchange-traded fund that tracks a basket of stocks involved in the design, manufacturing, and supply chain of computer chips.

Industrials Sector - An industrials sector ETF is an exchange-traded fund that tracks an index of companies involved in manufacturing machinery, construction, aerospace/defense, and transportation/logistics. These cyclical funds provide broad exposure to companies building infrastructure and providing business services, often used to profit from economic expansion. 

Financials Sector - A Financials Sector ETF is a marketable security that tracks an index of companies involved in banking, insurance, investment services, and financial technology.

A cyclical sector ETF is an exchange-traded fund that invests in companies whose businesses are highly sensitive to the economic cycle, thriving during expansion and underperforming during recessions. These funds track industries like consumer discretionary, financials, industrials, and technology, which benefit from high consumer spending and business investment.

A quintile is a statistical tool that divides a ranked dataset into five equal, ordered groups, with each group representing 20% (one-fifth) of the total population or sample. Used to analyze distributions, the first quintile represents the lowest 20%, while the fifth quintile represents the highest 20%.

A percentile is a measure in statistics indicating the value below which a given percentage of observations in a group falls. It ranks data on a 100-point scale. It is used to understand relative standing in datasets, such as test scores, growth charts, or income distributions.

Trading volume is the total quantity of shares, contracts, or units of a security (like stocks, bonds, or commodities) that change hands between buyers and sellers during a specific period, typically a single trading day. It acts as a key measure of market activity, liquidity, and investor interest.

A leveraged ETF is a specialized, high-risk fund that uses financial derivatives (swaps, futures) and debt to amplify the daily returns of an underlying index or asset, usually by 2x or 3x. Designed for short-term trading, these funds reset daily, meaning they are intended to deliver a multiple of the index's performance for a single day, not over longer periods.

Rolling Sum - A running total or rolling total is the summation of a sequence of numbers which is updated each time a new number is added to the sequence.

This communication was prepared by Strategas (“we,” “us,” or “our”), a brand that offers investment advisory services through Strategas Asset Management, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser, and provides research to institutional investors through Strategas Securities, LLC, a broker-dealer and FINRA member firm and an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Information regarding market or economic trends, or the factors influencing historical or future performance, reflects the opinions of management as of the date of this communication, and are subject to change. This communication is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an offer, recommendation, nor solicitation to buy or sell any specific security, strategy, or investment product. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but no guarantee of accuracy can be made. This communication does not constitute, nor should it be regarded as, investment research or a research report or securities recommendation and it does not provide information reasonably sufficient upon which to base an investment decision. This is not a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any company, industry, or security. Additional analysis would be required to make an investment decision. This communication is not based on the investment objectives, strategies, goals, financial circumstances, needs or risk tolerance of any particular client and is not presented as suitable to any other particular client. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investments carry some level of risk, including loss of principal.

Strategas Asset Management, LLC and Strategas Securities, LLC are affiliated with Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated ("Baird"), a broker-dealer and FINRA member firm, and an SEC Registered Investment Adviser, although the firms conduct separate and distinct businesses.

The ETFs described herein are referenced solely for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as an investment recommendation. An investment in exchange traded funds involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. For important disclosures and risks relating to each ETF referenced herein, see each respective funds’ prospectus or contact your financial professional.