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

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Launched on 04/24/2003, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.

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.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide 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.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

RSP is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $28.05 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index.

The S&P 500 Equal Weight Index equally weights the stocks in the S&P 500 Index.

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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.20%.

RSP's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.90%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 15.30% of the portfolio. Industrials and Financials round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Epam Systems Inc (EPAM - Free Report) accounts for about 0.27% of the fund's total assets, followed by Enphase Energy Inc (ENPH - Free Report) and Etsy Inc (ETSY - Free Report) .

RSP's top 10 holdings account for about 2.54% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF has lost about -19.84% so far, and is down about -14.80% over the last 12 months (as of 09/27/2022). RSP has traded between $128.59 and $164.20 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 25.80% for the trailing three-year period. With about 504 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $273.21 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $330.79 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend.

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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