Barron's 400 ETF Reshuffle Holdings - ETF News And Commentary

In the regular process of index rebalancing semi-annually, the Barron's 400 ETF (BFOR) has undergone some changes in its holdings. The rebalancing led to the reduction of some marquee stocks, reshuffling the sector allocations of the fund.

Background of BFOR

The ETF provides equal-weighted exposure to the high performing U.S. stocks based on fundamental factors such as growth, valuation, profitability and cash flow. It tracks the performance of the Barron-s 400 Index, before fees and expenses (read: Buy Quality Stocks with These ETFs).

The fund has garnered enough investor interest since its debut in June 2013 as it has amassed $231.1 million in AUM so far. The product sees moderate volume of under 73,000 shares per day on average and charges 65 bps in annual fees from investors.

Index Rebalance and New Holdings

Post rebalancing of the index, the ETF has increased exposure to the technology and materials sectors. Technology allocation has scaled up to 15.50% from 13.75% while materials moved up from 5.50% to 7%.

On the other hand, financials underwent the largest reduction from 18.25% to 16.75%. Energy holdings reduced to 8.50% from 9.75% and healthcare holdings reduced to 7.25% from 8.50%. Industrials and consumer staples experienced minor changes while consumer discretionary and telecommunications allocation remain unchanged.

With the change, consumer discretionary and industrials now take the top two spots in the fund's basket (read: 2 ETFs to Invest in Best Stocks).

In terms of security, some big names such as J.P. Morgan Chase JPM, Celgene CELG, Starbucks SBUX, Yahoo YHOO and Buffalo Wild Wings BWLD have been replaced by Kraft KRFT, Lions Gate LGF, KKR KKR, Brown Forman (BF.B) and Astronics ATRO.

The ETF holds 400 securities in its basket that are widely spread across each of them with nearly 0.25% share each.

Bottom Line

Clearly, the new holdings suggest modest change in exposure to both sectors and securities for many investors. However, the objective of the fund remains the same, offering quality exposure to the investors seeking to stay invested in the broad market. The high quality stocks seek to outperform in the taper driven world (see: all the total U.S. market ETFs here).

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BARRONS-400 ETF (BFOR): ETF Research Reports
 
BUFFALO WLD WNG BWLD: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
CELGENE CORP CELG: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
JPMORGAN CHASE JPM: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
KKR & CO LP KKR: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
KRAFT FOODS GRP KRFT: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
LIONS GATE ETMT LGF: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
STARBUCKS CORP SBUX: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
YAHOO! INC YHOO: Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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