When it comes to Ned Davis Research’s four current thematic investing recommendations, there’s an underpinning of fun.

The firm is focused on themes ranging from how millennials are spending their money, to the sales of A-list video games. Each suggestion is accompanied by a specific ETF that everyday investors can use to replicate the trade.

And while Ned Davis says these four themes have beaten the market over the past month, it also notes that most of the 47 tracked by the firm — 35, to be exact — beat the S&P 500 over the period.

Still, the firm says these four themes remain winning ideas for the longer term:

(1) Millennial spending

ETF recommendation: iShares US Consumer Focused ETF (IEDI)

YTD performance: +3.96%

Expected return: +17% (from February 2024 to February 2026)

Reasoning: The ETF outperformed the S&P 500 by more than a percentage point for the month of August, despite lingering concerns about the strength of consumer spending.

That was partly due to some major retailers, like Lowe’s and Home Depot, rallying after posting strong earnings for the quarter.

US consumers have held up well so far this year, despite worries that tariffs could eventually cause companies to raise prices. Personal consumption expenditures rose 0.5% in July, up from 0.4% in June.

(2) Bitcoin

Recommendations: Bitcoin (BTC), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)

YTD performance: +17.3%

Target return: 60%

Reasoning: The long-term outlook for bitcoin still looks bullish, NDR said, despite its poor performance in August. The crypto lost 7.5% last month, but that’s in line with its historical performance, with August tending to be the weakest month of the year for bitcoin.

In a November note, strategists at the firm said they saw bitcoin as a “long-only” trade and issued a price target of $121,000, implying 10% upside from its current levels. At the time, strategists pointed to bitcoin breaking past the $73,000, a level the crypto hasn’t traded at since November.

(3) Video games

ETF recommendation: Global X Video Games & Esports ETF (HERO)

YTD performance: +37.69%

Expected return: +22% (from December 2024 to November 2025)

Reasoning: The ETF was one of the best-performing investment recommendations NDR issued in August.

“We believe the post-pandemic bottom is in for the video game group in terms of sales growth and profit margins,” NDR wrote in a client note in December, pointing to new video game releases in 2025 and recent cost-cutting and AI implementation measures that could improve firms’ profits.

(4) Sports betting

ETF recommendation: Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (BETZ)

YTD performance: +30.5%

Expected return: +14% (from May 2025 to May 2026)

Reasoning: The ETF outperformed the S&P 500 in August, NDR said, pointing to strong growth in users and “sportsbook-friendly outcomes” among sports betting companies.

Large firms in the space, like DraftKings and Flutter, also posted strong earnings for the past quarter.

In a May note, NDR added that industry consolidation and big sporting events had contributed to the ETF’s outperformance recently.

“We remain bullish on Sports Betting as the industry approaches the end of the ‘summer slump,'” Tschosik and Mouls wrote in the note this week.