Four ETFs or 20 stocks for this market

The market has been weak lately and nobody is predicting a turnaround any time soon.

What to do? Today, I'm going to describe four exchange traded funds that are currently generating positive returns, plus they all have strong historical return records. Consequently, they have a reasonable chance of producing positive returns, even in this market.

Sound interesting?

First a little background.

As you probably know, ETFs are similar to conventional mutual funds in that both track the performance of portfolios of stocks, bonds, etc. One difference is that ETFs trade just like stocks. Thus, they're easier, and often less expensive to buy and sell than conventional mutual funds.

Another difference between ETFs and mutual funds is that unlike mutual funds, most ETFs list their current portfolio holdings online every market day. So, I'll include each fund's top five holdings in the write-ups. Thus, if you'd rather buy individual stocks than ETFs, you'll have 20 worthwhile individual stock ideas worth checking out.

Without further ado, here are the details.

All performance data described below is as of Feb. 21. For comparison, as of that date, the S&P 500 had returned +4.4% year-to-date, -6.6% for 12 months, and averaged 10.0% annually for the past five years.

• Invesco KBW Property PI & Casualty Insurance (ticker: KBWP) tracks a capitalization weighted index of U.S.-based property and casualty insurance companies. Biggest holdings include Progressive Corp. (PGR), Allstate Corp. (ALL), Travelers Companies (TRV), American International Group (AIG), and Chubb (CB). The fund has returned 4.8% yearto-date, 12.2% for the past 12 months, and averaged 11% annually for the past five years. It pays quarterly dividends equating to a 1.9% annual yield.

• Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development (PAVE) holds U.S.-based companies that it expects to benefit from the expected U.S. government's increased infrastructure spending. Specifically those supplying raw materials, heavy equipment, engineering services, and construction services. Biggest holdings include United Rentals (URI),, Parker Hannifin (PH), Eaton (ETN), Nucor (NUE) and Fastenal (FAST). Global X has returned

8.1% year to date, 9.0% for 12 months, and averaged 12.3% annually for five years. Pays semiannual dividends (1.0% yield).

• Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue (RWJ) holds the highest revenue growth stocks in the S&P 600 SmallCap Index, which holds 600 “financially viable” small-cap stocks. Biggest holdings include World Fuel Services (INT), United Natural Foods (UNFI), Community Health Systems (CYH), Andersons Inc. (ANDE), and Group 1 Automotive (GPI). The fund has returned 11.2% year to date, 2.8% for 12 months, and averaged 13.1% annually for five years. Pays quarterly dividends (0.9% yield).

• Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Value (RZV) Picks members of the S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Value Index, which picks holdings based on price/book, price/earnings and price/ sales ratios. Biggest holdings include: Olympic

Steel (ZEUS), M/1 Homes (MHO), Telephone & Data Systems (TDS), Genworth Financial (GNW), and AMC Networks (AMCX). The fund has returned 12.5% year to date, 7.0% for 12 months and averaged 8.4% annually for five years. It pays quarterly dividends (1.4% yield).

As always, past performance doesn't predict the future. Do your due diligence. The more you know about your holdings, the better your results.