Should You Invest in the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF (RYF)?
Looking for broad exposure to the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF (RYF), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 11/01/2006.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Financials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 10, placing it in bottom 38%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $258.53 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market. RYF seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials Index is an unmanaged equal weighted version of the S&P 500 Financials Index that consists of the common stocks of the following industries: banks, diversified financials, brokerage, asset manage-ment insurance and real estate, including investment trusts that comprise the Financials sector of the S&P 500 Index.
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 0.40%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.16%.
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 in the Financials sector--about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Assurant Inc (AIZ) accounts for about 1.72% of total assets, followed by S&p Global Inc (SPGI) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc/the (GS).
The top 10 holdings account for about 15.98% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 21.65% so far this year and was up about 0.96% in the last one year (as of 09/25/2019). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $34.13 and $45.22.
The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 16.02% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 68 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, RYF is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) tracks Financial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Financials ETF has $7.52 B in assets, Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund has $22.32 B. VFH has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLF charges 0.13%.
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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Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF (RYF): ETF Research Reports
S&P Global Inc. (SPGI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH): ETF Research Reports
Assurant, Inc. (AIZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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