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Is Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF (KBWY) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 12/02/2010, smart beta exchange traded fund Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF (KBWY - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Real Estate 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.

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.

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.

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

Managed by Invesco, KBWY has amassed assets over $320.31 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Real Estate ETFs. Before fees and expenses, KBWY seeks to match the performance of the KBW Nasdaq Premium Yield Equity REIT Index.

The KBW Nasdaq Premium Yield Equity REIT Index is a dividend weighted index seeking to reflect the performance of approximately 24 to 40 small- and mid-cap equity REITs in the US.

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 0.35% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 5.02%.

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.

KBWY's heaviest allocation is in the Real Estate sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.

Taking into account individual holdings, Global Net Lease Inc accounts for about 6.25% of the fund's total assets, followed by Preferred Apartment Communities Inc (74039L103) and Necessity Retail Reit Inc/the (02607T109).

The top 10 holdings account for about 47.95% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, KBWY has lost about -3.41%, and is up about 14.61% in the last one year (as of 04/20/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $22.01 and $26.25.

The ETF has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 38.23% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 31 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Real Estate ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE - Free Report) tracks Real Estate Select Sector Index and the Schwab U.S. REIT ETF (SCHH - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select REIT Index. Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF has $5.93 billion in assets, Schwab U.S. REIT ETF has $7.17 billion. XLRE has an expense ratio of 0.10% and SCHH charges 0.07%.

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