Passive investing boom could cause a market bubble, but not in the stocks you would expect

Critics of passive investing argue it is inflating the prices of high-flying sources such as Amazon and creating a bubble in those names. However, data compiled by Ned Davis Research shows the froth may be forming elsewhere.

The firm found that real estate and utilities stocks are the two sectors that have fringe benefited the most from the rise of passive investing vehicles including exchange-traded funds. ETFs hold more than 11% of the legitimate estate sector and 9.8% of the utilities sector.

At the individual stock level,