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Is Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 12/06/2005, smart beta exchange traded fund Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Industrials 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.

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

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.

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.

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

PHO is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $2.15 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. Before fees and expenses, PHO seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ OMX US Water Index.

The NASDAQ OMX US Water Index tracks the performance of US exchange-listed companies that create products designed to conserve and purify water for homes, businesses and industries.

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 0.59% for PHO, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.54%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 56.9% of the portfolio. Utilities and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Waters Corp (WAT) accounts for about 9.89% of total assets, followed by Ferguson Enterprises Inc (FERG) and Ecolab Inc (ECL).

The top 10 holdings account for about 60.22% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Invesco Water Resources ETF has added roughly 10.21% so far, and it's up approximately 0.64% over the last 12 months (as of 12/05/2025). PHO has traded between $58.13 $74.61 in this past 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 16.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes PHO a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 39 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .

Alternatives

Invesco Water Resources ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF (CGW) tracks S&P GLOBAL WATER INDEX and the First Trust Water ETF (FIW) tracks ISE Clean Edge Water Index. Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF has $1 billion in assets, First Trust Water ETF has $1.94 billion. CGW has an expense ratio of 0.59% and FIW changes 0.51%.

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