Best and Worst US sectors during Trump’s first 100 days
By Kristen McGachey, 26 Apr 17
Trump’s first 100 days in office have been jam packed with outrageous tweets, ‘alternative facts,’ a failed healthcare bill and foreign policy blunders. But, what were the best and worst performing US sectors during Trump’s first 100 days?
Though one of the main beneficiaries of the Trump reflationary trade that kicked into gear well before he stepped foot in the Oval Office, financials have faltered in recent months as the reality of Trump’s ability to execute his political agenda sinks in.
In the first one hundred days, the sector produced total returns of -1.03%.
“Objectively it’s not a surprise that he hasn’t gotten anything done. But it has been hard for investors to be objective in the first hundred days,” said Seven Investment Management’s Ben Kumar.
Kumar, an investment manager at the firm, admitted 7IM was caught up in the frenzy of the US cyclical trade, buying small caps and other value stocks after the Donald’s victory.
“We tried following the Donald. We invested in the Russell 2000, for instance, adding to our US small-caps, which did do well at the end of 2016. However, markets translated from reflation into somewhat halting and hesitant because people weren’t ready to get on that value, cyclical train.
“That focus on buying value and cyclicals has led to us lagging a potentially more defensive approach,” he admitted, qualifying that it is also “hard to keep buying healthcare stocks at 40X earnings. If you have the luxury, you can invest in US banks or more beaten down sectors.”
Tags: Donald Trump | Investment Strategy | US
