The Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF (EQWL) was launched on 12/01/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
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.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of 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
Because the fund has amassed over $1.06 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. EQWL is managed by Invesco. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund 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
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.25%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.86%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 17.30% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Healthcare and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Broadcom Inc (AVGO) accounts for about 1.20% of total assets, followed by General Electric Co (GE) and 3m Co (MMM).
The top 10 holdings account for about 11.29% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF has lost about -0.09% so far, and is up about 11.48% over the last 12 months (as of 03/13/2025). EQWL has traded between $90.17 and $108.28 in this past 52-week period.
EQWL has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 15.11% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund 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.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) tracks S&P 500 Index. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $584.98 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $591.07 billion. VOO 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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Get it free >>Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF (EQWL): ETF Research Reports
GE Aerospace (GE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
3M Company (MMM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
