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Is Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF (EQWL) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market, the Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF (EQWL - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 12/01/2006.

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.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

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. EQWL has been able to amass assets over $917.14 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. EQWL, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Russell Top 200 Equal Weight Index.

The S&P 100 Equal Weight Index is designed to provide equal-weighted exposure to the securities of the largest 200 companies in the US equity market.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for EQWL are 0.25%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.79%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Representing 19.20% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Caterpillar Inc (CAT - Free Report) accounts for about 1.12% of the fund's total assets, followed by Intel Corp (INTC - Free Report) and Meta Platforms Inc (META - Free Report) .

EQWL's top 10 holdings account for about 11% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, EQWL has added roughly 22.06%, and is up about 34.82% in the last one year (as of 11/07/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $78.54 and $105.45.

The ETF has a beta of 0.97 and standard deviation of 15.56% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 102 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $560.87 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $612.50 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY 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 Style Box - Large 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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