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Is Invesco S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF (RPG) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Invesco S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF (RPG - Free Report) made its debut on 03/01/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader 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.

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.

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

RPG is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $1.87 billion, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Pure Growth Index.

The S&P 500 Pure Growth Index measures the performance of securities that exhibit strong growth characteristics in the S&P 500 Index.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

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's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.36%.

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.

Representing 29% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector; Healthcare and Information Technology round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Nucor Corp (NUE - Free Report) accounts for about 2.71% of the fund's total assets, followed by Targa Resources Corp (TRGP - Free Report) and Diamondback Energy Inc (FANG - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 24.21% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 4.09% so far this year and is down about -2.02% in the last one year (as of 08/30/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $28.33 and $33.50.

The fund has a beta of 1.14 and standard deviation of 24.40% for the trailing three-year period, which makes RPG a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 79 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Growth ETF has $93.20 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $204.43 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

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 Growth.

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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