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Worried About the Magnificent 7? ETFs to Diversify Tech-Heavy Portfolios
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Following a strong artificial intelligence-led rally in the markets in 2024 and significant tech sector growth, investing heavily in technology or following a momentum investing approach seems rewarding. This is evident from the performance of the S&P 500 Information Technology Index, which has gained 24.82% over the past year.
However, investing heavily in the technology sector to capitalize on AI’s growth potential, comes with increased concentration risk. This was highlighted when nearly $1 trillion in market cap was wiped out as traders fled the tech sector amid panic over a new AI app from a Chinese startup, early this week.
What Really Triggered the Sell-Off?
DeepSeek, a Chinese startup developing AI models, grabbed headlines with the release of its new R1 model in late January. According to Yahoo Finance, the company revealed that training the R1 model cost just $5.6 million, significantly less compared to the $100 million required to train OpenAI's GPT-4 model.
This raises important questions about AI investment and the potential rise of more cost-efficient artificial intelligence agents, which could disrupt the current market dynamics. According to Capital Economics analysts, as quoted on Yahoo Finance, if it becomes clear that AI models could be trained effectively with less high-end computing power than previously estimated, the risk of a further correction in the U.S. stock market could rise.
Nvidia (NVDA - Free Report) took the major blow, plunging 17% and losing nearly $600 billion in market cap, the largest single-day loss in stock market history. However, the tech sector and its major players have since rebounded, signaling that the market's sell-off was likely an overreaction. This incident underscores the concentration risk in investor portfolios and the potential dangers of momentum investing.
Are U.S. AI Giants on Thin Ice?
China’s DeepSeek sparked panic over the potential of a cheaper open-source large language model, raising fears about the future of U.S. AI dominance. According to Yahoo Finance, DeepSeek claims that their technology uses cheaper chips and less data compared to popular American AI assistants.
A foreign competitor offering a rival product at a fraction of the cost has called into question the excessive spending of American tech giants. It also challenges U.S. tech dominance and innovation, potentially undermining the valuation of many of Wall Street's most favored companies.
The market action indicates that investors are acknowledging the potential for cheaper AI to accelerate its adoption and use cases, negatively impacting the richly valued stocks, like NVIDIA, that have led the U.S. market's growth over the past couple years, putting an entire ecosystem built around massive AI investments at risk.
However, with President Trump’s increased focus on making the United States a global leader in AI and rising investment in advancing AI infrastructure, it’s too soon to completely write off the tech giants. According to top analysts, the panic-selling may have been an overreaction.
ETFs to Consider
The AI frenzy will drive market gains, but the risk of concentrated rallies in select names makes the market vulnerable to larger drawdowns, requiring portfolio diversification. The recent market self-off is a reminder to investors of an overreliance on a small group of massive companies to drive those gains, underscoring the need for diversification as a crucial strategy.
The sudden slump early in the week was primarily an isolated blow to the world’s largest technology firms and AI-related stocks. Below, we highlight a few areas in which investors can increase their exposure, diversifying beyond tech for broader market participation.
Adjusting away from overweight exposure to mega-cap tech, will seem painful in the short term but will help long-term investors lower their portfolio risk while retaining growth potential.
Value ETFs
Characterized by solid fundamentals such as earnings these stocks trade below their intrinsic value, representing undervaluation. They offer the potential for higher returns and lower volatility compared to growth and blend stocks.
Investors can consider the following funds Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) , iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) and iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (IVE - Free Report) .
Equal-Weighted ETFs
These funds offer sector-level diversification by assigning equal weight to each constituent stock, regardless of market capitalization, reducing concentration risk. This makes them a relevant choice for investors seeking diversified exposure across sectors.
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP - Free Report) , ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL - Free Report) and Invesco S&P 100Equal Weight ETF (EQWL - Free Report) are some good options.
Gold ETFs
Frequently seen as a safe-haven investment, as returns on bonds, stocks and property decrease, interest in gold rises, boosting its value.
Gold preserves its purchasing power, contributing significant diversification to an investment portfolio due to its historical tendency to have a negative correlation with other asset classes. Investors can enhance diversification by pairing both value ETFs and equal-weighted ETFs with gold ETFs.
Amid market uncertainty, quality investing emerges as a strategic response and a potential buffer against potential headwinds. This approach prioritizes identifying firms with robust fundamentals, consistent earnings and lasting competitive strengths. Investing in such high-quality companies can mitigate volatility for investors.
Investors can look at funds like iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL - Free Report) , Invesco S&P 500 QualityETF (SPHQ - Free Report) and JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETFJQUA.
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Worried About the Magnificent 7? ETFs to Diversify Tech-Heavy Portfolios
Following a strong artificial intelligence-led rally in the markets in 2024 and significant tech sector growth, investing heavily in technology or following a momentum investing approach seems rewarding. This is evident from the performance of the S&P 500 Information Technology Index, which has gained 24.82% over the past year.
However, investing heavily in the technology sector to capitalize on AI’s growth potential, comes with increased concentration risk. This was highlighted when nearly $1 trillion in market cap was wiped out as traders fled the tech sector amid panic over a new AI app from a Chinese startup, early this week.
What Really Triggered the Sell-Off?
DeepSeek, a Chinese startup developing AI models, grabbed headlines with the release of its new R1 model in late January. According to Yahoo Finance, the company revealed that training the R1 model cost just $5.6 million, significantly less compared to the $100 million required to train OpenAI's GPT-4 model.
This raises important questions about AI investment and the potential rise of more cost-efficient artificial intelligence agents, which could disrupt the current market dynamics. According to Capital Economics analysts, as quoted on Yahoo Finance, if it becomes clear that AI models could be trained effectively with less high-end computing power than previously estimated, the risk of a further correction in the U.S. stock market could rise.
Nvidia (NVDA - Free Report) took the major blow, plunging 17% and losing nearly $600 billion in market cap, the largest single-day loss in stock market history. However, the tech sector and its major players have since rebounded, signaling that the market's sell-off was likely an overreaction. This incident underscores the concentration risk in investor portfolios and the potential dangers of momentum investing.
Are U.S. AI Giants on Thin Ice?
China’s DeepSeek sparked panic over the potential of a cheaper open-source large language model, raising fears about the future of U.S. AI dominance. According to Yahoo Finance, DeepSeek claims that their technology uses cheaper chips and less data compared to popular American AI assistants.
A foreign competitor offering a rival product at a fraction of the cost has called into question the excessive spending of American tech giants. It also challenges U.S. tech dominance and innovation, potentially undermining the valuation of many of Wall Street's most favored companies.
The market action indicates that investors are acknowledging the potential for cheaper AI to accelerate its adoption and use cases, negatively impacting the richly valued stocks, like NVIDIA, that have led the U.S. market's growth over the past couple years, putting an entire ecosystem built around massive AI investments at risk.
However, with President Trump’s increased focus on making the United States a global leader in AI and rising investment in advancing AI infrastructure, it’s too soon to completely write off the tech giants. According to top analysts, the panic-selling may have been an overreaction.
ETFs to Consider
The AI frenzy will drive market gains, but the risk of concentrated rallies in select names makes the market vulnerable to larger drawdowns, requiring portfolio diversification. The recent market self-off is a reminder to investors of an overreliance on a small group of massive companies to drive those gains, underscoring the need for diversification as a crucial strategy.
The sudden slump early in the week was primarily an isolated blow to the world’s largest technology firms and AI-related stocks. Below, we highlight a few areas in which investors can increase their exposure, diversifying beyond tech for broader market participation.
Adjusting away from overweight exposure to mega-cap tech, will seem painful in the short term but will help long-term investors lower their portfolio risk while retaining growth potential.
Value ETFs
Characterized by solid fundamentals such as earnings these stocks trade below their intrinsic value, representing undervaluation. They offer the potential for higher returns and lower volatility compared to growth and blend stocks.
Investors can consider the following funds Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) , iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) and iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (IVE - Free Report) .
Equal-Weighted ETFs
These funds offer sector-level diversification by assigning equal weight to each constituent stock, regardless of market capitalization, reducing concentration risk. This makes them a relevant choice for investors seeking diversified exposure across sectors.
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP - Free Report) , ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL - Free Report) and Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF (EQWL - Free Report) are some good options.
Gold ETFs
Frequently seen as a safe-haven investment, as returns on bonds, stocks and property decrease, interest in gold rises, boosting its value.
Gold preserves its purchasing power, contributing significant diversification to an investment portfolio due to its historical tendency to have a negative correlation with other asset classes. Investors can enhance diversification by pairing both value ETFs and equal-weighted ETFs with gold ETFs.
Investors can consider SPDR Gold Shares (GLD - Free Report) , iShares Gold Trust (IAU - Free Report) and abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF (SGOL - Free Report) .
Quality ETFs
Amid market uncertainty, quality investing emerges as a strategic response and a potential buffer against potential headwinds. This approach prioritizes identifying firms with robust fundamentals, consistent earnings and lasting competitive strengths. Investing in such high-quality companies can mitigate volatility for investors.
Investors can look at funds like iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL - Free Report) , Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF (SPHQ - Free Report) and JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF JQUA.