Launched on 05/14/2007, the Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF (CGW) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Industrials - Water segment of the equity market.
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Industrials - Water is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 10, placing it in bottom 38%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $960.64 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Industrials - Water segment of the equity market. CGW seeks to match the performance of the S&P GLOBAL WATER INDEX before fees and expenses.
The S&P Global Water Index comprises of developed market securities including water utilities, infrastructure, equipment, instruments and materials.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.56%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.02%.
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.
Looking at individual holdings, Xylem Inc/ny (XYL) accounts for about 8.04% of total assets, followed by American Water Works Co Inc (AWK) and Cia De Saneamento Basico Do Estado De Sao Paulo Sabesp (SBSP3).
The top 10 holdings account for about 53.22% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF has added about 12.21% so far, and is up about 4.96% over the last 12 months (as of 05/20/2025). CGW has traded between $51.36 and $61.20 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 17.72% for the trailing three-year period, making it a low risk choice in the space. With about 73 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, CGW is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
First Trust Water ETF (FIW) tracks ISE Clean Edge Water Index and the Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO) tracks NASDAQ OMX US Water Index. First Trust Water ETF has $1.84 billion in assets, Invesco Water Resources ETF has $2.16 billion. FIW has an expense ratio of 0.53% and PHO charges 0.59%.
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 Global Water Index ETF (CGW): ETF Research Reports American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK): Free Stock Analysis Report First Trust Water ETF (FIW): ETF Research Reports Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO): ETF Research Reports Xylem Inc. (XYL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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