SPDR Consumer Staples ETF (XLP)

(A Top Pick Jan 8/15. Up 6.64%.) He loves the space and would have considered it as a Top Pick today. Thinks the US$ has peaked.

(A Top Pick Nov 28/14. Up 3.6%.) Still likes this. It had a little trouble getting over $50. Because of so many multinationals involved in this name, it has taken a pretty big beating from the perspective of the currency. He thinks there is a limited cap as to how high the US$ can go.

(A Top Pick Sept 16/15. Up 5.66%.) He exited this on Monday, because it is the end of the seasonal period.

(A Top Pick May 5/15. Down 0.29%.) This tends to do well from May until October. Sold his holdings on Aug 21, before the market dropped. On average, this is the best major sector of the market in October. This is a good sector as far as the broad market goes.

They really like this name. The whole space has been beaten up a little bit. But the whole space is looking good and making new highs. Really likes it. 10% upside from here plus the dividend.

(A Top Pick April 20/15. Down 3.33%.) On a low beta sector like this, he doesn’t expect much. It is probably at a pretty good point to buy. Thinks the sector will move sideways over the next 3-4 months. Very defensive.

Staples is defensive in nature and tends to perform well in the more volatile months. Investors are looking more to be defensive and are looking more for stability in earnings, and are willing to pay for it. This ETF is actually trading at a high PE multiple of 20, which is way too high for a slow growth industry, but it has a higher value because people are seeking that type of safety at this time and are willing to pay for it. If the market corrects, this will correct as well, but won’t correct as much typically.

(A Top Pick April 7/14. Up 15.52%.) He still likes this. It has acted pretty well compared to the market today. Has sort of gone nowhere since the new year, but has formed a base. He would still buy this today.

He is trying to hold lower beta stocks which is a great sector to move into, because it can be a lot more stable. Sometimes these lower beta stocks will actually thrive in a somewhat bearish environment. This one has been trending sideways. You are going to see a rotation where the staples start to move up over the next couple of months and discretionaries are going to start to slow down a bit. (See Past Picks.)

(A Top Pick April 7/14. Up 18.05%.) He still likes it and all its components.

Just had a falloff and he thinks that is a good buying opportunity. Have good quality companies. Use the weakness to buy this.

This one just scores very, very well. He feels that if the US$ gets a bit weaker, this will probably do a little bit better because they are multinationals in there.

Thinks consumers will be opening their wallets a little bit wider for staples, but feels discretionary (Consumer Discretionary (XLY-N)) is a little bit tired. Had a little bit of headwind from the US$, but thinks that story is not going to push exceptionally higher, and if anything come back a little bit.

(A Top Pick May 14/14. Up 5.43%.) This underperformed as the market was going up, but has actually done quite well and outperformed the S&P 500.

(A Top Pick May 27/14. Up 1.48%.) He will probably hold this one until October, and then Sell it. This is a discipline, in that he rotates this trade every year.