Paywall - https://www.wsj.com/articles/reopen...or-stock-pickers-11622466001?mod=hp_lead_pos4 Some of this year’s best-performing ETFs include smaller market-cap companies. Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s stock is up 82% in 2021. PHOTO: SEAN GARDNER/GETTY IMAGES By May 31, 2021 9:00 am ET PRINT TEXT 16 Investors are amassing hefty gains by loading up on economically sensitive stocks that have flourished during this year’s explosion of business activity. More than two dozen actively managed exchange-traded funds have surged at least 20% so far this year, outpacing the S&P 500’s 12% climb. Goldman Sachs analysts say 56% of stock-picking large-cap mutual funds are beating their benchmarks, the highest percentage in more than a decade. Some of the best performers include companies with smaller market capitalizations and so-called value stocks—those deemed inexpensive relative to measures of a company’s net worth. The energy-focused for example, has risen 48% this year thanks to a recovery in oil prices. It includes top holdings such as Energy Transfer LP, up 62% since December. The which focuses on companies returning the most cash to shareholders, has also jumped 48% this year. Primary holdings include Rent-A-Center Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc., which have both gained more than 50%. The Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF, which has soared 36%, boosted by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. ’s 82% gain and a climb of 72% from aluminum maker Alcoa Corp.