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Is Invesco Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF (EQAL) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 12/23/2014, the Invesco Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF (EQAL - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

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 sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $618.32 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Equal Weight Index.

The Russell 1000 Equal Weight Index is composed of securities in the Russell 1000 Index and is equally weighted across nine sector groups with each security within the sector receiving equal weight.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.20% for EQAL, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.72%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

For EQAL, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 13.60% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Arista Networks Inc (ANET - Free Report) accounts for about 0.58% of the fund's total assets, followed by Ubiquiti Inc (UI - Free Report) and Ciena Corp (CIEN - Free Report) .

EQAL's top 10 holdings account for about 4.52% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -10.44% and is down about -11.26% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/16/2022), respectively. EQAL has traded between $36.94 and $47.70 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 26.71% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1009 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $302.66 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $371.63 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend.

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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