T. Rowe Price Value ETF

TVAL

Market cap $611M

2026 is off to a volatile start for markets, with geopolitics a bigger factor than ever. The U.S. Iran War has upended whatever predictions markets may have had entering the new year, following a previous U.S. intervention in Venezuela.

As the market digests the latest round of corporate earnings, all eyes have turned to Alphabet. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL/GOOG) is reporting its fourth-quarter results Wednesday after the bell, with Wall Street setting a high bar for the search giant.

For years, value investing has felt akin to waiting for a train that keeps getting delayed. The market has rewarded unbridled growth at any price going back to the mid-2010s.

Let's face it: Justified or not, stocks are expensive right now. Many key market-leading firms are asking investors to pay a premium for equity exposure, particularly the AI-hyperscalers and megacap tech names.

It may as well be an annual tradition for value investing to turn heads. But with stocks reaching record highs, investors may be looking askance at a very expensive S&P 500.

Value stocks almost always seem just on the cusp of a bright moment, but could “this” time actually be for real for the category? Where past value calls have stemmed from smaller trends in equities data, like disappointing growth returns, more macro factors are looming that could produce value-friendly conditions: namely, persistent inflation.

This year's market environment remains a favorable one for active ETFs, with approximately 40% of flows funneling into the strategies year-to-date. As investors increasingly look beyond benchmark constraints for opportunity, T.

Ongoing market volatility, evolving U.S. economic and trade policy, and global risks cloud outlooks for 2025. Josh Nelson, head of global equity, T.

The narrative for growth stocks continues to face mounting challenges this year on compounding risks. In an environment of spiking economic and market uncertainty, value stocks offer convincing performance and warrant consideration.

In yet another sign markets could be turning toward value, the active value ETF TVAL has added a quarter billion dollars in net inflows over just the last month. Rising uncertainty, market sell-offs, and lingering concentration risk could contribute to that interest.