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Trump may boost for big banks due to deregulation, small caps

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What big banks and small caps have in common right now

The Trump administration may create powerful tailwinds for two vastly different market groups: Big banks and small cap stocks.

In the case of financials, Astoria Portfolio Advisors’ John Davi predicts deregulation — along with a boost in IPO and mergers and acquisitions — to spark multi-year strength.

“The funny thing about the banks is that they were actually from an earnings standpoint fundamentally getting very attractive prior to the Trump administration,” the firm’s founder and CEO told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” on this week. “The large-cap money centers like Goldman [Sachs], JPMorgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley… That’s really the area you want to hone in on with this new administration.”

The money center banks are coming off a strong week. Shares of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley hit record highs on Friday.

That historic gains are a major reason why Davi likes the Invesco KBW Bank ETF. Its top holdings include JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, according to FactSet.

The ETF is up almost 10% since Jan. 1 and more than 49% over the past 52 weeks.

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Year-to-date chart of the KBWB ETF

While bank stocks rally, VettaFi’s Todd Rosenbluth expects small cap stocks to shine under Trump 2.0. He sees the group adapting quickly to reshoring and tariff threats.

“If we have a focus on the U.S. and making America even stronger, then small-cap companies stand to benefit from that because they have less multinational exposure,” the firm’s head of research said.

Rosenbluth suggests the T. Rowe Price Small-Mid Cap ETF and Neuberger Berman Small-Mid Cap ETF as ways investors can play the group.

He also likes the VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF, which has solid exposure to biotech. Its top three holdings according to the fund’s website are Royalty Pharma, Oscar Health and Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and its mission statement is to target “quality small cap companies, trading at a discount with favorable growth prospects.” Its top three holdings.

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VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF,

According to Rosenbluth, the ETF “takes a focus on companies with high quality, strong free cash flow generation, but it has a growth filter to it,” said Rosenbluth, who added the filter sets a high bar for which small-cap stocks ultimately make the cut. 

The VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash ETF is up almost 10% over the past year while the Russell 2000, which tracks the group, is up about 17%.

By CNBC “ETF Edge” Staff

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Insiders at UnitedHealth are scooping up tarnished shares

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Key Points

  • UnitedHealth Group saw some of its insiders step in and purchase declining shares this week.
  • Kristen Gil, a director at the firm, bought 3,700 shares worth roughly $1 million on Thursday.
  • Shares of UnitedHealth plunged nearly 11% to $274.35 on Thursday following a report in The Wall Street Journal that the Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation into possible Medicare fraud.

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Federal Reserve will reduce staff by 10% in coming years, Powell memo says

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U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2024.

Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images

The Federal Reserve will look to reduce its headcount by 10% over the next couple of years, including offering deferred resignation to some older employees, central bank chair Jerome Powell said in a memo.

“Experience here and elsewhere shows that it is healthy for any organization to periodically take a fresh look at its staffing and resources. The Fed has done that from time to time as our work, priorities, or external environment have changed,” Powell said in a memo obtained by CNBC.

The central bank chief added that he has instructed leaders throughout the Fed “to find incremental ways to consolidate functions where appropriate, modernize some business practices, and ensure that we are right-sized and able to meet our statutory mission.” One method for shrinking the staff will be to offer a voluntary deferred resignation program to employees of the Federal Reserve Board who would be fully eligible to retire at the end of 2027.

The central bank said in its 2023 annual report that it had just under 24,000 employees. A 10% reduction would bring that number below 22,000.

The memo comes as the Trump administration has pushed for cost cuts across civil service agencies, spearheaded by Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Musk has previously called the Fed “absurdly overstaffed.” Powell’s memo did not mention Musk or DOGE as a factor in the decision to shrink headcount.

The planned staff cuts were first reported by Bloomberg News.

— CNBC’s Matt Cuddy contributed reporting.

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Stocks making the biggest moves midday: AMAT, NVO, CAVA, VST

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