You’ve heard it over and over – time is our most limited & valuable asset.

For many of us, this is true. We may be financially secure in US dollars, the Euro, Yen, you name it – but our life clock is ticking just as fast as everyone else’s. So, we seek instruments, hacks, and even investment vehicles that can save us our most precious resource.

ETFs allow investment diversification without the need to tediously select securities one by one. And for many, ETFs serve as an on-ramp to smart, risk-considerate investing. The S&P 500, Dow Jones, Russell, and NASDAQ are some of the most popular indices with countless ETFs having exposure to their baskets of assets.

Among these, you may have heard the Russell index referred to in several ways. The Russell 1000, 2000, and 3000 are the most common. What are these, and how do they differ? Let’s find out.

Russell 3000

We’ll begin with the Russell 3000. This index is comprised of the 3,000 largest US public companies as measured by total market capitalization. It seeks to serve as a benchmark for the US equity markets, and encompasses around 97% of said market.

This means that the index covers nearly all sectors – technology, health care, industrial, financial, consumers, energy, and quite a few more. The Russell 3000 has the broadest reach among the top indices of the US stock market.

Several ETFs track the Russell 3000, the most popular being iShares (NYSEARCA: IVW) and Vanguard (NASDAQ: VTHR).

Russell 2000

The Russell 2000 index tracks the bottom 2,000 stocks in the Russell 3,000 index. Investors often refer to this as the small to mid-cap index, and utilize it to track smaller and less-established US public companies.

This index is an extremely popular measure of small and mid-cap performance, representing around 10% of the Russell 3000 total market capitalization. Companies in the Russell 2000 can change on a daily basis as small-cap assets tend to be more volatile. This makes the ETF provider’s job more difficult.

The most popular ETF of this index is the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA: IWM). Have a look at its performance over the last ~8 years:

Russell 1000

The last of the group is the Russell 1000, tracking the top 1,000 stocks of the Russell 3000 Index. The Russell 1000 is referred to as the large-cap index, and represents around 93% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000 Index

The Russell 1000 competes for attention with other indices like the S&P 500 and NASDAQ. While it is a useful measure of US large-cap performance, it is often overshadowed by these other indices (unlike the Russell 2000, which is more regularly referenced).

The top sectors of this index include technology, consumer discretionary, health care, financial services, and industrial. These industries dominate US equities by market capitalization.

Popular ETFs of the Russell 1000 Index include iShares (NYSEARCA: IWB) and Vanguard (NASDAQ: VONE).

With oil prices booming, solar and renewable energy ETFs are on the move. Let’s take a look at a few options to consider in the investing space.

ALPS Clean Energy ETF (ACES)
The fund holdings are primarily from the US and Canada, representing 94% of the holdings. Nearly 1/3 of the assets are in solar stocks, 20% in “smart grid” holdings and 20% in wind-related energy stocks. The expense ratio of the fund is %0.55. and has returned over 14% in the last month.

The top 5 Holdings of the Fund are
NPI Northland Power Inc. – 6.54%
BEP.UT Brookfield Renewable Partners LP – 6.46%
NEP NextEra Energy Partners LP – 5.67%
TSLA Tesla Inc – 5.07%
HASI Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. – 4.85%

Invesco Solar ETF (TAN)
The focus here is all solar with some of the largest companies in the energy sector represented. With Invesco behind it the fund holds nearly $2 billion in assets under management. The United States, China and Israel, represent the largest holdings of the fund. The expense ratio of the fund is %0.69. and has returned nearly 18% in the last month.

The top 5 Holdings of the Fund are
SEDG SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. – 11.34%
ENPH Enphase Energy, Inc. – 9.02%
968 Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd. – 8.25%
FSLR First Solar, Inc. – 6.95%
RUN Sunrun Inc. – 5.05%

iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN)

This clean energy ETF holds more than $6 billion in assets under management. The fund is the oldest of its kind, established in 2008. This is an international fund, with only about 31% of assets in U.S. stocks, Denmark is the second largest country of holdings at 14%. The expense ratio of the fund is %0.42. and has returned over 18% in the last month.

The top 5 Holdings of the Fund are
VWS Vestas Wind Systems A/S – 7.79%
ENPH Enphase Energy, Inc. – 7.04%
ED Consolidated Edison, Inc. – 6.86%
ORSTED Orsted – 5.87%
SEDG SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. – 5.11%

There is a lot of tension between the US and Russia as of late, as Russia has decided to invade the Ukraine. This week the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency issued a “SHIELDS UP” advisory. The CISA states that the “Russian government understands that disabling or destroying critical infrastructure – including power and communications – can augment pressure on a country’s government, military and population and accelerate their acceding to Russian objectives.”

In retaliation for invasion into the Ukraine, President Joe Biden has recently been presented with options for the U.S. to take part in cyberattacks designed to disrupt Russia’s military operations in the Ukraine.

Given the situation in Ukraine, there is concern about an escalation of cyber threats here in the US, with that in mind here are some Cyber Security ETFs to Consider.

WISDOMTREE CYBERSECURITY FUND (WCBR)
The fund offers Pure-play exposure to the evolving cybersecurity trends with the potential to generate attractive relative growth rates. Some of the top holdings of the fund are:
Datadog Inc Class A (DDOG)
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW)
Rapid7 Inc. (RPD)
Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB)
Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT)
The fund has an expense rate of .45% and has 28 total holdings. YTD the fund is down -13.82%.

ETFMG PRIME CYBER SECURITY ETF (HACK)
The fund is the first ETF to target the cyber security industry. ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (HACK) is a portfolio of companies providing cyber security solutions that include hardware, software and services. Some of the top holdings of the fund are:
Cisco Sys Inc (CSCO)
Check Point Software (CHKP)
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK)
Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW)
Splunk Inc. (SPLK)
The fund has an expense rate of .60% and has 63 total holdings. YTD the fund is down -12.32%.

GLOBAL X CYBERSECURITY ETF (BUG)
The Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) seeks to invest in companies that stand to potentially benefit from the increased adoption of cybersecurity technology. Some of the top holdings of the fund are:
Check Point Software (CHKP)
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK)
Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW)
Fortinet (FTNT)
Avast PLC (AVST)
The fund has an expense rate of .50% and has 32 total holdings. YTD the fund is down -7.50%, which makes it the best performing ETF YTD of the three we are covering.

ETFs are a cost-effective way to gain exposure to a variety of assets without the hassle of a manually diversified portfolio. Nowadays, there are hundreds of ETFs to choose from, making the process far less seamless than the concept of an ETF should be. For this reason, I’ve identified three of the top ETFs to balance your 2022 portfolio. I recommend these for any investor – whether the ETFs become the pillars of your holdings or just an opportunity for the diversification of your existing portfolio.

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: VOO)

The first ETF is one I would recommend for long-term holders during any market cycle – the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. There are many ETFs that track the S&P 500 (SPY, IVV, SPLG, etc.). VOO trades with the lowest fees, making it the cheapest to enter and exit a position. For long-term holders, you may not think this is a relevant consideration, but market maker fees sure add up when investing large amounts of capital.

The S&P 500 is an index that currently tracks the 505 largest US companies listed on stock exchanges. It gives investors extreme diversification into the United States most prevalent industries. If you’re bullish on the financial success of America in the future, it’s never a bad time to dollar-cost average into the VOO.

iBET Sports Betting and Gaming ETF (NASDAQ: IBET)

If you look at the three-month price action of IBET, you’ll see a steady downtrend trend impacted by the lingering COVID-19 crisis and overdue broad market correction. With the world’s inevitable return to in-person life and the sports betting/gaming industries’ emergence into the digital world, I believe the IBET ETF presents a moderate-risk play with attractive upside potential.

IBET ETF 3 month price action, Yahoo Finance
The top holdings of IBET are companies like Flutter Entertainment (FTLR), Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS), Penn National Gaming (PENN), DraftKings (DKNG), and MGM Resorts International (MGM). They’re big names in a sports-betting industry that’s moving the needle and consistently making headlines:
• Online sports betting in New York was legalized 5 weeks ago. We’ve seen over $2 billion in wagers so far.
• As of February 2022, online sports betting is still only legal in 19 states. As legislation moves along, this number will grow.
• According to NPR, 31 million Americans were expected to bet $7.6 billion on the 2022 Super Bowl LVI.

Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (NYSEARCA: BLOK)

This final ETF is sure to be a controversial pick, but one I have a great deal of long-term conviction about. BLOK is an ETF known for its Web3.0/Crypto exposure. Its top holdings include:
• 5.66%: Bitcoin giant MicroStrategy (MSFT)
• 4.81%: Modern financial platform PayPal (PYPL)
• 3.98%: Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA)
• 3.55%: Chip giant NVIDIA Corp (NVDA)
• 5.66%: Bitcoin giant MicroStrategy (MSFT)

These holdings, and many more, are expected to play a hand in building the next generation of our digital world. If you are optimistic about the future adoption of cryptocurrency, decentralized finance, and metaverse-related ventures, BLOK is a great diversified play. I’d be foolish to try and predict the short-term behavior of the industry, but I believe 2022 is as good a time as ever to gain exposure to the growing digital landscape for the long-term.

Russia has been tightening its military grip around Ukraine over the last year, amassing tens of thousands of troops, equipment and artillery on the country’s front door. Things are escalating and if the conflict worsens, here are some ETF strategies investors may want to consider.

Natural Gas & Crude Oil
In 2021, Russia exported around 55.5 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of natural gas to other countries worldwide. 40% of the oil that Europe uses comes from Russia and any disruption in production because of a war, would cause a surge in pricing. We have already seen a huge spike in Natural Gas and Oil prices continue to rise.
UNITED STATES OIL FUND (USO) up 18% YTD
UNITED STATES NATURAL GAS FUND LP (UNG) up 21% YTD
PROSHARES ULTRA BLOOMBERG NATURAL GAS (BOIL) up 27% YTD

Commodities
Russia is a commodity-rich nation. Russia’s top exports are Natural gas and Oil, Gems, Precious Metals, Wheat, Corn, Copper and Aluminum. A disruption in production in any of these items will definitely cause a spike. Ukraine is also one of the largest exporters of wheat, much of their production goes to Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries.
TEUCRIUM WHEAT FUND ETV (WEAT) up 6% YTD
ABERDEEN STANDARD PHYSICAL PALLADIUM SHARES ETF (PALL) up 28% YTD
TEUCRIUM CORN FUND ETV (CORN) up 9% YTD

War Stocks
If the conflict was protracted and the US was dragged in for any reason, it’s likely that many of the so-called War Stocks would benefit. Some of the companies that benefit from war are Alliant Techsystems (ATK), Boeing (BA), General Dynamics (GD),
L-3 Communications (LLL), Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). With the future unknown, ETFs are probably a safer way to play this space rather than getting involved in all of these individual companies.
Aerospace & Defense ETFs to consider
ISHARES U.S. AEROSPACE & DEFENSE ETF (ITA)
SPDR S&P AEROSPACE & DEFENSE ETF (XAR)

Inflation is here and it is real, and with that we are getting a creep back to normalcy in terms of interest rates. As of 2/19 the 10 Year Note had climbed up to 1.92%, a move of 50 basis points in the past year. The long running rate on the 10 year is nearly 3%. With that in mind and the Fed set to raise the Fed Funds rate as much as 1% over the next year, a rising rate environment can cause big disruptions across various asset classes. How can you prepare your portfolio for this shift? Here are some options.

INVESCO DB COMMODITY INDEX TRACKING FUND (DBC)
For older investors an increase in inflation can erode a portfolio return. If inflation is 7% as we are seeing currently, a return of 10% on a portfolio will only net an overall return of 3%. With that in mind one might want to consider the DBC to hedge against that inflation. As of 2/18 the fund had already returned over 10% YTD and over a one year period the fund has returned over 40%.

SPDR SELECT SECTOR FUND – FINANCIAL (XLF)
The XLF is the largest financial sector exchange-traded fund with more than $45 billion in assets. Top holdings include Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B), JP Morgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC). Financial firms are a good play in a rising interest rate environment as Banks increase the rates they charge for loans they write while many having borrowed funds at a lower rate in more friendly times. This creates a very attractive spread for the financial service firms. The one year return on the XLF is over 20%.

iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP) Treasury inflation-protected securities – or TIPS are an obvious play against inflation. TIPS value is benchmarked to the consumer price index. When the consumer price index rises – and interest rates as well, TIPS will also rise to adjust for that inflation.

AXS Astoria Inflation Sensitive ETF (PPI) The fund is an actively managed, broadly diversified ETF that seeks long-term capital appreciation in inflation-adjusted returns. The fund invests where the opportunities are: cyclical stocks (such as financials, energies, industrials and materials), commodities and TIPS. The fund has 50 holdings, Marathon Oil, Devon Energy are two of the larger positions currently. The fund is still in its infancy but has returned over 4% YTD.

Amplify Inflation Fighter ETF (IWIN) The fund is a mix of inflation-sensitive stocks and commodity futures contracts. The ETF has exposure to mining companies, land developers, homebuilders and real estate investment trusts as well as agriculture, gold and bitcoin.