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Is Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF (RSPH) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Health Care ETFs category of the market, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF (RSPH - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 11/01/2006.

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.

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.

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.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

RSPH is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $855.08 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. RSPH, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT HEALTH CARE INDEX .

The S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care Index equally weights stocks in the health care sector of the S&P 500 Index.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.40% for RSPH, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

RSPH's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.67%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

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

Taking into account individual holdings, Centene Corp (CNC - Free Report) accounts for about 1.84% of the fund's total assets, followed by Pfizer Inc (PFE - Free Report) and Becton Dickinson & Co (BDX - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 17.44% of RSPH's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, RSPH has gained about 6.67%, and is up roughly 3.84% in the last one year (as of 02/04/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $29.01 and $32.53.

RSPH has a beta of 0.85 and standard deviation of 16.08% for the trailing three-year period. With about 62 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV - Free Report) tracks Health Care Select Sector Index. Vanguard Health Care ETF has $17.53 billion in assets, Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF has $39.37 billion. VHT has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLV charges 0.09%.

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