The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RSPU) made its debut on 11/01/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
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
RSPU is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $529.47 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs. Before fees and expenses, RSPU seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT UTILITIES PLUS INDX.
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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.40%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.35%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
RSPU's heaviest allocation is in the Utilities sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Aes Corp/the (AES) accounts for about 3.65% of total assets, followed by Consolidated Edison Inc (ED) and Edison International (EIX).
RSPU's top 10 holdings account for about 34.04% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 8.12% and it's up approximately 19.72% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 02/19/2026), respectively. RSPU has traded between $64.45 and $82.39 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.68 and standard deviation of 15.68% for the trailing three-year period. With about 34 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 State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) tracks Utilities Select Sector Index. Vanguard Utilities ETF has $8.45 billion in assets, State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF has $23.09 billion. VPU has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLU 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 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 ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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