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Is Invesco Semiconductors ETF (PSI) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Invesco Semiconductors ETF (PSI - Free Report) made its debut on 06/23/2005, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

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

The fund is managed by Invesco, and has been able to amass over $781.48 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Dynamic Semiconductor Intellidex Index.

The Dynamic Semiconductor Intellidex Index is comprised of stocks of semiconductor companies. The Index is designed to provide capital appreciation by thoroughly evaluating companies based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including fundamental growth, stock valuation, investment timeliness and risk factors.

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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.57%.

PSI's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.35%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer 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.

Representing 98.50% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector.

Looking at individual holdings, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD - Free Report) accounts for about 5.22% of total assets, followed by Broadcom Inc (AVGO - Free Report) and Qualcomm Inc (QCOM - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 45.67% of PSI's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, PSI return is roughly 13.25%, and was up about 46.75% in the last one year (as of 03/13/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $36.36 and $58.22.

The ETF has a beta of 1.43 and standard deviation of 34.57% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 31 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

Invesco Semiconductors ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

IShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) tracks PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. IShares Semiconductor ETF has $13.27 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $17.55 billion. SOXX has an expense ratio of 0.35% and SMH charges 0.35%.

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