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Should Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000 ETF (PRF) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000 ETF (PRF - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/19/2005.

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $6.82 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

Value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios. They also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Looking at their long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets. They are however likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

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

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.74%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 21.40% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK/B) accounts for about 2.30% of total assets, followed by Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 16.93% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

PRF seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI US 1000 Index before fees and expenses. The FTSE RAFI US 1000 Index is designed to track the performance of the largest U.S. equities, selected based on the following four fundamental measures of firm size: book value, income, sales and dividends. U.S. equities are then weighted by each of these four fundamental measures.An overall weight is calculated for each firm by equally-weighting each fundamental measure.

The ETF return is roughly 5.03% so far this year and was up about 17.97% in the last one year (as of 05/01/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $30.37 and $38.47.

The ETF has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 15.80% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1014 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1000 ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, PRF is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD - Free Report) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) track a similar index. While Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $53.95 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $111.61 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

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.

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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