OGIG ETF

Concerned by the growing concentration risk in the U.S. stock market? Megacap tech names have played a significantly outsized role in the overall performance of U.S. stocks this year.

Despite a year full of hand wringing about the impact of rising rates on the stock market, the S&P 500 is still growing steadily. The overall U.S. economy doesn't just look ok, either; 3.3% annualized growth last quarter suggests a robust environment.

It's hard to avoid the key role tech investing has played over the last 12-18 months. While many market observers came into 2023 anticipating pain for big tech names via rate hikes, that pain hasn't really materialized.

Tech firms have been a key contributor to the S&P 500 this year. While tech has been a huge driver for years now, of course, this year in particular saw the mega-cap tech names responsible for a massive amount of the S&P 500's growth.

Feeling down about the markets? September selloff doldrums have seeped into the discourse for some, but there are reasons for positivity.

Of all the drivers of the S&P 500's growth so far this year, internet-focused firms have perhaps contributed the most. The key market index has grown 18% year-to-date as of Tuesday, with big internet tech names like Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN) contributing significantly.

U.S.-based retail sales rose for a fourth consecutive month, rising 0.7% on a seasonally-adjusted basis. U.S. consumers continue to show resilience despite stubborn inflation and tightening credit markets.

Earnings season has well and truly arrived, with this week seeing behemoth firm Amazon (AMZN) reporting earnings. Amazon earnings will arrive Thursday, arguably the biggest earnings drop of the week.

What's driving the robust returns for the ALPS O'Shares Global Internet Giants ETF (OGIG)? The ETF has returned a powerful 31.2% return YTD, outperforming its ETF Database Category and Factset Segment Averages YTD.