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Is Invesco FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets ETF (PXH) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Invesco FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets ETF (PXH - Free Report) was launched on 09/27/2007, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

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.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

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. PXH has been able to amass assets over $1.33 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets Index.

The FTSE RAFI Emerging Index is designed to track the performance of the emerging market stocks with the highest ranking cumulative score, selected from the constituents of the FTSE Emerging Large/Mid Cap Index.

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.

Annual operating expenses for PXH are 0.49%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.82%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

When you look at individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd accounts for about 6.14% of the fund's total assets, followed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

The top 10 holdings account for about 28.01% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Invesco FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets ETF return is roughly 23.85% so far, and is up about 34.54% over the last 12 months (as of 10/03/2024). PXH has traded between $17.24 and $22.95 in this past 52-week period.

PXH has a beta of 0.73 and standard deviation of 17.52% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 411 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO - Free Report) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG - Free Report) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $86.37 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $86.78 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.08% and IEMG charges 0.09%.

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