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Is Invesco Semiconductors ETF (PSI) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Invesco Semiconductors ETF (PSI - Free Report) debuted on 06/23/2005, and offers broad exposure to the Technology ETFs 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.

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.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

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.

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. PSI has been able to amass assets over $633.93 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Dynamic Semiconductor Intellidex Index.

The Dynamic Semiconductor Intellidex Index is comprised of stocks of semiconductor companies. The Index 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

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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.57%.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.43%.

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.

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

Looking at individual holdings, Intel Corp (INTC - Free Report) accounts for about 5.65% of total assets, followed by Micron Technology Inc (MU - Free Report) and Broadcom Inc (AVGO - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 47.89% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Invesco Semiconductors ETF has lost about -7.13% so far, and was up about 38.24% over the last 12 months (as of 01/08/2024). PSI has traded between $35.68 and $50.06 in this past 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 1.42 and standard deviation of 35.95% for the trailing three-year period, which makes PSI a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 31 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

Invesco Semiconductors ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

IShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) tracks PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. IShares Semiconductor ETF has $9.70 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $11.22 billion. SOXX has an expense ratio of 0.35% and SMH 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 Technology 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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