In this week’s ETFs & Markets video, Chief ETF Strategist Todd Sohn discusses:

-Cyclical vs. Defensive sector flows

-What's driving each side

-Gold flows changing course

-Potential low bar for Crypto?

Defintions:

S&P 500 – A widely used stock market index that tracks 500 large-cap U.S. companies across multiple sectors.

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.

Trading Volume - Daily trading volume is the total number of shares, contracts, or units of a security traded between buyers and sellers during a single trading day. It measures market activity and liquidity; high volume indicates strong interest and easy entry/exit, while low volume suggests lower participation and higher price volatility.

Standard Deviation - Standard deviation is a statistical measure that indicates how spread out data points are around the mean (average). A low standard deviation means data is clustered tightly around the mean, while a high standard deviation indicates the data is spread over a wider range. It is frequently used to determine data consistency, reliability, and variability.

Cyclical Sector - A cyclical sector ETF is an exchange-traded fund that invests in companies whose revenues are highly sensitive to economic ups and downs, thriving during expansions and underperforming during recessions. 

Defensive Sector - A defensive sector ETF is an exchange-traded fund that invests in companies providing essential goods and services—typically consumer staples, healthcare, and utilities. These ETFs offer stability, lower volatility (low-beta), and consistent dividends, designed to hold their value better than the broader market during economic downturns, recessions, or high volatility.

Financials Sector - A financials sector ETF is a type of exchange-traded fund that pools capital to invest in a basket of stocks within the financial services industry, including banks, investment firms, insurance companies, and real estate investment trusts (REITs). 

Energy Sector - The energy sector is a critical, cyclical component of the global economy comprising companies involved in the exploration, production, refining, and distribution of fuel and power. It includes traditional fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) and renewables (wind, solar, nuclear).

Healthcare Sector - A healthcare sector ETF is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges that holds a diversified portfolio of stocks from companies involved in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, and healthcare services.

Gold - a yellow precious metal, the chemical element of atomic number 79, used especially in jewelry and decoration and to guarantee the value of currencies. 

SPDR Gold ETF - SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is the world's largest physically backed gold exchange-traded fund (ETF), designed to track the spot price of gold bullion. Traded on the NYSE Arca, it allows investors to buy shares representing fractional ownership of physical gold stored in London vaults, providing a liquid alternative to owning physical metal.

iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) - The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) managed by BlackRock that allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin price movements through traditional brokerage accounts. It holds actual Bitcoin in secure, cold storage rather than derivatives, aiming to track the spot price of Bitcoin. 

Spot Crypto ETF - A spot crypto ETF is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the real-time price of a cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin or Ethereum) by holding the actual digital asset in secure, custodial wallets. It allows investors to buy shares on traditional stock exchanges, offering exposure to cryptocurrency price movements without managing digital wallets, private keys, or directly purchasing the crypto. 

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.