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

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Making its debut on 11/01/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Industrials ETF (RSPN - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Industrials ETFs 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.

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.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

RSPN is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $613.78 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. RSPN seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT INDUSTRIALS INDEX before fees and expenses.

The S&P 500 Equal Weight Industrials Index equally weights stocks in the industrials sector of the S&P 500 Index.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.40%.

RSPN's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.08%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For RSPN, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 100% of the portfolio.

Taking into account individual holdings, United Rentals Inc (URI - Free Report) accounts for about 1.42% of the fund's total assets, followed by Caterpillar Inc (CAT - Free Report) and Paycom Software Inc (PAYC - Free Report) .

RSPN's top 10 holdings account for about 13.56% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -1.83% so far this year and is up about 13.21% in the last one year (as of 01/15/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $35.68 and $43.21.

RSPN has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 18.54% for the trailing three-year period. With about 80 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI - Free Report) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Industrials ETF has $4.35 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $15.38 billion. VIS has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLI charges 0.10%.

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

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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