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Is Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF (RSPD) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 11/01/2006, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF (RSPD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary 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.

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.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $353.76 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Consumer Discretionary ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 EQL WEIGHT CONS DISCRETIONARY ID.

The S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary Index equally weights stocks in the consumer discretionary sector of the S&P 500 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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.40%.

RSPD's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.82%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Discretionary sector - about 100% of the portfolio.

Taking into account individual holdings, Tapestry Inc (TPR - Free Report) accounts for about 2.33% of the fund's total assets, followed by Ebay Inc (EBAY - Free Report) and Darden Restaurants Inc (DRI - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 21.91% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 2.81% so far this year and it's up approximately 18.63% in the last one year (as of 01/29/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $45.16 and $56.13.

RSPD has a beta of 1.38 and standard deviation of 22.61% for the trailing three-year period. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Discretionary ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY - Free Report) tracks Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index. Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF has $6.84 billion in assets, Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF has $24.05 billion. VCR has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLY 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 Consumer Discretionary 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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