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Is Invesco Dynamic Biotechnology & Genome ETF (PBE) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Health Care ETFs category of the market, the Invesco Dynamic Biotechnology & Genome ETF (PBE - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 06/23/2005.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

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.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Invesco, PBE has amassed assets over $221.21 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Dynamic Biotechnology & Genome Intellidex Index before fees and expenses.

The Dynamic Biotech & Genome Intellidex Index seeks to provide capital appreciation by thoroughly evaluating companies based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action, and value.

Cost & Other Expenses

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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.59%.

PBE's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector - about 100% of the portfolio.

Taking into account individual holdings, Chemocentryx Inc accounts for about 5.61% of the fund's total assets, followed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (VRTX - Free Report) and Catalent Inc (CTLT - Free Report) .

PBE's top 10 holdings account for about 45.03% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Invesco Dynamic Biotechnology & Genome ETF has lost about -19.98% so far, and is down about -26.82% over the last 12 months (as of 09/26/2022). PBE has traded between $52.10 and $77.31 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.92 and standard deviation of 29.90% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 31 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

Invesco Dynamic Biotechnology & Genome ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Health Care ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI - Free Report) tracks S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB - Free Report) tracks Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has $6.70 billion in assets, iShares Biotechnology ETF has $7.56 billion. XBI has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IBB charges 0.44%.

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