Sector Rotation
Shift capital between industries to match the economic and market cycle.
How it works
Sector rotation moves money among industry groups, such as technology, energy, healthcare, or utilities, based on where the economic cycle stands. The idea is that different sectors lead at different phases: cyclicals like industrials and consumer discretionary in early recovery, defensives like utilities and staples late-cycle or in downturns. Rotators use macro indicators, relative-strength momentum, or cycle models to tilt toward sectors expected to lead and away from laggards, usually via sector ETFs. It is a top-down, tactical overlay that keeps you invested while trying to always hold the strongest corners of the market. Success hinges on correctly reading a cycle that rarely repeats exactly.
The trade-offs
✅ Strengths
- Stays invested while tilting toward market leadership
- Implemented cheaply and liquidly with sector ETFs
- Can add return over a static allocation when timed well
⚠️ Weaknesses
- Requires accurate, repeated cycle timing (very hard)
- Higher turnover raises costs and taxes
- Cycles rarely repeat cleanly; false signals abound
Publicly associated with
Naming a practitioner is historical, educational context — never an endorsement.
Legends who play this way
Play the Sector Rotation style in Conviction League
Draft a critter that trades this way, train it on a simulated market, and backtest it on the leaderboard — free and fully simulated, so there's zero real-money risk.