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Should Invesco DWA SmallCap Momentum ETF (DWAS) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the Invesco DWA SmallCap Momentum ETF (DWAS - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 07/19/2012.

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $448.34 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

Sitting at a market capitalization below $2 billion, small cap companies tend to be high-potential stocks compared to its large and mid cap counterparts, but come with higher risk.

Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.

Costs

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 this ETF are 0.60%, making it one of the most expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.20%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a 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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Healthcare sector--about 35.60% of the portfolio. Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Caredx Inc (CDNA - Free Report) accounts for about 2.62% of total assets, followed by Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc and Inogen Inc (INGN - Free Report) .

Performance and Risk

DWAS seeks to match the performance of the Dorsey Wright SmallCap Technical Leaders Index before fees and expenses. The Index Provider determines a company?s relative strength characteristics based on that company market performance. The Index Provider selects approximately 200 companies for inclusion in the Underlying Index from a small-cap universe of approximately 2,000 of the smallest U.S. companies selected from a broader set of 3,000 companies.

The ETF has added about 18.02% so far this year and was up about 28.88% in the last one year (as of 09/18/2018). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $45.28 and $59.39.

The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 17.79% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 200 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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.