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Is Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF (EQWL) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF (EQWL - Free Report) was launched on 12/01/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer 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.

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

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking 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.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Invesco, EQWL has amassed assets over $213.36 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, EQWL seeks to match the performance of the Russell Top 200 Equal Weight Index.

The S&P 100 Equal Weight Index is designed to provide equal-weighted exposure to the securities of the largest 200 companies in the US equity market.

Cost & Other Expenses

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.25% for EQWL, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.05%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For EQWL, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 16.60% of the portfolio --while Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Boeing Co/the (BA - Free Report) accounts for about 1.06% of total assets, followed by Caterpillar Inc (CAT - Free Report) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 10.41% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 5.76% so far this year and is down about -1.71% in the last one year (as of 04/17/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $66.43 and $82.85.

The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 18.44% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 102 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P 100 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 $308.33 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $375.10 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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