NEW YORK ( TheStreet ) -- Aerospace and defense funds have been soaring lately although you'd think no one was noticing. <\/p>\n
During the past year, iShares Dow Jones U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) returned 37.4%, compared with 17.6% for the S&P 500 Index.Another exchange-traded fund that gained more than 30% was PowerShares Aerospace & Defense (ETF) (PPA). The big gains came as many companies in the sector reported surprisingly strong earnings. <\/p>\n
Defense stocks had been under a cloud because of the spending reductions caused by the sequester that went into effect in March 2013. But the Washington cutbacks did less damage than many Wall Street analysts expected. <\/p>\n
Worried about declining sales, defense contractors prepared for the sequester by laying off employees and cutting costs sharply. In addition, foreign sales remained strong. As a result, profit margins proved resilient. <\/p>\n
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Aerospace, Defense Funds Are Quietly Beating the Market in 2014<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NEW YORK ( TheStreet ) -- Aerospace and defense funds have been soaring lately although you'd think no one was noticing. During the past year, iShares Dow Jones U.S Continue reading