But while the BITE fund is loaded with companies that are among the most recognizable in the world, the restaurant industry isn’t impervious to economic hard times.
“For sure, this is an industry that will be effected by economic downturns," Carter acknowledges. "But I don’t agree with conventional wisdom that says you save money by making food at home. This long-term trend [of eating away from home] has gone through all sorts of economic conditions.”
Carter posits that while people might cut back on dinners at, say, Ruth’s Chris Steak House when times get tough, they’ll still go out to eat and to cut costs might order more items from MickyD’s dollar menu. Basically, he says, the BITE index has a range of price points, some of which could benefit during economic downturns.
Time will tell, of course, but the brand recognition of leading restaurant chains and the fact that people like to eat could make this an ETF that investors might want to––and yes, this is an obvious pun that ranks low on the creativity scale––sink their teeth into.