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Is Invesco Biotechnology & Genome ETF (PBE) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 06/23/2005, the Invesco Biotechnology & Genome ETF (PBE - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Health Care 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.

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.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

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.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $256.54 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. PBE seeks to match the performance of the Dynamic Biotechnology & Genome Intellidex Index before fees and expenses.

The Dynamic Biotech & Genome Intellidex Index seeks to provide capital appreciation by thoroughly evaluating companies based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action, and value.

Cost & Other Expenses

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.58%.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.49%.

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.

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

Taking into account individual holdings, Incyte Corp (INCY) accounts for about 5.66% of the fund's total assets, followed by Illumina Inc (ILMN) and Biogen Inc (BIIB).

PBE's top 10 holdings account for about 48.87% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Invesco Biotechnology & Genome ETF has gained about 23.13% so far, and was up about 15.65% over the last 12 months (as of 12/03/2025). PBE has traded between $56.01 $83.49 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 20.17% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 33 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .

Alternatives

Invesco Biotechnology & Genome 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.

State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) tracks S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) tracks Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has $7.88 billion in assets, iShares Biotechnology ETF has $8.6 billion. XBI has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IBB changes 0.44%.

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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