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Should Invesco RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Invesco RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ - Free Report) was launched on September 20, 2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $2.68 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

There's a lot of potential to investing in small cap companies, but with market capitalization below $2 billion, that high potential comes with even higher risk.

Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.34%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.83%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Healthcare sector -- about 19.6% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Ati Inc (ATI) accounts for about 0.46% of total assets, followed by Revolution Medicines Inc (RVMD) and Roivant Sciences Ltd (ROIV).

The top 10 holdings account for about 4.02% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

PRFZ seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Index before fees and expenses. The RAFI Fundamental Select US 1500 Index tracks the performance of small and medium-sized US companies, based on the four fundamental measures of size: book value, cash flow, sales and dividends.

The ETF has added roughly 17.02% so far this year and is up roughly 17.06% in the last one year (as of 10/07/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $42.75 and $56.84.

The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 19.79% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1503 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, PRFZ is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $78.84 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $104.09 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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