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Is Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RYU) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF made its debut on 11/01/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Invesco. RYU has been able to amass assets over $336.33 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Equal Weight Telecommunication Services & Utilities Index.
The S&P 500 Equal Weight Telecommunication Services & Utilities Index equally weights stocks found in the utilities and telecommunication services sectors of the S&P 500 Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.40% for RYU, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.20%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
RYU's heaviest allocation is in the Utilities sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Atmos Energy Corp (ATO - Free Report) accounts for about 4.14% of total assets, followed by Sempra Energy (SRE - Free Report) and Nisource Inc (NI - Free Report) .
RYU's top 10 holdings account for about 38.49% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF return is roughly 7.01% so far, and was up about 16.09% over the last 12 months (as of 04/29/2022). RYU has traded between $102.46 and $126.08 in this past 52-week period.
RYU has a beta of 0.48 and standard deviation of 25.17% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 30 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU - Free Report) tracks Utilities Select Sector Index. Vanguard Utilities ETF has $6.14 billion in assets, Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF has $15.43 billion. VPU has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLU charges 0.10%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Utilities/Infrastructure 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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Is Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RYU) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF made its debut on 11/01/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Invesco. RYU has been able to amass assets over $336.33 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Equal Weight Telecommunication Services & Utilities Index.
The S&P 500 Equal Weight Telecommunication Services & Utilities Index equally weights stocks found in the utilities and telecommunication services sectors of the S&P 500 Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.40% for RYU, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.20%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
RYU's heaviest allocation is in the Utilities sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Atmos Energy Corp (ATO - Free Report) accounts for about 4.14% of total assets, followed by Sempra Energy (SRE - Free Report) and Nisource Inc (NI - Free Report) .
RYU's top 10 holdings account for about 38.49% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF return is roughly 7.01% so far, and was up about 16.09% over the last 12 months (as of 04/29/2022). RYU has traded between $102.46 and $126.08 in this past 52-week period.
RYU has a beta of 0.48 and standard deviation of 25.17% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 30 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU - Free Report) tracks Utilities Select Sector Index. Vanguard Utilities ETF has $6.14 billion in assets, Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF has $15.43 billion. VPU has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLU charges 0.10%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Utilities/Infrastructure 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.