Stocks ticked lower this morning, coming off of a positive week straight into the start of the second-quarter earnings season. Relative to recent quarters, Q2 expectations are low. Analysts recently surveyed by FactSet were expecting companies in the S&P 500 to post earnings increases averaging 4.3% compared with the same period a year earlier. In the first quarter, the year-over-year growth rate was 9.0%. As recession fears prompt investors to rerate company earnings, the S&P 500 forecast for 2022 and 2023 could trend downwards as predictions of lower corporate revenue and earnings are realized.
“While the markets ended in solid green for the week, investors should brace for continued volatility in July, with ongoing uncertainties looming with respect to inflation, Fed policy, recession concerns, the enduring Russia-Ukraine war, all as we also move into corporate earnings season,” said Greg Bassuk, chief executive officer at AXS Investments.
Today we’ll discuss a short-term play that allows shareholders to benefit from market backsliding. This valuable tactic can be used as a hedge and also to generate quick profit when things take a turn. Unlike short-selling, the risk associated with this tactic is limited, in theory making it a safer option.
Traders who are looking to benefit from sliding stocks often turn to short-selling. The main risk of traditional short-selling is that while profit is capped (a stock can only fall to zero), the risk is theoretically unlimited. Of course, other tactics can be used to cover a position at any time, but with a short-selling position, inventors risk receiving margin calls on their trading account if their short position moves against them.
Inverse or “short” ETFs are another option that allows you to profit when a particular investment class declines in value. Some investors use inverse ETFs to profit from market declines, while others use them to hedge their portfolios against falling prices.
Over short periods of time, you can expect that the inverse ETF will perform “the opposite” of the index, but over more extended periods, a disconnect may develop. Inverse ETFs will decline as an asset appreciates over time. For that reason, inverse ETFs typically are not seen as good long-term investments. Furthermore, frequent trading often increases fund expenses, and some inverse ETFs have expense ratios of 1% or more.
When approached correctly, inverse ETFs can be excellent day-trading candidates and highly effective short-term hedging tools. There are several inverse ETFs that can be used to profit from declines in broad market indexes, such as the Russell 2000 or the Nasdaq 100. Also, there are inverse ETFs that focus on specific sectors, such as financials, energy, or consumer staples.
With $4 billion in assets, the ProShares Short S&P 500 (SH) is the largest inverse fund by value. Commonly used by investors as a hedging vehicle, the fund strives to deliver the inverse performance of the S&P 500 (SPX). If you’re concerned about the stock market falling, this is the fund that moves in the opposite direction of the largest 500 U.S. corporations and is the simplest way to protect yourself.
It’s important to note that SH is designed to deliver inverse results over a single trading session, with exposure resetting monthly. Investors considering this ETF should understand how that nuance impacts the risk/return profile and realize the potential for “return erosion” in volatile markets. SH should definitely not be found in a long-term, buy-and-hold portfolio. The fund comes along with an expense ratio of 0.9%.
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