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Is Invesco FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets ETF (PXH) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Invesco FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets ETF (PXH - Free Report) made its debut on 09/27/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs 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.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $1.17 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. PXH is managed by Invesco. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets Index.

The FTSE RAFI Emerging Index is designed to track the performance of the emerging market stocks with the highest ranking cumulative score, selected from the constituents of the FTSE Emerging Large/Mid Cap Index.

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 0.49% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

PXH's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.67%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Taking into account individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd accounts for about 4.80% of the fund's total assets, followed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BK6YZP5) and Petroleo Brasileiro Sa (PETR4).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 24.4% of PXH's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, PXH has gained about 9.49%, and was up about 13.75% in the last one year (as of 11/21/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $17.13 and $19.82.

The ETF has a beta of 0.75 and standard deviation of 17.61% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 412 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG - Free Report) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO - Free Report) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $72.24 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $73.02 billion. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VWO charges 0.08%.

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