ETF Power Rankings Archives Articles

As broad indexes push toward former highs, we're seeing a clear rotation down the risk curve.

Risk-on sectors—like Ark’s growth funds, crypto, and tech—are deep in the green. This kind of move signals growing investor appetite for risk and a bullish read on future market conditions.

A standout example: Ark’s flagship innovation ETF, $ARKK, is breaking out to new highs relative to the broader market.

After years of underperformance, this breakout marks a potential regime shift. Investors are beginning to reward risk again, and funds like ARKK are finally turning the page toward a possible long-term uptrend.

In short, risk is back. And those who lean into it are getting paid.

Looking at our US Index Power Rankings, it's clear that large-cap growth continues to lead the way. Both the Nasdaq 100 ($QQQ) and Large Cap Growth ($IWF) are firmly in the green.

In contrast, small caps and value names are still lagging.

What stands out, though, is that even the strongest US indices remain below their 2025 highs—while global equities and many international indexes have already broken out to new highs and entered price discovery.

It’s a timely reminder that while selectivity matters, our opportunity set as investors extends well beyond the US. There’s a growing list of attractive setups globally—and it might be time to cast a wider net.

We’ve consistently argued that global markets are set to outperform the United States over the long run.

Now, we’re seeing that thesis play out. More individual countries are breaking out to new highs, and diversified global indexes are finally resolving over a decade of sideways action with fresh all-time highs.

For U.S. investors, the opportunity to expand international exposure has rarely looked more compelling.

But that doesn’t mean you rush out and buy every global ETF on the board.

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Commodities are on fire, and cyclical stocks are riding the wave.

Energy names are climbing after crude oil spiked in response to the Israel-Iran conflict.

Meanwhile, the strength is rippling across the cyclical complex. Metals & Mining $XME is breaking out from a massive 3.5-year base, with the potential to rip much higher.

The leadership baton is being passed.

The groups set to lead the next leg of equity market performance look...

Commodities have been steadily rising, adding upward pressure on inflation.

Most notably, crude oil prices have surged recently amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This supply risk has contributed to the sharp move higher in energy markets.

Further increases in commodity prices could complicate the Federal Reserve’s efforts to manage its dual mandate — balancing inflation control with maintaining a strong labor market.

One sector that stands to benefit from these dynamics is Energy ($XLE). Notice how the recent rise in crude oil prices has coincided with a strong bid in energy stocks, as shown below.

Our Chief Market Strategist, Steve Strazza, joined our analyst Jason Perz and The Global Macro Edge author John Netto live yesterday to discuss the latest FOMC developments.

They shared many valuable insights — you can watch the full discussion...

Yesterday we highlighted how the world is breaking out, even the most diversified fund on the planet, holding nearly 10,000 companies, just hit all-time highs.

Back in the U.S., the Nasdaq 100 ($QQQ) is flirting with fresh record highs of its own.

In environments like this, we want to be thinking about what to buy, not what to sell.

And this isn’t just a story about mega-cap tech dragging the index higher. With Apple ($AAPL) down 20% year-to-date, it’s clear the...

The news cycle has taken a pessimistic turn in recent weeks, and in many ways, that’s justified.

Tensions in the Middle East are escalating, with Israel launching targeted attacks in Iraq. While our hearts go out to those affected, it’s crucial that we don’t let geopolitical shocks derail us from our long-term investment objectives.

As always, we follow market leadership.

And in 2025, that leadership hasn’t come from the United States, it’s been...

There's something happening in America I'm still wrapping my head around.

The country is building mini nuclear reactors all over the place to power academic institutions, artificial intelligence data centers, and the most successful companies in the world.

I don't think there's a better representation of how America creates wealth more than the energy abundance it's trying to create. Because let's face it, the only limitation to growth is energy. And as far as the smartest minds are concerned, the only constraint on energy is our ability to expand our generational capacity.

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There's a lot of movement on the thematic table, but what I want to point your attention to is how the Ark Innovation ETF $ARKK  has flipped from red to green, similar to the other Ark funds on this list.

Earlier in the week we pointed out how Small Cap Growth $IWO looks poised to outperform; ARKK and IWO basically look the exact same.

So if small caps do take off in a meaningful way, ARKK is well positioned for upside. And as far as the trend is concerned right now, it's clearly trending higher, with a clean series of higher highs and higher lows.

You may have noticed a theme in these notes.

That is, we sound like huge optimists.

But that's for a simple reason that being an optimist has paid off big in 2025 - even with all the volatility we've seen. In fact, while the S&P 500 is only up +1.60% this year, the average buyer is up +5.60% when you take into account dollar cost averaging.

More stocks keep breaking out and investors are being rewarded for buying into it.

And another major breakout just happened.

Industrials $XLI, one of the world's most important sectors, just made all time highs.

On Monday, we talked about the generational breakout in global stocks.

Yesterday, we touched on how the prospects for the riskiest companies in the world are looking great.

And today, we just have to touch on how the most important sector in the world is making all time highs.

Investors are being rewarded for their optimism, even throughout the ups and downs of this year. And with the way these breakouts are manifesting, we're continuing to bet that remains the case.

Last week, we pointed to the outperformance of large caps over small caps. But interestingly, we've seen both Micro Caps $IWC and Small Cap Growth $IWO transition from red to green on the ETF Power Rankings this week.

On further inspection, there's a fascinating setup that could be developing.

Small Cap Growth $IWO is failing to hold its breakdown relative to Large Cap Growth $IWF. When this line is moving lower (as it has been for a while), it means small cap growth is underperforming large cap growth.

But if this breakdown fails, it would indicate this line could quickly shoot higher.

In other words - small cap growth could be on the verge of an explosive move higher.

The smallest growth stock tend to be very speculative; companies that have not fully proven that they can follow through on their promises, businesses that have long duration on cash flows to pay back their investors, and a lot of operational and market risk.

It's for this reason that they're also highly volatile.

If they can follow through, investors get very rich.

If they do not, they get...

It's difficult to form much of a bearish thesis on stocks when global markets look as attractive as they do right now.

Notice that the United States is just a mere stones throw from all-time highs, yet it's in the bottom half of our ETF Power Rankings table. And this is for a simple reason: many global markets are already well into price discovery while the U.S. is still below its highs.

American investors have been rewarded favorably for their overexposure to their home country for the last 15-years. But there's meaningful data to suggest that increasing exposure toward Europe, Australasia, and the Far East will do better in this new environment.

We are witnessing a generational breakout in global stocks right now.

It's these breakouts that precede years of price discovery and outperformance.

There's a generational transfer of capital from the U.S. and into developed markets around the world, and it's more pertinent than ever to consider these opportunities shaping up.