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Is Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RSPU) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RSPU - Free Report) was launched on 11/01/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs 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.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

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 managed by Invesco, and has been able to amass over $578.48 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT UTILITIES PLUS INDX.

The S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities Plus Index equally weights the common stocks of all companies included in the S&P 500 Index that are classified as members of the utilities sector.

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 0.40%.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.48%.

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.

Representing 100% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Utilities sector.

Taking into account individual holdings, Edison International (EIX) accounts for about 3.66% of the fund's total assets, followed by Pg&e Corp (PCG) and Consolidated Edison Inc (ED).

The top 10 holdings account for about 34.3% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 7.32% so far this year and it's up approximately 21.87% in the last one year (as of 04/22/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $69.08 and $84.43

The fund has a beta of 0.65 and standard deviation of 15.36% for the trailing three-year period. With about 33 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .

Alternatives

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.

Vanguard Utilities Index Fund ETF Shares (VPU) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index and the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) tracks Utilities Select Sector Index. Vanguard Utilities Index Fund ETF Shares has $8.55 billion in assets, State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF has $24.21 billion. VPU has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLU changes 0.08%.

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