Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000 ETF (PRF) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000 ETF (PRF - Free Report) debuted on 12/19/2005, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value 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 work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

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.

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

Because the fund has amassed over $5.93 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. PRF is managed by Invesco. PRF, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI US 1000 Index.

The FTSE RAFI US 1000 Index is designed to track the performance of the largest U.S. equities, selected based on the following four fundamental measures of firm size: book value, income, sales and dividends. U.S. equities are then weighted by each of these four fundamental measures.An overall weight is calculated for each firm by equally-weighting each fundamental measure.

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 0.39% for PRF, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

PRF's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.97%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

PRF's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 19.10% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Information Technology round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) accounts for about 2.37% of the fund's total assets, followed by Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK/B) and Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 15.76% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -7.11% so far this year and is down about -4.96% in the last one year (as of 11/18/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $138.77 and $175.48.

PRF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 25.43% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1008 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000 ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) tracks Russell 1000 Value Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $53.96 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $104.39 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.18% and VTV charges 0.04%.

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 Value.

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.

Published in