Consumer Trade-Down: Discounters & Affordable Meals

This basket targets consumers seeking lower prices through discount retail, warehouse clubs, off-price merchandise and affordable restaurant meals. Walmart, Costco and TJX have positive monthly returns on the supplied sheet, supporting a selective trade-down approach rather than a broad consumer recovery bet. PepsiCo adds direct exposure to everyday food and beverage purchases, though input costs and promotional competition remain risks. Launch basket (equal weight): WMT, COST, TJX, MCD, PEP, TGT, YUM, QSR, DG Rules: 1. No inverse, leveraged or volatility ETFs. 2. Only names tradable at the enrolled brokers (Moomoo): no OTC listings, no dead tickers, nothing on the refused list.