A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF (RSPF) debuted on 11/01/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Financials ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
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.
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
RSPF is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $321.89 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Financials ETFs. RSPF 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 equally weights stocks in the financial sector of the S&P 500 Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.40%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.20%.
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.
RSPF's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Coinbase Global Inc (COIN) accounts for about 1.84% of the fund's total assets, followed by Northern Trust Corp (NTRS) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc/the (GS).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 15.19% of RSPF's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 6.68% so far this year and is up about 22.11% in the last one year (as of 08/13/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $63.23 and $78.13
The fund has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 17.19% for the trailing three-year period. With about 74 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Financials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index and the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) tracks Financial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Financials ETF has $12.62 billion in assets, Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $52.32 billion. VFH has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLF changes 0.08%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Financials 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.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF (RSPF): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
