During times of market volatility, investing in low beta stocks is a good strategy for risk-averse investors. Beta is a measure of how volatile a stock is compared to a particular index. In most cases this means the S&P 500. When a stock has a low beta (defined as being between 0 and 1), it will have smaller price swings than the index that it tracks.
In many cases, low beta stocks are found in mature, defensive industries. This means that the companies have products and/or services that are in demand no matter what is happening in the broader economy. This helps ensure that the companies generate positive and, hopefully growing, revenue and earnings. This in turn can serve as a catalyst for higher stock prices.
However, investing in low beta stocks doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice growth. Like any asset class, low beta stocks can by cyclical. The stocks on this list are stocks that appear to have upside in the first two quarters.
Click the "Continue to Slide #1" button to view the first company.
