These ETFs are poised to benefit from millennial spending wave

NEW YORK , July 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Global X ETFs, the New York -based provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), today announced the inclusion of three additional ETFs to Schwab ETF OneSource, one ...

There are dozens of upon dozens of industry exchange traded funds (ETFs) on the market today. These products range from the benign and prosaic, including aerospace and defense, biotechnology and internet stocks, to the controversial (think casinos and cannabis, just to name a few) and everything in between.What is interesting about the current lineup of industry ETFs is that there are no dedicated restaurant ETFs. Once upon a time, there were, but those funds didn't gain traction with investors and went to the ETF graveyard, indicating that not all themed ETFs will find receptive audiences.ETFs or not, some restaurant stocks, broadly speaking, are soaring. McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) is one the best-performing names in the Dow Jones Industrial Average this year. Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) recently hit record highs and Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) has regained its growth story status.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsData support the restaurant stock these. About 56% of Americans go out to eat or have food delivered two to three times a week. By some estimates, a third of all Americans indulge in fast food everyday. Yes, there's plenty of controversy surrounding fast food companies, but there's also ample credibility in the restaurant investment niche. * 7 CBD Stocks to Buy That Are Still Worth Your Investment Dollars In lieu of dedicated funds, here are some pseudo restaurant ETFs to consider. Invesco Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment ETF (PEJ)Source: Shutterstock Expense ratio: 0.63% per year, or $63 on a $10,000 investment.The Invesco Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment ETF (NYSEARCA:PEJ) is a more than adequate replacement for a dedicated restaurant ETF. The fund holds 30 stocks, 11 of which are restaurant fare. That group includes the aforementioned Chipotle, McDonald's and Starbucks as well as several other fast food and fast casual names.PEJ follows the Dynamic Leisure & Entertainment Intellidex Index and that benchmark "is designed to provide capital appreciation by thoroughly evaluating companies based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including: price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action, and value," according to Invesco.What that means is that PEJ status as a restaurant ETF is fluid. Potentially, there will be times when the fund holds more than restaurant stocks than it currently does and times when its restaurant exposure is than it is today. Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ)Source: Shutterstock Expense ratio: 0.63%The Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF (NYSEARCA:PBJ) is very similar to the aforementioned PEJ. However, PBJ is a little bit less of a restaurant ETF. Both ETF follows the same index methodology, but PBJ has a significantly larger tilt to the consumer staples sector.That said, PBJ does allocate over a quarter of its weight to consumer discretionary stocks, the sector where restaurant names reside. As such, six of the fund's seven consumer cyclical holdings are dining out names, giving PBJ some chops as a restaurant ETF. * 7 Momentum Stocks to Buy On the Dip Restaurant stocks in this fund include Chipotle, McDonald's and Starbucks as well as Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM), among others. Global X Millennials Thematic ETF (MILN)Source: Shutterstock Expense ratio: 0.50%Due to the dearth of true restaurant ETFs, some stretching is necessary here. The GlobalX Millennials Thematic ETF (NASDAQ:MILN) is a stretch as restaurant ETF as just 5.30% of its weight is allocated to the industry and about 60% of that exposure is devoted to a single stock -- Starbucks -- but there are some other reasons to consider MILN.MILN touches a broad range of sectors and themes that millennials are driving, including "social media and entertainment, food and dining, clothing and apparel, health and fitness, travel and mobility, education and employment, housing and home goods, and financial services," according to Global X.MILN may not be the restaurant ETF some investors are hoping for, but it is a nifty, tactical play on a burgeoning demographic that's growing its wealth and spending power. Plus, MILN is up 29% year-to-date. That's pretty impressive. Invesco S&P SmallCap Consumer Discretionary ETF (PSCD)Source: Shutterstock Expense ratio: 0.29%In terms of number components, the Invesco S&P SmallCap Consumer Discretionary ETF (NASDAQ: PSCD) is a realistic alternative to a true restaurant ETF. More than 10 of PSCD's 97 holdings are restaurant stocks, reflecting the small-cap status of many of dining names.Perhaps surprisingly, PSCD's allocations to growth and value stocks are nearly even. That's noteworthy because the consumer discretionary sector is usually seen as a growth destination. Add in the small-cap overlay, and that growth profile is often enhanced. * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now There are some risks with PSCD. It's usually more volatile than a traditional, broad-based small-cap ETF. Second, because it's a small-cap fund, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), the king of large-cap consumer cyclical stocks, doesn't reside in this fund, creating a performance gap relative to large-cap competitors. Principal Millennials Index ETF (GENY)Source: Shutterstock Expense ratio: 0.45%Another millennials fund and another stretch to restaurant ETF reality, but the Principal Millennials Index ETF (NASDAQ:GENY) holds a few restaurant stocks and is cheaper than its aforementioned rival."They [Millennials] communicate heavily on social media platforms, consume hours of digital content per day, are physically very mobile, prefer to shop online rather than in stores, tend to be more health-focused than members of other generations, and prefer experiences over physical goods," says Nasdaq.The experiential element of millennial proclivities could bode well for restaurant shares going forward and GENY has more of a global kicker than the rival millennials ETF. GENY, which follows the Nasdaq Global Millennial Opportunity Index, allocates about half its weight to ex-US stocks while MILN mainly a domestic fund."We believe that the companies that effectively cater to Millennials' predilections will penetrate a consumer base of 90-million strong and therefore are more likely to outperform the broad market over the long term," according to Nasdaq.Todd Shriber does not own any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 CBD Stocks to Buy That Are Still Worth Your Investment Dollars * 5 Stocks to Buy With Great Charts * 5 Goldman Sachs Stocks to Buy with Over 20% Upside Potential The post 5 Restaurant ETFs to Sink Your Teeth Into appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Technological advances are disrupting plenty of industries. And if ever there was an industry ripe for disruption, it is financial services. Enter financial technology, or "fintech." Along with healthcare innovation, fintech is arguably the most disruptive of the emerging themes encroaching on old school industries.A basic definition of fintech is computer programs or other technological components intersecting with old guard financial services, such as banking, lending and credit cards, but there's more to it."Today, fintech companies directly compete with banks in most areas of the financial sector to sell financial services and solutions to customers," according to Fintech Weekly. "Mostly due to regulatory reasons and their internal structures, banks still struggle to keep up with fintech startups in terms of innovation speed. Fintechs have realized early that financial services of all kinds -- including money transfer, lending, investing, payments, … -- need to seamlessly integrate in the lives of the tech-savvy and sophisticated customers of today to stay relevant in a world where business and private life become increasingly digitalized."InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsIn other words, when you buy a fintech exchange-traded fund, there's a better chance you'll be embracing stocks such as PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) and Square (NYSE:SQ) then you would be traditional banks like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). * 10 Cheap Dividend Stocks to Load Up On With that in mind, here are some of the best fintech ETFs to consider. Global X FinTech ETF (FINX)Expense ratio: 0.68%, or $68 annually per $10,000 invested.Just a few weeks shy of its third birthday, the Global X FinTech ETF (NASDAQ:FINX) has rapidly become one of the kings of the fintech ETF universe. Home to nearly $414 million in assets under management, FINX tracks the Indxx Global FinTech Thematic Index.This fintech ETF's components come from industries including insurance, investing, fundraising and third-party lending. The financial services sector is usually thought of as a value destination, but that is not the case with fintech ETFs. FINX trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.However, FINX warrants that rich multiple because it's up just under 30% year-to-date, which is more than double the returns of the S&P 500 Financial Services Index. Importantly, there are significant growth tailwinds bolstering the long-term case for this fintech ETF."Currently, FinTech represents just 6%, or approximately $675 billion, of the total global estimated annual revenue for the financial services industry," Global X said in a recent note. "In addition, a recent Global X survey of consumer adoption of disruptive technologies revealed that just 11% of consumers indicated that they use mobile wallets on at least a weekly basis, compared to 84% use of credit cards." ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF)Expense ratio: 0.75%ARK Investment Management offers a focused lineup of actively managed ETFs (and some passive funds) that address high-growth market segments and many of the firm's products, though pricey, are among the best performers in their respective categories. The ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKF), which launched in February, could be on its way to joining its stablemates as a star fund.One of the newest fintech ETFs, ARK already has $71 million in assets under management and it has been a decent performer until recently. With riskier assets being taken to task, this fintech ETF has dropped by over 6% in the last month. That could be a buying opportunity, not a reason to stay away. The top 10 holdings in ARKF include Square, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).Because it's actively managed, managers can apply more stringent criteria to defining and identifying fintech exposure. * 10 Stocks Under $5 to Buy for Fall "A company is deemed to be engaged in the theme of Fintech innovation if (i) it derives a significant portion of its revenue or market value from the theme of Fintech innovation, or (ii) it has stated its primary business to be in products and services focused on the theme of Fintech innovation," according to ARK's fund description for ARKF. Amplify CrowdBureau Peer-to-Peer Lending & Crowdfunding ETF (LEND)Expense ratio: 0.65%The Amplify CrowdBureau Peer-to-Peer Lending & Crowdfunding ETF (NYSEARCA:LEND) is another new addition to the fintech ETF fray, having debuted in May. As its name implies, this fintech ETF emphasizes crowdfunding, an expansive and growing segment of the fintech space."Crowdfunding is an umbrella term generally referring to the financing method, typically internet-based, by which capital is raised through the solicitation of small individual investments or contributions from a large number of persons, entities or institutions that lend money directly or indirectly to businesses or consumers," according to Amplify ETFs.LEND has recently struggled because of its hefty weight in China (45% of the fintech ETF's weight). That's a double-edged sword because China is home to its own rapidly growing, high-potential fintech market. Another thing to note with LEND is that it's a concentrated fintech ETF. The fund has 33 holdings, but just three combine for over half the fund's weight. ETFMG Prime Mobile Payments ETF (IPAY)Expense ratio: 0.75%The ETFMG Prime Mobile Payments ETF (NYSEARCA:IPAY) is the oldest of the fintech ETFs on the market today and the fund is aging nicely as highlighted by a year-to-date gain of more than 39%. Investors are taking note. IPAY now has nearly $830 million in assets under management thanks to year-to-date inflows of $361.1 million. IPAY holds 39 stocks and tracks the Prime Mobile Payments Index."The index provides a benchmark for investors interested in tracking the mobile and electronic payments industry, specifically focusing on credit card networks, payment infrastructure and software services, payment processing services, and payment solutions (such as smartcards, prepaid cards, virtual wallets)," according to ETFMG. * 15 Growth Stocks to Buy for the Long Haul IPAY is a fintech ETF that's approachable to a broad swath of investors because not only does the fund feature growth stocks, it has some large-cap value exposure via names like Dow Jones Industrial Average components American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Visa (NYSE:V). Innovation Shares NextGen Protocol ETF (KOIN)Expense ratio: 0.95%Blockchain technology is one of the bedrocks of the fintech movement and the Innovation Shares NextGen Protocol ETF (NYSEARCA:KOIN), though not a dedicated fintech ETF, is one of the more compelling blockchain funds on the market."… KOIN seeks to give investors access to companies that may benefit from a technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way global trade is conducted, data is secured, supply chains are managed, financial instruments are cleared and contracts are recorded," Innovation Shares says in KOIN's fund description.There is an element of cryptocurrency with KOIN as the fund features exposure to companies that accept digital coins as payments as well as firms that make the tools and hardware to mine assets such as bitcoin. KOIN's other categories are solutions providers (blockchain services providers) and adopters.KOIN's top 10 holdings including Nvidia, Visa and Mastercard (NYSE:MA). Global X Millennials Thematic ETF (MILN)Expense ratio: 0.5%The Global X Millennials Thematic ETF (NASDAQ:MILN) doesn't jump off the screen and scream "fintech ETF," but this demographically focused fund is in the fintech space, particularly because millennials are driving adoption of mobile payments and other elements of a cash-free society."Millennials' adoption of technology has penetrated their finances," Global X's Pedro Palandrani wrote. "Their mobile devices have become their credit card, their wallet, and their overall bank. Take Venmo, PayPal's mobile payment service, which is a platform that has struck a chord with Millennials by allowing them to digitally send money and make purchases. 75% of Millennials have used online or mobile payments compared to only 51% for Boomers." * 7 Safe Dividend Stocks for Investors to Buy Right Now The fund holds 81 stocks of which about five can be considered dedicated fintech plays. Another 10 or so can be viewed as secondary fintech names. SoFi Gig Economy ETF (GIGE)Expense ratio: 0.59%The SoFi Gig Economy ETF (NASDAQ:GIGE) is another actively managed fund with fintech exposure and a newer one at that, having debuted in May like LEND."… the Gig Economy reflects a transformational change in how many businesses interact with customers, and the Gig Economy theme provides exposure to a trend or developing business model through the compilation of securities from multiple sectors and geographies," wrote ETF Trends's Max Chen.Obviously, GIGE is not a dedicated fintech ETF. But because it is exposed to the gig economy's consumption end, the fund features exposure to the payment end as well. This translates to some fintech leverage.About half a dozen of GIGE's holdings are dedicated fintech names and roughly the same amount are larger companies with some form of mobile payment or mobile wallet business. While GIGE has struggled this month (down almost 7%), there is long-term value in the fund's mix of fintech and online retail names.As of this writing, Todd Shriber does not own any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Cheap Dividend Stocks to Load Up On * The 10 Biggest Losers from Q2 Earnings * 5 Dependable Dividend Stocks to Buy The post 7 Fintech ETFs to Buy Now for Fabulous Financial Exposure appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Global X Millennials Thematic ETF (MILN) is the first exchange-traded fund to invest in millennial stocks, explains Jim Woods, fund expert and editor of The Deep Woods.

With Christmas fast approaching, last minute shopping trend can be fruitful for these ETFs.

As its name implies, the Global X Millennials Thematic ETF (MILN) focuses on investment themes and trends expected to benefit from millennials' spending habits. The millennial generation is classified as U.S. citizens born approximately between 1980 and 2000. Millennials account for one quarter of the nation’s population and are positioned to become a strong part of the workforce within the next decade.

NEW YORK , June 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Global X ETFs, the New York -based provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), today announced the inclusion of twenty ETFs to the TD Ameritrade  ETF Market Center ...