Yahoo Finance Is Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ) made its debut on 09/20/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend 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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $1.91 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. PRFZ is managed by Invesco. PRFZ seeks to match the performance of the FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Index before fees and expenses.
The FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid Index is comprised of approximately 1,500 U.S. stocks. The FTSE US 1500 Small-Mid Index is designed to track the performance of small and medium-sized U.S. equity stocks selected based on the following four fundamental measures of firm size: book value, income, cash flow and dividends.
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 0.39% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
PRFZ's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.38%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 17.10% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Super Micro Computer Inc (SMCI) accounts for about 0.22% of the fund's total assets, followed by Coty Inc (COTY) and Exact Sciences Corp (EXAS).
PRFZ's top 10 holdings account for about 2.09% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 0.36% so far this year and is down about -2.82% in the last one year (as of 05/09/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $145.71 and $179.35.
PRFZ has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 24.20% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1499 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Invesco FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) tracks Russell 2000 Index and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. IShares Russell 2000 ETF has $48.30 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $63.92 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Small Cap Blend.
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 FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid ETF (PRFZ): ETF Research Reports
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM): ETF Research Reports
Coty (COTY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Exact Sciences Corporation (EXAS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR): ETF Research Reports
