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Is Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market, the Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 10/18/2012.

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.

On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.

While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by Invesco, and has been able to amass over $3.46 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, SPHD seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Low Volatility High Dividend Index.

The S&P 500 Low Volatility High Dividend Index comprises of 50 securities traded on the S&P 500 Index that historically have provided high dividend yields and low volatility.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.30%.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Real Estate sector - about 20.20% of the portfolio. Utilities and Consumer Staples round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Altria Group Inc (MO - Free Report) accounts for about 3.19% of total assets, followed by Crown Castle Inc (CCI - Free Report) and Verizon Communications Inc (VZ - Free Report) .

SPHD's top 10 holdings account for about 27.4% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 3.36% and it's up approximately 16.73% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/24/2025), respectively. SPHD has traded between $42.08 and $51.75 during this last 52-week period.

SPHD has a beta of 0.85 and standard deviation of 14.50% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 52 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $69.41 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $133.01 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.04%.

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 Value.

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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