The coronavirus outbreak continues to aggravate, with the United States seeing more than 60,000 new confirmed cases on a single day. In fact, a closely observed model is now predicting 224,000 deaths related to coronavirus in the United States by Nov 1, which is 16,000 more than a prediction made last week, per a CNN report.
In order to fight the rising number of cases, states like California, Texas, Florida, Los Angeles, San Diego and Oregon along with others have halted or rolled back the reopening process, per a CNN report. It is being believed that the pausing or halting of the reopening process can derail the economic growth achieved so far after the coronavirus-induced lockdown measures.
In the current scenario, the rising work-from-home and online shopping trend, increasing digital payments, growing video streaming and soaring video game sales are slowly becoming the “new normal.” Against this backdrop, let’s look at some ETF areas that will continue to remain strong investing options:
Biotech ETFs
The race to introduce vaccine and treatment for coronavirus is opening up opportunities, making the biotech sector a prospective space for investments. From vaccine-related positive news to progress in development of cell therapies for the treatment of coronavirus, all kept the sector surging. Notably, a few ETFs with considerable exposure to the biotech space are iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF IBB, SPDR S&P Biotech (NYSE:XBI) ETF XBI, First Trust Amex Biotechnology Index (FBT), ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) and VanEck Vectors Biotech ETF (BBH) (read: Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Inches Closer to Coronavirus Vaccine: ETFs to Shine).
Cloud Computing ETFs
In the current environment, people will try to maintain safe distancing and work remotely. Large employers like Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) have allowed their employees to work from home. Cloud computing has emerged as a key technology in the fight against coronavirus. It is supporting organizations in remotely processing a lot of information, developing and running key applications and services and helping employees across the world collaborate while working. The work-from-home model has already bumped up sales of PCs, laptops and other kind of computer peripherals.
Against this backdrop, investors can look at the following ETFs that can gain from the remote-working trend. These are First Trust Cloud Computing ETF SKYY and Global X Cloud Computing ETF CLOU
Online Shopping ETFs
People now prefer staying indoors and shopping online for all essentials, especially food items. With online retail seeing a spurt in sales, it is benefiting companies like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT) among others. In fact, Walmart recently teamed up with Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) Inc. to open its Walmart Marketplace to sellers of the latter. Per a Total Retail article, e-commerce sales are expected to register more than a 20% rise this year as there is a jump in online traffic of first-time shoppers.
In line with the growing online shopping trend, customers are resorting to digital wallets to clear their bills. Merchants and utility providers too advocate the same, which further lends an impetus to this trend. According to a new Crowdfund Insider research, in May, 50% U.S. consumers reportedly availed cashless payment methods at least four times with 69% agreeing that this is more convenient than cash transactions. Also, three-fifth of U.S. consumers confirmed that these hassle-free payment-purchases will urge them to continue with the process even in the post-pandemic world.
Investors can focus on the following ETFs that can benefit from the new shopping trend. Amplify Online Retail ETF IBUY, ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF CLIX, ProShares Online Retail ETF (ONLN), ETFMG Prime Mobile Payments ETF (IPAY), Tortoise Digital Payments Infrastructure ETF (TPAY) and Global X FinTech ETF (FINX) are a few such examples.
AI, Robotics & Cyber Security ETFs
We are living in an era largely dominated by AI applications and technological advancements. Revolutionary technologies like AI, ML and IoT are fast changing the business landscape by expanding opportunities, growing revenues and enhancing efficiencies. In fact, with almost 60% of thematic assets, technology is the most popular broad theme in North America, per a Morningstar report.
The robotics market is flooded with opportunities as robots are being used for jobs such as sanitizing hospitals, homes and workplaces along with monitoring, surveying, handling, and delivering food and medicines.
However, increasing adoption of these technologies is exposing businesses, governments and organizations to cyber risks. Given the severity of the situation, Cybersecurity Ventures expects the worldwide expenditure on cybersecurity to surpass $1 trillion cumulatively from 2017 through 2021. Per a Grand View Research report, the global cyber-security market is expected to reach a worth of $241.1 billion, at a CAGR of 11%, from 2019 to 2025. Accordingly, our investors can consider Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF BOTZ, First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF ROBT, ROBO Global Robotics & Automation ETF (ROBO), iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF (IRBO), First Trust NASDAQ CEA Cybersecurity ETF CIBR and ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF HACK (read: Try These ETF Areas in Virus-Impacted Second Half of 2020).
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iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB): ETF Research Reports
ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (HACK): ETF Research Reports
SPDR SP Biotech ETF (XBI): ETF Research Reports
First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR): ETF Research Reports
Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY): ETF Research Reports
Global X Robotics Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ): ETF Research Reports
First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (SKYY): ETF Research Reports
ProShares Long OnlineShort Stores ETF (CLIX): ETF Research Reports
First Trust NASDAQ Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (ROBT): ETF Research Reports
Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU): ETF Research Reports
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