Broker-Dealers vs the S&P 500 (IAI): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, IAI has underperformed the S&P 500 by 0.8 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where IAI sits on the rotation map
Broker-Dealers highlighted against the 11 broad S&P 500 sectors. Vertical: 1-month spread vs the S&P 500. Horizontal: the longer, time-shifted window — the methodology explains the math.
IAI vs SPY: head-to-head returns
IAI (broker-dealers) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means IAI won that window.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Broker-Dealers (IAI) is losing its lead. It built a 7.1-point advantage over the S&P 500 across the longer, time-shifted window, but over the past month it has slipped 0.8 points behind the market — the Cooling quadrant of the rotation map. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #56 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, IAI is in a dip window: the last sessions have pulled back while the longer intraday trend remains intact — the pattern rotation traders watch for re-entries. IAI's relative-strength line — its price ratio against the S&P 500 — is trading above its moving averages, the healthiest configuration we track. The two signals agree — the short-term tape and the longer trend point the same way.
The exposure comes via iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF, whose 35 tracked holdings are led by THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC, MORGAN STANLEY and CHARLES SCHWAB CORP. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 23.0× earnings and 7.6× sales. The thing to watch from here is whether this is a pause or a handoff: cooling groups sometimes reset and reclaim leadership, but a deepening one-month deficit usually means rotation has moved on.
What's inside IAI
Top 5 of 35 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Broker-Dealers vs the market — common questions
Is broker-dealers outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, no: over the past month IAI has underperformed the S&P 500 by 0.8 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is IAI?
IAI is iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF, the fund Zensei uses to measure the broker-dealers group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in IAI?
IAI's largest tracked positions are THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC, MORGAN STANLEY, CHARLES SCHWAB CORP, INTERCONTINENTAL EXCHANGE INC, MOODYS CORP — 35 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is part of Zensei Premium.
What quadrant is broker-dealers in right now?
As of the latest daily data, broker-dealers is in the Cooling quadrant — still ahead over the longer window, but behind the market over the past month. The quadrant rules are documented on the Zensei methodology page.
Related sectors
Track broker-dealers against the whole market
Zensei Edge maps 100+ sectors and themes against the S&P 500 — with the stocks inside each one, rotation history and alerts when leadership changes hands.