Rich Investors Are Rotating Into These 3 ETFs. Should You Follow Their Lead?
Key Points
Megacaps and tech have driven stock market returns over the past few years. That's changed in 2026.
Investors have been investing in other areas of the market, including international stocks, gold, and small caps.
Let's break down each of these three categories and figure out if they make compelling buys today.
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Over the past several years, investors have gotten wealthy focused primarily on tech and growth stocks. But these are no longer the hot themes in 2026.
At the beginning of the year, the markets rotated out of these themes and into areas such as value stocks, dividends, international, and small-cap stocks. Investors whose portfolios were heavily allocated to megacap tech started to see their returns lag. Investors who maintained diversification were finally being rewarded.
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Even though the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is down about 6% from its all-time highs, several areas of the market are still performing well. Plus, they've been seeing significant inflows already this year.
Some people will look at year-to-date returns and think they've missed an opportunity. However, there are compelling reasons why some of these categories are still in the early stages of a long-term rebound.
Let's take a look at three asset classes along with their respective ETFs to see if there's still an opportunity moving forward.
Source: Getty Images.
SPDR Gold MiniShares ETF
The SPDR Gold MiniShares ETF (NYSEMKT: GLDM) is the lower-cost version of the more popular SPDR Gold Shares ETF. Because the SPDR Gold Shares ETF is more heavily used by institutions and traded by them, its net flow activity doesn't always align with retail investor sentiment. The SPDR Gold MiniShares ETF is primarily used by everyday investors and provides a more accurate benchmark.
And capture the inflows it has. It's taken in roughly $2.6 billion year to date and $8.5 billion over the past year.
While some of the recent rally has been due to safe haven buying, it's been heavily driven by central bank buying. With the dollar weakening and concerns lingering about the amount of Treasury debt in the system, this is a structural change that could drive higher demand over the long term.
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEMKT: RSP) is essentially the popular index without the tech concentration risk. This is its key selling point. By giving each S&P 500 component an equal share instead of weighting allocations by market cap, you fundamentally alter its sector composition and economic risk profile.
| Sector | S&P 500 (VOO) | S&P 500 Equal Weight (RSP) |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | 32.4% | 13.3% |
| Financials | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| Communication Services | 10.5% | 3.8% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 10% | 9.4% |
| Healthcare | 9.8% | 11.9% |
| Industrials | 9.2% | 16.6% |
| Consumer Staples | 5.4% | 7.6% |
| Energy | 3.5% | 5% |
| Utilities | 2.5% | 6.6% |
| Materials | 2.2% | 5.9% |
| Real Estate | 2% | 6.3% |
Source: Vanguard & Invesco fund websites.
The biggest sector change from equal weighting, not surprisingly, is tech, which sees its allocation drop from 32% to 13%. Communication services, which includes Alphabet and Meta Platforms, becomes the smallest sector.
The biggest byproduct of the weighting scheme shift is that the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF now tilts much more toward smaller companies. The median market of a holding in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) is $359 billion. In the equal weight ETF, that number drops to $120 billion. That tilt helps lower concentration risk, produce a much lower price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, and take advantage of the value tilt that's been in favor lately.
Year to date, it's taken in more than $10 billion, making it the 8th largest ETF net inflow of 2026.
iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF
International stocks have been significantly outperforming the S&P for nearly a year and a half. The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEMKT: IEFA), which invests in a broad range of developed market non-U.S. stocks, has been a prime beneficiary. Retail investors have noticed as well, adding a net $5.5 billion in 2026 and nearly $17 billion over the past year.
International stocks are finally benefiting from several positive catalysts. Earnings expectations are improving; a weaker dollar has added a tailwind to returns; and valuations are much lower than those of the S&P 500. This group has lagged U.S. stocks consistently, going back to the tail end of the financial crisis. There's plenty of catch-up to be done and plenty of value yet to be unlocked.
Should you follow into these ETFs?
There's a compelling case for each.
After gold moved from $2,000 to $5,500 an ounce, the rally was probably overdone. But the current pullback to $4,600 represents a better entry point. Plus, the structural demand shift to gold could be a long-term positive.
Smaller companies and international stocks represent much better value, and investors are gravitating toward that group. As conditions deteriorate in the United States, value likely offers a better place to invest than growth and could provide some downside protection.
Overall, I think these three ETFs have further upside ahead.
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David Dierking has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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