December is usually a strong month for stocks. Per WSJ, since 1950, the S&P 500 has risen three-fourths of the time, in December, more often than any other month. This year, December started on a rough note.

With concerns regarding trade, tariffs, slowing global growth and earnings peak weighing on investor sentiment, it remains to be seen whether we will see a Santa Claus rally this year.

Thanks to increased uncertainty, many investors are rotating to more defensive areas of the market, including value. Since the beginning of October, when stocks hit a rough patch, value ETFs have outperformed the broader market and growth.

Numerous academic studies have shown that value stocks delivered higher returns with lower volatility compared with growth stocks, over the long term, in almost all the markets studied. Therefore, they should be a part of any ‘core’ portfolio.

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

We highlight three ultra-cheap, Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) value ETFs that are also among the most popular products in the space. Top holdings of these ETFs include Microsoft (MSFT), Berkshire (BRK-B) Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and JP Morgan (JPM).

To learn more about the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV), the Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF (SCHV) and the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value ETF (SPYV), please watch the short video above.