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Should Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 SmallMid ETF (PRFZ) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 SmallMid ETF (PRFZ - Free Report) was launched on 09/20/2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $1.95 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.

Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.

Costs

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.39%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.78%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 20% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Amc Entertainment Holdings Inc (AMC - Free Report) accounts for about 0.59% of total assets, followed by Centennial Resource Development Inc/de and Express Inc (EXPR - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 3.06% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

PRFZ seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Index before fees and expenses. The FTSE US 1500 Small-Mid Index is comprised of approximately 1,500 U.S. stocks. The FTSE US 1500 Small-Mid Index is designed to track the performance of small and medium-sized U.S. equity stocks selected based on the following four fundamental measures of firm size: book value, income, cash flow and dividends.

The ETF has added roughly 33.02% so far this year and it's up approximately 59.84% in the last one year (as of 11/05/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $126.86 and $197.77.

The ETF has a beta of 1.23 and standard deviation of 28.41% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1489 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 SmallMid ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, PRFZ is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $74.01 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF has $74.81 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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