Defensive Stock Picks Better Than The Market (September 7, 2007)
September 7, 2007 by Douglas A. McIntyreWe are frequently asked about how certain basket picks perform compared to the overall market. It has been years since anyone has claimed their stocks should gain regardless of the market because most people have smartened up to that nonsense. But "Defensive Stocks" do perform better in general on a relative basis in down markets. That isn’t a guarantee and that isn’t an absolute, but at least they did today.
Out of the 30 DJIA components, only J&J was up on the day. Out of the 17 defensive stocks we gave earlier this morning, 3 of the 17 closed up. On average of the 17 defensive stocks, if you invested in each one equally the picks would have ‘only’ been down 0.85% out of the basket. That is better than the DJIA, S&P 500, and NASDAQ.
For whatever it is worth, it’s worth noting that ‘relative performance’ doesn’t necessarily pay bills if the market heads too far south. Here is how the markets fared compared to the defensive stock picks:
CLOSE CHANGE PERCENT
DJIA 13113.38 -249.97 -1.87%
NASDAQ 2565.7 -48.62 -1.86%
S&P500 1453.55 -25.00 -1.69%
Tick Close Change Percent
PEP $67.98 $(0.58) -0.85%
KO $54.59 $(0.07) -0.13%
BUD $49.84 $0.14 0.28%
TAP $89.24 $0.56 0.63%
KFT $32.89 $(0.50) -1.50%
CAG $25.52 $(0.06) -0.23%
CPB $35.54 $(1.14) -3.11%
HRL $34.99 $(0.81) -2.26%
MCD $49.24 $(0.52) -1.05%
MO $67.39 $(0.88) -1.29%
VGR $22.98 $(0.09) -0.39%
RAI $63.77 $(0.36) -0.56%
PG $65.47 $(0.64) -0.97%
CL $65.43 $(0.57) -0.86%
MRK $49.57 $(0.90) -1.78%
JNJ $61.68 $0.02 0.04%
NVO $113.00 $(0.47) -0.40%
Jon C. Ogg
September 7, 2007
Jon Ogg can be reached at [email protected]; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With A Financial Advisor (Sponsored)
Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the
advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Take the retirement quiz right here.