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Is Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 06/23/2005, smart beta exchange traded fund Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Health Care ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Invesco, PJP has amassed assets over $333.50 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. PJP, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index.

The Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index is comprised of stocks of U.S. pharmaceutical companies. It is designed to provide capital appreciation by thoroughly evaluating companies based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including fundamental growth, stock valuation, investment timeliness and risk factors.

Cost & Other Expenses

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.56%.

PJP's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.95%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

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

When you look at individual holdings, Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc (ENTA - Free Report) accounts for about 5.74% of the fund's total assets, followed by Eli Lilly & Co (LLY - Free Report) and Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 47.95% of PJP's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -0.61% so far this year and is up about 3.61% in the last one year (as of 12/09/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $69.08 and $83.54.

The ETF has a beta of 0.69 and standard deviation of 22.33% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 27 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Health Care ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index and the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH - Free Report) tracks MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index. IShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF has $421.85 million in assets, VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF has $593.69 million. IHE has an expense ratio of 0.39% and PPH charges 0.35%.

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