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.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
RSPF is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $318.43 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Financials ETFs. RSPF, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT FINANCIALS INDEX .
The S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials Index equally weights stocks in the financial sector of the S&P 500 Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.40% for RSPF, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
RSPF's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.22%.
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.
For RSPF, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Invesco Ltd (IVZ) accounts for about 1.86% of the fund's total assets, followed by Coinbase Global Inc (COIN) and Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG).
The top 10 holdings account for about 15.71% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, RSPF has added about 6.62%, and was up about 9.25% in the last one year (as of 10/14/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $63.23 and $78.61.
The ETF has a beta of 0.97 and standard deviation of 16.88% for the trailing three-year period. With about 76 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 $12.86 billion in assets, Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $52.77 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.
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Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF (RSPF): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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