For investors who are getting rattled by the latest volatility and geopolitical headlines, you’re definitely not alone. Fortunately, there’s a long list of low-volatility ETFs that can help you keep your cool as you look to make your next move in a market environment that might be a tad difficult to stomach, but full of opportunities for those who are willing to look in areas of the market that would be sure to scare out most retail investors.
Undoubtedly, it’s hard to make your portfolio’s trajectory completely smooth unless you’re willing to cut into the potential returns. For most, it’s about finding the right balance. At this juncture, many tech-exposed investors might benefit from the addition of a lower-volatility ETF, if not for a somewhat smoother ride, perhaps for a “smarter beta” approach, which allows for gains and lower correlations (think low betas) to the broader stock markets.
In a prior piece, I outlined some lower-volatility factor ETFs to consider scooping up. In this piece, though, we’ll go down the stock picker’s route with individual growth names that might be able to side-step all the things that could trouble the broad markets.
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Waste Connections
Consider shares of Waste Connections (TSX:WCN), a great defensive grower for all seasons. The stock has been one of the best-performing low-beta plays over the past decade, with around 320% worth of gains, and that’s including the most recent (and brief) plunge into bear market territory. Today, shares of WCN are down just over 16% from their all-time highs, after spending much of the last six months trending lower due to quarters that were less than impressive. While volumes have been rather sluggish, margins have stayed intact.
More recently, the company clocked in a solid quarterly earnings report that saw a nice beat on the top- and bottom-lines. Margins are creeping higher, and sales are starting to show meaningful signs of improvement. Though the latest post-earnings spike is encouraging, it definitely feels like there’s a bit of doubt as to whether the Q4 hit is the sign of things to come.
Though it’s too early to deem this quarterly beat as a turning point, I do think that Waste Connections is a long-term winner that’s in a rare trough of sorts, one that’s worth buying as most others throw in the towel.
At the end of the day, Waste Connections is one of those recession-resilient firms that do the heavy lifting when some of your other portfolio holdings begin to drag. Sure, the waste management business isn’t exciting, but as the firm implements dynamic routing and AI to save money while continuing to take advantage of M&A opportunities, I see the firm as having the levers needed to grow, regardless of which direction the rest of the market is headed.
Bottom line
With unmatched pricing power and excellent managers who can keep pushing margins higher, I think WCN stock is a great bet for low-beta appreciation. At 23.4 times forward price-to-earnings (P/E), the stock is quite cheap, given the width of the economic moat and rich history of smooth and steady growth.
