ETF Power Rankings Archives Articles

The beauty of these rankings is their ability to pinpoint what’s moving and showing strength—giving us a chance to capitalize on the most profitable opportunities, right now.

But sometimes, the best setups take years to develop. Investors with a longer-term perspective often see their patience rewarded.

A prime example? Certain groups within healthcare, which have delivered impressive returns over time. The iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF ($IHF) is a standout, with nearly +1,000% gains since the GFC lows.

However, in the past four years, it’s been flat.

While this space has been digesting those astronomical gains, the longer-term outlook looks stronger than ever.

Over the same period, while the broader market has surged by nearly +50%, $IHF has been dormant. But that could be about to change.

If $IHF breaks to new all-time highs, it would signal that this space is ready for the next leg higher—and investors could be positioned for substantial upside.

This could be the perfect moment to rediscover what’s been quietly brewing in healthcare.

Off the back of last week’s crypto rally, the Crypto Industry Innovators ETF ($ETF) closed at new highs.

As markets continue their recovery, crypto remains a critical theme to watch. We’re treating Bitcoin ($IBIT) like any of the Magnificent 7 stocks, and its performance is underscoring that it’s a legitimate vehicle for a bullish tech thesis.

But it doesn’t stop with Bitcoin. A diversified basket of crypto stocks offers even more beta—more leverage to this growing trend.

This aligns perfectly with the broader speculative growth theme, where high-beta plays like these are likely to be rewarded if risk appetite returns in any meaningful way.

If the market continues its recovery, crypto stocks stand to benefit from both the tech tailwinds and the speculative growth rebound.

The question isn’t whether to consider crypto—it’s how much beta you’re ready to embrace if risk appetite comes back to life.

Failed breakdowns are everywhere.

It’s been a recurring theme throughout this entire multi-year bull market—just when the bears appear to gain the upper hand, they drop the ball. Hard.

And every time they do, it’s our job as investors to strike—ruthlessly. That means getting long and leaning into strength while sentiment is still shaken.

Right now, money is flowing back into risk assets across the board. It’s starting to look like another textbook rinse-and-repeat of the many failed breakdowns we’ve seen in recent years.

Financials ($XLF) couldn’t hold their breakdown. Now they’re squeezing higher.

Communications ($XLC) tells the same story—back above support, and the path of least resistance is up, as long as we stay above that key level.

And perhaps the most important chart on our radar: Technology ($XLK) has also failed to break down relative to the broader market. That’s not just noise—it could be the early signal of tech reasserting itself as the leading sector.

We’ve seen this movie before. Failed breakdowns often lead to powerful upside moves.

The message here is simple: if the...

Large caps have been steadily outperforming in U.S. markets, even as growth stocks led the most recent leg lower.

But in a market like this, flexibility is everything. We need to stay nimble and open-minded—ready to give a variety of investment themes the benefit of the doubt.

Europe is a prime example. After over a decade of going nowhere, it’s finally giving the U.S. a serious challenge.

Back in the U.S., one area that's quietly caught our attention is mid caps—the often overlooked middle child of the size spectrum.

Relative to large caps ($SPY), mid caps ($MDY) are digging in at a critical support level. It’s a key battleground.

If this level holds, we could see renewed strength in the mid-cap space. But if it breaks? It may set the stage for a deeper rotation down the cap scale—into small caps—as markets look to find their footing after the recent correction.

As Europe is proving right now, leadership is up for grabs. The winners of the next leg higher may not look like the winners of the last.

Now is the time to watch closely.\

The market is...

As the weeks go by, the S&P 500 continues to slip in the global rankings.

It’s becoming harder to ignore the strength emerging overseas. International markets are flashing compelling opportunities—with attractive valuations and a clear resurgence in relative strength giving nimble investors plenty to work with.

Just look at Europe. It’s lit up in green. That’s relative strength in action.

After more than a decade of sideways action, Spain’s $EWP is breaking out to new all-time highs—defying the uncertainty weighing on U.S. equities.

Germany’s $EWG is doing the same—ripping to record highs.

Austria’s $EWO? New all-time highs as well.

Meanwhile, U.S. markets continue to wrestle with overhead resistance, struggling to reclaim its past glory.

With these long-term breakouts now taking shape abroad, it’s worth asking: Is the cycle of U.S. dominance finally running out of steam?

Last week we touched on Aerospace & Defense $ITA as it was closing on new all time highs.

Today, the ETF successfully resolved to new highs and is a key industry group that is leading the U.S. market higher.

While the broad U.S. indices have struggled to recover all their recent losses, groups like Aerospace & Defense $ITA are paving the way higher for the remainder of the U.S market.

So long as ITA is above 160, the bias is to the upside.

We’re here to make money.

That means we naturally focus on the strongest areas of the market. But there’s also valuable information—and opportunity—in watching the weakest.

When even the worst-performing groups can’t hold their breakdowns, it tells us market conditions might not be so bad after all.

Take the NexGen Economy ETF ($BLCN), for example.

It’s off to a rough start this year, down 22% YTD.

But here’s the kicker: it failed to hold its latest breakdown.

So what does it say when even the weakest thematic ETFs can’t break down?

Maybe the bears are losing their grip.

Technology just printed its first green box in nearly three months.

Yesterday, I touched on the Growth vs. Value ratio and how Growth looks ready to regain leadership as markets recover from recent losses.

Adding fuel to that view, Technology — a cornerstone of the Growth trade — has reversed its breakdown relative to the broader market. That’s a failed move worth paying attention to.

You cannot miss this chart.

The setup is now in place: after a sluggish start to the year, Tech looks ready to step back into a leadership role.

Given its heavy weighting in U.S. indexes, this could be the tailwind needed to push the market toward fresh highs.

Steve Strazza caught this rotation in real time — flipping from puts to calls and riding the bounce with six trades that have already doubled.

Join us...

Large-cap stocks continue to dominate the U.S. equity markets, and this trend looks poised to persist in the near future.

Growth $IWF has just broken to new relative highs relative to Value $IWD, signaling a shift in the underlying trend.

Despite the considerable headwinds faced by the U.S. markets and growth stocks in particular throughout this year, it seems that growth is far from surrendering.

In fact, it appears that growth stocks are positioning themselves for a potential rebound, showing resilience and the capacity to deliver returns despite their recent weakness.

If there’s one word to describe the Trump administration over the past month, it’s “backfire.”

Just this past week, we’ve seen Australia ($EWA) and Canada ($EWC) rally following their respective elections—both countries opting for left-of-center governments in a clear rebuke of Trump-style politics. Their conservative leaders, caught mimicking Trump’s aggressive rhetoric amid a looming global trade war, were swiftly voted out.

Meanwhile, in a move that further underscores the unintended consequences, China ($FXI) has been quietly outperforming the United States ($SPY), even as tensions rise.

Talk about a backfire.

Since 2024, $FXI has been steadily trending higher relative to $SPY, and there’s no sign of that trend reversing anytime soon.

Strip away the politics, and the rotation out of U.S. equities starts to make perfect sense.

Valuations may not matter—until they suddenly do. U.S. stocks are commanding a premium that investors seem increasingly unwilling to pay in this environment. On the other hand, China offers both attractive valuations and strong momentum—a high-conviction setup...

Precious metal miners have topped the rankings for a long time - and it's no surprise because it's a raging Gold bull market.

These companies trade very closely to the price of Gold, so when it's trending higher they have an immense tailwind.

But what happens if the price of Gold stops going up? The mining stocks will do the same...

Gold has hit our second long-term target, which is the second Fibonacci extension level from the entire 2010s bear market. This would be a logical place for Gold to digest its gains and for the miners to do the same.

And then on the contrary, a group that looks ready to break higher is Aerospace & Defense $ITA.

This ETF has been trading sideways since the election, but now it looks ready to break higher.

While the broader market is still stabilizing after a volatile beginning to the year, there could be noticeable rotation taking place beneath the surface, with new leaders arising.

I think Aerospace & Defense is a great example of that.

While precious metal miners might be taking a breather, and new leadership emerges in places like...

The market has clearly stabilized after what’s been a rocky start to the year. But the real question now is whether we’re setting the stage for a full-blown rally in equities—or just grinding sideways for a while.

A good barometer here is speculative growth.

We saw an epic failed breakout. Now, we’re knocking on that same level for the second time. If ARKK can rip through it cleanly, there’s a strong case to be made that we’ve carved out a v-bottom—and it’s game on.

That said, after corrections like this and with volatility still elevated, markets often chop around in messy, sideways action before resolving directionally.

It’s in these moments, when the market is caught between two narratives, that relative strength becomes critical. The leaders will start to separate from the noise. Keep an eye on which names hold their ground, build tight bases, and push to new highs even when the indexes don’t. That’s where the next leg higher will come from - whether the market rips immediately or grinds through more indecision first.