Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF (COWZ) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Making its debut on 12/16/2016, smart beta exchange traded fund Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF (COWZ - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value 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.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

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

The fund is sponsored by Pacer Etfs. It has amassed assets over $24.22 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index before fees and expenses.

The Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index uses an objective, rules-based methodology to provide exposure to large and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with high free cash flow yields.

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 0.49%.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.28%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

COWZ's heaviest allocation is in the Energy sector, which is about 22.30% of the portfolio. Its Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Qualcomm Inc (QCOM - Free Report) accounts for about 2.21% of total assets, followed by Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD - Free Report) and At&t Inc (T - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 21.17% of COWZ's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -1.76% and was up about 3.44% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/07/2025), respectively. COWZ has traded between $53.41 and $61.35 during this last 52-week period.

COWZ has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 18.41% for the trailing three-year period. With about 103 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $69.21 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $133.26 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.04%.

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 - Large Cap Value.

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.

Published in