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Is Invesco RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 09/20/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund Invesco RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Invesco, and has been able to amass over $2.68 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, PRFZ seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Index.
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.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.36% for PRFZ, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.84%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
PRFZ's heaviest allocation is in the Healthcare sector, which is about 18.3% of the portfolio. Its Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, 10x Genomics Inc (TXG) accounts for about 0.51% of the fund's total assets, followed by Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc (IOVA) and Maxlinear Inc (MXL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 4.03% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 16.6% and was up about 18.17% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/03/2026), respectively. PRFZ has traded between $42.75 and $56.84 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 19.66% for the trailing three-year period, which makes PRFZ a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 1498 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Invesco RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF (VB) tracks CRSP US Small Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF has $79.06 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $106.1 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.03% and IJR changes 0.06%.
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 - Small 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 Invesco RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 09/20/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund Invesco RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Invesco, and has been able to amass over $2.68 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, PRFZ seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Index.
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.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.36% for PRFZ, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.84%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
PRFZ's heaviest allocation is in the Healthcare sector, which is about 18.3% of the portfolio. Its Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, 10x Genomics Inc (TXG) accounts for about 0.51% of the fund's total assets, followed by Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc (IOVA) and Maxlinear Inc (MXL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 4.03% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 16.6% and was up about 18.17% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/03/2026), respectively. PRFZ has traded between $42.75 and $56.84 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 19.66% for the trailing three-year period, which makes PRFZ a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 1498 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Invesco RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF (VB) tracks CRSP US Small Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF has $79.06 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $106.1 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.03% and IJR changes 0.06%.
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 - Small 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.