Designed to provide broad exposure to the Utilities/Infrastructure ETFs category of the market, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RSPU) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 11/01/2006.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
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.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
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.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Invesco. RSPU has been able to amass assets over $525.63 million, making 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
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.40% for RSPU, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.66%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. 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.
When you look at individual holdings, Aes Corp/the (AES) accounts for about 3.46% of the fund's total assets, followed by Pinnacle West Capital Corp (PNW) and Evergy Inc (EVRG).
The top 10 holdings account for about 33.16% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 4.68% and is up about 0.97% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 10/30/2026), respectively. RSPU has traded between $69.62 and $84.43 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.55 and standard deviation of 15.23% 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 Index Fund ETF Shares (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 Index Fund ETF Shares has $8.38 billion in assets, State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF has $24.08 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 Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
