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Is Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market, the Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 09/20/2006.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer 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.

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.

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

The fund is managed by Invesco, and has been able to amass over $2.06 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Index.

The FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Index is comprised of approximately 1,500 U.S. stocks. The FTSE US 1500 Small-Mid Index is designed to track the performance of small and medium-sized U.S. equity stocks selected based on the following four fundamental measures of firm size: book value, income, cash flow and dividends.

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.39%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.43%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 17.90% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Super Micro Computer Inc (SMCI - Free Report) accounts for about 0.49% of the fund's total assets, followed by Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT - Free Report) and Carvana Co (CVNA - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 3.41% of PRFZ's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, PRFZ has added roughly 9.62%, and was up about 7.96% in the last one year (as of 09/15/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $29.14 and $36.83.

PRFZ has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 22.19% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1476 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

IShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) tracks Russell 2000 Index and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. IShares Russell 2000 ETF has $52.47 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $69.30 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

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 - Small 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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