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What Sector Rotation Is, and How Investors Use It

Sectors and Industries • Beginner Investing • 6 min

What this lesson is about

Different sectors tend to lead and lag at different points in the economic cycle. Sector rotation is the strategy built around trying to anticipate which one's turn is next.

2 parts · a quick check after each · then the quiz

Part 1 of 2

Sector, rotation, is, an, investing, strategy, based, on, a, real, pattern:, different, sectors, lead, and, lag, at, various, points, in, the, economic, cycle., "Cyclical", sectors,, such, as, Industrials, or, Consumer, Discretionary,, usually, perform, well, during, economic, expansions., Their, revenue, and, profits, are, sensitive, to, overall, growth., On, the, other, hand,, "defensive", sectors, like, Consumer, Staples, or, Utilities, tend, to, hold, up, better, during, downturns., People, still, need, basic, groceries, and, electricity,, so, demand, stays, stable, even, when, the, economy, weakens.

Using, sector, rotation, means, shifting, your, portfolio, weight, between, sectors, based, on, the, current, or, expected, stage, of, the, economic, cycle., You, bet, on, which, sectors, are, likely, to, outperform, next., Sector-specific, ETFs, are, a, practical, tool, for, this, strategy., They, let, you, gain, or, reduce, exposure, to, an, entire, sector, with, a, single, trade,, instead, of, picking, individual, companies.

The business cycleOutput swinging around what the economy could produce.

Quick check

What is "sector rotation," as an investing strategy?

Part 2 of 2

Insider, Angle:, It’s, important, to, be, honest, about, the, limits, here., Like, broader, market, timing,, consistently, predicting, economic, cycle, turns, and, the, resulting, sector, performance, shifts, is, tough., Doing, it, reliably, is, genuinely, difficult,, even, though, the, historical, pattern, connecting, cycle, stage, to, sector, performance, is, real, and, well-documented., So,, sector, rotation, is, a, studied, phenomenon, worth, understanding,, but, it's, not, necessarily, an, easy, strategy, to, pull, off.
Try, This:, Research, how, a, defensive, sector, (like, Consumer, Staples, or, Utilities), and, a, cyclical, sector, (like, Industrials, or, Consumer, Discretionary), performed, during, a, well-documented, economic, downturn, in, the, past., Look, at, 2008, or, 2020., Did, the, historical, pattern, hold, up, during, that, time?

Quick check

What is the general logic behind why "cyclical" sectors (like Industrials or Consumer Discretionary) have historically tended to perform relatively well during an economic expansion?

Quiz

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