Jan 21, 2024 By Triston Martin
The initials of the word "FANG" stand for the initials of four different corporations: Facebook, Amazon.com, Netflix, and Alphabet Inc. These businesses span several industries, from telecommunications to I.T. to consumer discretionary, but are generally lumped together because of their shared history of rapid expansion, groundbreaking new products, and global dominance.
The best choice for investors to gain exposure to the FANG group would be a FANG-themed, which diversifies holdings away from a few highly volatile firms. Investors are interested in these four businesses because technology has fueled their expansion into new markets, such as e-commerce and online video streaming.
Some of the most well-known names in technology are often referred to by the term FAANG. Originally, and it stood for "Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google," or FANG for short. After Apple was added to the group by investors in 2017, the initials were changed to FAANG. The abbreviation persisted even after two major companies changed their names Facebook is now known as Meta Platform and Google as Alphabet.
Even if you don't directly invest in F.A.A.N.G. stocks, it's in your best interest to keep a careful eye on the market for them. That's because their market capitalization is so large relative to the entire market cap and because their price fluctuations may significantly affect the market as a whole.2
In March of 2022, it is projected that the value of the U.S. stock market will be over $45 trillion. Compared to December 2001, when Netflix and Meta weren't yet public, this is an increase. Four businesses—Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Google—appear in the top 10 of the S&P 500, representing the 500 largest U.S. corporations by market capitalization.
Furthermore, the top 10 businesses in the index account for more than 28% of the index's overall value, as stated by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which represents the S&P 500 weighting.
Buying shares in any F.A.A.N.G. company is a breeze because they are publicly traded on major exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers. The simplest option is to have an online brokerage account with a company like E-Trade, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, or Robinhood.
Stocks in the F.A.A.N.G. companies are not inexpensive. Therefore this should be kept in mind. In March 2022, a single share of Google sells for around $2,500, while a single share of Amazon goes for just under $3,000.78
The index followed by X.L.G. is the S&P 500 Top 50 Index, which comprises the 50 most extensive securities in the S&P 500 Index in market capitalization. However, the ETF has a significant bias toward fast-growing firms, so even while some of the mega-cap corporations in the fund might not increase significantly, the general fund is likely to.
The ETF represents a sizable portion of the portfolio and contains all six equities in the aforementioned F.A.A.M.N.G. category. The I.T. industry accounts for 38.5% of X.L.G.'s assets, followed by healthcare, telecom, and consumer discretionary.
Apple Inc., a provider of personal computers and mobile devices and services; Microsoft Corp., a vendor of consumer devices, software, video game products, and cloud services; and Amazon.com, Inc., a vendor of electronic goods, cloud services, and streaming media, are the top three holdings of X.L.G.
In contrast to index funds, R.F.F.C. is actively managed. It buys stocks ranging in market capitalization from microcaps to blue chips based on several factors, including value, quality, and momentum.
It takes a multi-pronged strategy. Price-to-book ratios, cash-to-market capitalization ratios, and relative strength indices are only a few metrics used to assess public companies. 24.0% of the R.F.F.C. portfolio is invested in I.T. equities, followed by healthcare, financials, industrials, and consumer staples. Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon are among R.F.F.C.'s top holdings.
Cboe Nasdaq-100 BuyWrite V2 Index tracking is one of the stated investment objectives of Q.Y.L.D., a large-cap growth fund. Using a covered call strategy, the fund purchases equities from the Nasdaq 100 index and sells call options on the same index simultaneously.
According to the fund's management, this approach has consistently produced superior returns during increased market uncertainty. For eight years running, the fund has always dispersed money every month. Investors seeking a higher income but not wanting to learn the nuances of options trading may find this fund appealing.