The unloved value factor

Value remains unloved: all the outflows out of so-called smart-beta ETFs in the US in May were explained again by the Value ETFs. The argumentation brought forward is that the value style will underperform despite the higher interest rates as the US economy is slowing. Also the exposure of these indices to financials and energy is not helping right now. In the US, the overall market remains driven by a couple of mega-cap technology stocks that are being perceived as defensive and boosted by AI. With NVDIA for example up 172% year-to-date and trading at 130 times trailing earnings, 38 times revenue and 40 times book value, we wonder whether this has not gone too far. In the longer term, rest assured that the valuation of the underlying business ALWAYS matters.