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Is Invesco FTSE RAFI Developed Markets exU.S. ETF (PXF) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 06/25/2007, the Invesco FTSE RAFI Developed Markets exU.S. ETF (PXF - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by Invesco. PXF has been able to amass assets over $1.18 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. Before fees and expenses, PXF seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI Developed ex-U.S. Index.

The FTSE RAFI Developed ex U.S. 1000 Index is designed to track the performance of the largest developed market equities, excluding the US, selected based on the following four fundamental measures of firm size: book value, cash flow, sales and dividends.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.45%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 5.57%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Taking into account individual holdings, Shell Plc (SHEL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.79% of the fund's total assets, followed by Bp Plc (BP/) and Totalenergies Se (TTE - Free Report) .

Performance and Risk

So far this year, PXF has lost about -16.32%, and is down about -16.39% in the last one year (as of 11/10/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $35.01 and $49.42.

The fund has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 24.50% for the trailing three-year period, which makes PXF a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 1047 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco FTSE RAFI Developed Markets exU.S. ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed World ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.

Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF has $45.37 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $91.59 billion. VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.07% and VEA charges 0.05%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Developed World ETFs.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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