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Is Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF (RCD) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF was launched on 11/01/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

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.

On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.

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 $484.03 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Consumer Discretionary ETFs. Before fees and expenses, RCD seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary Index.

The S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary Index equally weights stocks in the consumer discretionary sector of the S&P 500 Index.

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 RCD are 0.40%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.53%.

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.

For RCD, it has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Discretionary sector --about 100% of the portfolio.

When you look at individual holdings, Tesla Inc (TSLA - Free Report) accounts for about 2.35% of the fund's total assets, followed by Ford Motor Co (F - Free Report) and Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 18.84% of RCD's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 30.38% so far this year and is up about 29.11% in the last one year (as of 12/30/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $120.39 and $160.55.

The ETF has a beta of 1.40 and standard deviation of 29% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 65 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Discretionary ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY - Free Report) tracks Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index. Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF has $7.45 billion in assets, Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF has $24.03 billion. VCR has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLY charges 0.12%.

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