The U.S. equities markets won't open until Jan 22nd, so I'll place trades for this experiment at that time. Until then, the relative positions of ETFs can't really change, so I can make my calculation in advance. This time I'm going to show how I go about this in detail, so you see an example of the "algorithm" in action.
I visit the URL
https://etfdb.com/compare/highest-52-week-returns/no-leveraged/ to see the current top 100 ETFs for the past 52 weeks. I select only ETFs (not ETNs), without leverage, with 95%+ equities (not natural gas). Here's the first ~30 from that list:
VIIX VelocityShares Daily Long VIX Short-Term ETN 37.61% not an ETF
VXX iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN 37.54% not an ETF
VIXY ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF 36.30% not an ETF
VXXB iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN 35.95% not an ETF
PALL Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF 24.24% not U.S. equities
PSJ Invesco Dynamic Software ETF 21.81% roughly +4% momentum
XWEB SPDR S&P Internet ETF 21.72% roughly +3% momentum
QAT iShares MSCI Qatar ETF 21.21% not U.S. equities
KSA iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF 19.89% not U.S. equities
VXZ iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN 18.98% not an ETF
OLD Long-Term Care ETF 18.88% roughly +13% momentum
VXZB iPath Series B S&P 500® VIX Mid-Term Futures ETN 18.70% not an ETF
VIXM ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures ETF 18.08% not U.S. equities
REZ iShares Residential Real Estate ETF 17.70% roughly +14% momentum
UNL United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund 16.85% not U.S. equities
PUI Invesco DWA Utilities Momentum ETF 16.34% roughly +16% momentum
IHI iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF 14.31% roughly +2% momentum
BTAL AGFiQ US Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund 14.11% not U.S. equities
IGV iShares North American Tech-Software ETF 13.86% roughly -2% momentum
UNG United States Natural Gas Fund 12.78% not U.S. equities
XSW SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF 12.75% roughly -4% momentum
UTES Reaves Utilities ETF 12.46% roughly +13% momentum
FDN First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index 12.36% roughly -7% momentum
XITK SPDR FactSet Innovative Technology ETF 12.09% roughly -6% momentum
ARKG ARK Genomic Revolution Multi-Sector ETF 12.07% roughly -18% momentum
PSCH Invesco S&P SmallCap Health Care ETF 11.51% (current allocation) roughly -4% momentum
CLIX ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF 11.19% leveraged + not 95% U.S. equities
JHMU John Hancock Multi-Factor Utilities ETF 11.16% roughly +12% momentum
GULF WisdomTree Middle East Dividend Fund 11.15% not U.S. equities
SKYY First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index Fund 11.13% roughly -3% momentum
XHE SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF 11.09% roughly -3% momentum
BFIT Global X Health & Wellness Thematic ETF 11.01% roughly +1% momentum
Ignoring all the ETNs, non-U.S. funds, non-equity funds... and then ignoring momentum below +10%, I get the following list of 5 ETFs:
PUI Invesco DWA Utilities Momentum ETF 16.34% roughly +16% momentum
REZ iShares Residential Real Estate ETF 17.70% roughly +14% momentum
OLD Long-Term Care ETF 18.88% roughly +13% momentum
UTES Reaves Utilities ETF 12.46% roughly +13% momentum
JHMU John Hancock Multi-Factor Utilities ETF 11.16% roughly +12% momentum
In the past I've spotted problems with etfdb data (# holdings, % cash, etc) so I check morningstar's data for each of these ETFs to get my accurate momentum data. I will use the "performance" tab, and take 1 year minus 1 month performance:
PUI = 16.37 - (-.63) = +17 mtm
REZ = 17.76 - 2.00 = +15.76 mtm
OLD = 18.89 - 2.70 = +16.19 mtm
UTES = 12.54 - (-.57) = 13.11 mtm
JHMU = 12.21 - (-1.60) = 13.81 mtm
I could almost say "I'm getting OLD", but actually PUI has slightly higher momentum:
PUI is Invesco DWA Utilities Momentum ETF. When the markets open Jan 22 (Tues), I'll shift the 5W fund experiment from 100% PSCH into 100% PUI - from healthcare momentum to utilities momentum.