Stocks Went Up Again In May

Last week, I discussed what stocks will do after Memorial Day. Last week, they did exactly what they were doing before: rallying.

A Look at the Market

Stocks extended their bounce this week further this week.The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has increased in price by 10.9% and has returned 11.2% with dividends. Bonds remain under pressure, with iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) now returning 0.5% with dividends included.

I do try to share an idea in this section each week, but, instead, I am sharing my updated watchlist of 85 ETFs:

The image above is from the file that you can download:

ETF Focus List as of 05-31-26.pdf

Download PDF • 97KB

Most of the ETFs were up, with the biggest price gain at 23.3% for SOXX and the lowest returns were below -5% for XLE and XLU. The 85 ETFs had an average May price return of 3.2% and a median price return of 1.9%.

I have been writing at Seeking Alpha for almost two decades, but I do write at times in other places. This week, I published an article on Bark, Inc. (BARK) at TalkMarkets:

BARK: Its Russell 2000 Removal In June Could Present An Opportunity

ETF Model Portfolio Update

This ETF model portfolio, which is measured against 60% SPY and 40% AGG, is up relative to its benchmark. This week, I did several trades, which were published on here instead of on my Seeking Alpha blog.

Going into the week, my equity exposure totaled 37.8%, spread out across three ETFs. Here is what I did this week:

• Tuesday: A busy day, with three trades that reduced ProShares R2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV) and PIMCO 15+ Year US TIPS Index ETF (LTPZ and increased Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Index Fund ETF (VGSH) and Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index ETF (VTIP).

• Wednesday: I reduced SMDV again and added to S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL), which did a 2-1 split this week after that trade.

• Thursday: I reduced LTPZ again and also reduced VTIP, and I boosted VGSH again.

Here is the current model portfolio, which now has 35.1% equity exposure in three ETFs and fixed income exposure in three ETFs that totals 64.5%:

I have been wrong this year, at least so far, as stocks keep rallying. Despite being underweight stocks all year, my return relative to the 60/40 index is higher. This is not due to superior returns on my current equity ETFs, as the very best one, SMDV, has increased in price by 9.8%. My TIPS have done okay relative to AGG, but they aren't exactly boosting the return. VGSH isn't helping too much either. So, what has it been? I have had positive returns from two ETFs that I no longer hold, and there has been some good trading. I plan to give a performance attribution after the end of Q2 for this quarter.

How Can I Help You?

I enjoy analyzing ETFs and stocks, and I like sharing my thinking in writing. I am working on starting a subscription service at Seeking Alpha. What things would you as an investor like to see offered?

If you are an investment professional, I would like to work with you as well. I can help educate financial consultants about the ETFs, and I can work with management at investment firms to help create model portfolios or potential ETF investments. Please let me know if your firm would be interested in this.

My ETF articles at Seeking Alpha, written under the alias The Intelligent ETF Investor, share a lot of my ideas.