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Should You Invest in the Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF (CGW)?

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The Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF (CGW - Free Report) was launched on 05/14/2007, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Industrials - Water segment of the equity market.

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Industrials - Water is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 6, placing it in top 38%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $945.84 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Industrials - Water segment of the equity market. CGW seeks to match the performance of the S&P GLOBAL WATER INDEX before fees and expenses.

The S&P Global Water Index comprises of developed market securities including water utilities, infrastructure, equipment, instruments and materials.

Costs

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.57%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.57%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a 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.

Looking at individual holdings, American Water Works Co Inc (AWK - Free Report) accounts for about 7.48% of total assets, followed by Xylem Inc/ny (XYL - Free Report) and United Utilities Group Plc (B39J2M4).

The top 10 holdings account for about 53.01% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF has lost about -1.09% so far, and is up about 14.23% over the last 12 months (as of 01/03/2024). CGW has traded between $44.46 and $53.46 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 18.26% for the trailing three-year period, making it a low risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, CGW is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Industrials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

First Trust Water ETF (FIW - Free Report) tracks ISE Clean Edge Water Index and the Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ OMX US Water Index. First Trust Water ETF has $1.50 billion in assets, Invesco Water Resources ETF has $1.94 billion. FIW has an expense ratio of 0.53% and PHO charges 0.60%.

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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