The biggest bear on Wall Street: BofA’s Subramanian just slashed her S&P pri...

With the market trading sideways lately, some investors are wondering whether the sell-off is done and we could be at the bottom.

But according to Bank of America’s head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy Savita Subramanian, tough times still lie ahead. Her team recently lowered their year-end price target on the S&P 500 from 4,500 to 3,600.

That makes Bank of America the new big bear on Wall Street. Morgan Stanley has a year-end target of 3,900 for the S&P 500, UBS expects 4,150, while Evercore ISI and Citi both see the benchmark index ending the year at 4,200.

Considering that the S&P 500 currently sits at 3,950, Bank of America’s new target implies a further downside of about 9%.

What should investors do in the meantime?

Well, in an interview with Bloomberg in May, Subramanian suggested investors look into energy, financials, healthcare, and consumer staples.

Let’s take a closer look at those sectors — and see how investors can get easy access to them.

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Energy

Fueled by rising commodity prices, energy was the S&P 500’s best-performing sector in 2021, returning a total of 53% vs the index’s 27% return. And that momentum has carried into 2022.

Year to date, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) is up a solid 23%, in stark contrast to the broad market’s double-digit decline.

XLE aims to track the performance of the S&P 500’s energy sector. If the positive momentum in energy prices continues, the ETF is a good bet to keep delivering market-topping returns.

XLE also provides a good starting point for further research if you are looking for individual picks. Its top holdings include oil giants like Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and ConocoPhillips (COP).