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

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The Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ - Free Report) made its debut on 09/20/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: 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.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

PRFZ is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $2.36 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. PRFZ, before fees and expenses, 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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.39% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.29%.

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.

PRFZ's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 19.60% of the portfolio. Its Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Exact Sciences Corp (EXAS - Free Report) accounts for about 0.22% of the fund's total assets, followed by Crocs Inc (CROX - Free Report) and Virtu Financial Inc (VIRT - Free Report) .

PRFZ's top 10 holdings account for about 2.17% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 3.24% and is up roughly 20.75% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 05/24/2024), respectively. PRFZ has traded between $30.38 and $39.61 during this last 52-week period.

PRFZ has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 21.43% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1503 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

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 $60 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $78.14 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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