Launched on 11/01/2006, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RSPU) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs 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.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
RSPU is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $378.58 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT UTILITIES PLUS INDX before fees and expenses.
The S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities Plus Index equally weights the common stocks of all companies included in the S&P 500 Index that are classified as members of the utilities sector.
Cost & Other Expenses
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.40% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.65%.
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.
Representing 100% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Utilities sector.
Looking at individual holdings, Exelon Corp (EXC) accounts for about 3.77% of total assets, followed by Entergy Corp (ETR) and Ameren Corp (AEE).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 35.49% of RSPU's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF has lost about -1.24% so far, and is up roughly 17.16% over the last 12 months (as of 04/09/2025). RSPU has traded between $54.05 and $71.48 in this past 52-week period.
RSPU has a beta of 0.56 and standard deviation of 18.10% for the trailing three-year period. With about 33 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.
Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) tracks Utilities Select Sector Index. Vanguard Utilities ETF has $6.24 billion in assets, Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF has $16.58 billion. VPU has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLU charges 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 Utilities/Infrastructure 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 Utilities ETF (RSPU): ETF Research Reports Exelon Corporation (EXC): Free Stock Analysis Report Ameren Corporation (AEE): Free Stock Analysis Report Entergy Corporation (ETR): Free Stock Analysis Report Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU): ETF Research Reports Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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