Courtesy of John Nyaradi.
Courtesy of Gordon Wilcox, Benzinga
Attention ghouls, goblins and investors. Halloween is exactly two weeks from today. No, Halloween isn’t as big of a deal to investment community as the Christmas season, but in the essence of having some fun on otherwise drab day for the market, we decided to compile a list of ETFs relevant to Halloween.
Without further ado, here are five ETFs for the one holiday where it’s just fine to wear weird stuff and gorge on sweets.
iPath DJ-UBS Cocoa TR Sub-Index ETN (NYSE: NIB): One would think from mid-October through mid-February, owning the iPath DJ-UBS Cocoa TR Sub-Index ETN would be fine idea. Well, NIB looked good in February this year. Now it looks bad. Very bad. If the ETN falls below $35, it’s a short. We’d recommend options, but the fund is not optionable.
iShares MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. Consumer Staples Index Fund (NYSE: AXSL): In an environment where it is clearly wise to be playing at least a little bit of defense, the iShares MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. Consumer Staples Index Fund is valid idea. As a Halloween play, AXSL makes our list for one reason: The ETF devotes 14.4% of its weight to Nestle (PK: NSRGY).
Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLP): As is the case with AXSL, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR is fine defensive idea, but it is also a legitimate Halloween play. Not only is the ETF home to some companies that produce many of the treats you’ll either be receiving or doling out, Kraft (NYSE: KFT) to name one, the fund is also home to some companies that stock those tasty treats on their shelves. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) come to mind.
Rydex S&P 500 Consumer Staples Equal-Weight ETF (NYSE: RHS): Hershey (NYSE: HSY) is an obvious Halloween play, but the stock isn’t heavily represented in any ETF. RHS is just one of two ETFs that allocate more than 2% to the famous chocolate maker.
SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY): Believers in the efficient-market hypothesis would debate, if not deny the efficacy of the Halloween Indicator, which says stocks typically rise in the November-April time period. However, the Halloween Indicator has proven accurate enough times that needs to be acknowledged. Assuming it’s right again this year, SPY will work for conservative investors.
Courtesy of Gordon Wilcox, Benzinga
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