Against this backdrop, value strategies are faring better than growth strategies. Remember: a value strategy focuses on companies with discounted valuation ratios, which the market thinks are lagging behind. Growth strategies focus on growth stocks, i.e. those with fast-growing sales. A legitimate question: why not bet on growth stocks when growth is on the horizon?

When growth is abundant, investors look for the cheapest growth.

Bank of America's Savita Subramanian answers: it's a question of behavioral finance! "When growth is scarce, investors pay more for unassailable growth. When growth is plentiful, investors look for the cheapest growth," explains the strategist, who also believes that focusing on high yield, another value-oriented strategy, may be more appropriate, given that retirees hold a record proportion of assets under management in money market accounts where yields have just fallen. At the same time, quality equities should also hold up well, as volatility is expected to be high in the months ahead. Savita Subramanian concludes: "All roads lead to the Russell 1000 Value index".

Russell

3-month performance of the Russell 1000 Value, represented by the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF

This index brings together the 1,000 largest U.S. value-capitalization stocks, with a different composition from the techno-vitamin selections. Here are the top 10 as of September 23, 2024:

The index is dominated by financials (31%), healthcare (16%), industrials (15%) and technology (9%). Its average P/E based on latest annual results is 19.6 times, compared with 37 times for the Nasdaq 100 and 28.4 times for the S&P 500. This is low for an American stock, although it should be put into perspective by European standards (P/E of 15.4 times for the Stoxx Europ 600).