Analyst Upgrades

The Analyst Upgrades Folio was developed for investors seeking high capital appreciation potential with higher volatility and asset turnover. The Analyst Upgrades strategy is based on the Zacks.com research. Since higher returns come with higher risk, investors in this portfolio must be able to accept higher than average short-term price fluctuations in order to seek above average returns. Due to this possible short-term volatility, capital appreciation with a longer-term focus is the primary objective of this portfolio. The Analyst Upgrades Folio is comprised of stocks that have had the greatest improvement in analyst ratings over the past month, as reported by Zacks.com, an investment research company. If a company has multiple ratings improvements, it may signify potential opportunities for capital appreciation. Markets and economic conditions can change quickly and well liked companies can quickly go out of favor. Because of the nature of the strategy (stocks with improvements, as opposed to strictly a value interpretation, combined with the low number of holdings (approximately 30) this strategy may have significant turnover.

Objective

The goal of the Analyst Upgrades strategy is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.

Investor Profile

Suitable for investors who are willing to accept high near-term volatility to potentially obtain higher long-term returns.

Fund Strategy

The portfolio seeks to provide above-average income by investing in 30 stocks from the S&P 500 with the greatest improvement in Zacks Industry Rank over the past month. Zacks Investment Research uses a quantitative model to assign each company a rating from 1 to 5 (best to worst). If a company has multiple rating improvements, it may signify potential opportunities.

Stock Selection Process

Investments are selected if they meet the following four criteria:

  • Examine buy ratings by equity analysts for all stocks in the S&P 500 (as reported by Zacks Investment Research)
  • Financial Select 30 stocks with the largest rating improvement from the prior month
  • Equal weight throughout all securities
  • Rebalance monthly

 

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