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Is ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL - Free Report) made its debut on 07/07/2009, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides 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.
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.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
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
The fund is sponsored by Alps. It has amassed assets over $758.22 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, EQL seeks to match the performance of the NYSE Select Sector Equal Weight Index.
The VettaFi Modelist Equal Weight Sector 500 Index seeks to track the performance of U.S. large-capitalization equities by allocating equal weight across economic sectors, while maintaining float-adjusted market capitalization weighting within each sector.
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.
Annual operating expenses for EQL are 0.19%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
EQL's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.35%.
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.
Representing 28.8% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Information Technology and Energy round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) accounts for about 4.88% of the fund's total assets, followed by Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Exxonmobil Holdings Corp. (XOM).
EQL's top 10 holdings account for about 23.23% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 11.24% and it's up approximately 13.21% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/23/2026), respectively. EQL has traded between $44.77 and $52.50 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.84 and standard deviation of 11.91% for the trailing three-year period, which makes EQL a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 499 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
ALPS Equal Sector 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 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $860.27 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1061.97 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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Is ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL - Free Report) made its debut on 07/07/2009, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides 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.
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.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
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
The fund is sponsored by Alps. It has amassed assets over $758.22 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, EQL seeks to match the performance of the NYSE Select Sector Equal Weight Index.
The VettaFi Modelist Equal Weight Sector 500 Index seeks to track the performance of U.S. large-capitalization equities by allocating equal weight across economic sectors, while maintaining float-adjusted market capitalization weighting within each sector.
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.
Annual operating expenses for EQL are 0.19%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
EQL's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.35%.
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.
Representing 28.8% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Information Technology and Energy round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) accounts for about 4.88% of the fund's total assets, followed by Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Exxonmobil Holdings Corp. (XOM).
EQL's top 10 holdings account for about 23.23% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 11.24% and it's up approximately 13.21% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/23/2026), respectively. EQL has traded between $44.77 and $52.50 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.84 and standard deviation of 11.91% for the trailing three-year period, which makes EQL a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 499 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
ALPS Equal Sector 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 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $860.27 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1061.97 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.