My reasoning is contained within the following webpage:
https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/funds/holdings?FundId=0040&FundIntExt=INT
We are at the late stage in the business cycle. The SPY is a large cap value oriented index composed of only a few bullish sectors. The overall market trades at a P/E of roughly 18 times earnings while the SPY is at 17 times earnings. This means that half of the SPY holdings are value oriented large caps.
One large sector of the SPY (21%) is the Financials which are breaking down and mired in the subprime mess. A few months ago everyone was saying that the situation wasnt so bad and then Bear Stearns announces that its hedge funds are in subprime hell. What is really going on behind the curtain? Who will be the next to blow?
Then there is Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Healthcare and Utilities. All of which comprise a good part of the SPY and are doing awful.
The only bullish parts of the SPY are Energy, Info Tech and Industrials. Energy can change at anytime.
The Total Market has outperformed the SPY this year. In fact, every index marked "growth" has outperformed the SPY this year.
The following Vanguard page contains the truth. I love the Vanguard website because it gives me instant access and detailed information on what is performing and what is not.
Many have questioned how I can be so bearish on the SPY, yet so bullish on growth stocks like Amazon. Isnt it obvious? The market favors growth now and the SPY simply is not growth.
The simple truth is that the SPY is a lie. Its a dog. Many folks sit behind their home computers and believe that it is a passive non-managed index filled with a conservative blend of stocks. Oh not so. There is a committee that decides what gets on the SPY and what stays out. Before 1996, the committee made an average of 13 changes per year. Then after that year, they started making an average of 40+ changes per year. During the tech bubble, they made several disasterous changes throwing stocks like Broadvision onto the index. After the tech bubble, there was even more changes booting stocks like Broadvision and returning the index to value. Now we sit here again, some 7 years later, where the market likes growth but the index once again is not in a position to perform.
The more bullish index is that of the stocks that are not included in the S&P500 which is what is called the completion index. Those stocks that do not make the cut are thrown into a pit called the completion index. The completion index took a good dive along with the S&P500 during the tech bust, but it recovered a lot quicker. In fact, it recovered its losses about 2 years ago and is up more then 23% since its 2000 high. The 500, on the other hand, is still mired down unable to get above its all time intraday high and the subprime mess will ultimately hit its largest components.
The S&P500 is yet another managed mutual fund where a committee decides the make-up. It is the index of the 80s and 90s, but it is not the standard anymore. The standard is non-managed small cap and mid cap indexes. Those are the indexes to beat and so far it appears the mid-cap vanguard index is up 17% year to date while the dog I call SPY is only up 7%.
https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/funds/holdings?FundId=0040&FundIntExt=INT
We are at the late stage in the business cycle. The SPY is a large cap value oriented index composed of only a few bullish sectors. The overall market trades at a P/E of roughly 18 times earnings while the SPY is at 17 times earnings. This means that half of the SPY holdings are value oriented large caps.
One large sector of the SPY (21%) is the Financials which are breaking down and mired in the subprime mess. A few months ago everyone was saying that the situation wasnt so bad and then Bear Stearns announces that its hedge funds are in subprime hell. What is really going on behind the curtain? Who will be the next to blow?
Then there is Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Healthcare and Utilities. All of which comprise a good part of the SPY and are doing awful.
The only bullish parts of the SPY are Energy, Info Tech and Industrials. Energy can change at anytime.
The Total Market has outperformed the SPY this year. In fact, every index marked "growth" has outperformed the SPY this year.
The following Vanguard page contains the truth. I love the Vanguard website because it gives me instant access and detailed information on what is performing and what is not.
Many have questioned how I can be so bearish on the SPY, yet so bullish on growth stocks like Amazon. Isnt it obvious? The market favors growth now and the SPY simply is not growth.
The simple truth is that the SPY is a lie. Its a dog. Many folks sit behind their home computers and believe that it is a passive non-managed index filled with a conservative blend of stocks. Oh not so. There is a committee that decides what gets on the SPY and what stays out. Before 1996, the committee made an average of 13 changes per year. Then after that year, they started making an average of 40+ changes per year. During the tech bubble, they made several disasterous changes throwing stocks like Broadvision onto the index. After the tech bubble, there was even more changes booting stocks like Broadvision and returning the index to value. Now we sit here again, some 7 years later, where the market likes growth but the index once again is not in a position to perform.
The more bullish index is that of the stocks that are not included in the S&P500 which is what is called the completion index. Those stocks that do not make the cut are thrown into a pit called the completion index. The completion index took a good dive along with the S&P500 during the tech bust, but it recovered a lot quicker. In fact, it recovered its losses about 2 years ago and is up more then 23% since its 2000 high. The 500, on the other hand, is still mired down unable to get above its all time intraday high and the subprime mess will ultimately hit its largest components.
The S&P500 is yet another managed mutual fund where a committee decides the make-up. It is the index of the 80s and 90s, but it is not the standard anymore. The standard is non-managed small cap and mid cap indexes. Those are the indexes to beat and so far it appears the mid-cap vanguard index is up 17% year to date while the dog I call SPY is only up 7%.
