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Is Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF (EQWL) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF (EQWL - Free Report) debuted on 12/01/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.

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.

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.

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.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other 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

Because the fund has amassed over $2.07 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. EQWL is managed by Invesco. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Russell Top 200 Equal Weight Index before fees and expenses.

The S&P 100 Equal Weight Index is designed to provide equal-weighted exposure to the securities of the largest 200 companies in the US equity market.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.25% 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 1.63%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector - about 17.6% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Boeing Co/the (BA) accounts for about 1.15% of the fund's total assets, followed by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT) and General Electric Co (GE).

The top 10 holdings account for about 10.99% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF return is roughly 2.31% so far, and was up about 16.52% over the last 12 months (as of 01/23/2026). EQWL has traded between $91.62 $120.89 in this past 52-week period.

EQWL has a beta of 0.91 and standard deviation of 13.11% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 104 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $761.95 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $847 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.

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 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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