Shares of the PowerShares Global Listed Private Equity Portfolio (NYSEArca: PSP) are flat Wednesday, not a bad showing following news that the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or CalPERS, will slash the number of private equity managers working with the largest U.S. public pension plan.
The number is expected to fall to 120 from nearly 400. It may take more than that to derail PSP, one of the highest yielding ETFs a lot of investors have never heard of. PSP is up 20% this year after finishing 2012 as the second-best non-leveraged market ETF. [10 ETFs With the Highest Dividend Yields]
The $492.8 million ETF is knocking on the door of its 2011 highs and if it runs through there, upside could be significant.
“If PSP can clear the highs of 2011, it could potentially run to $16 with little overhead resistance,” writes Deron Wagner of Morpheus Trading Group. “On the shorter-term daily chart below, we see a pretty tight range has developed above all the major moving averages. The price action has tightened up nicely, along with higher lows in the base. The 20-day EMA has crossed back above the 50-day MA (bullish moving average crossover) and both indicators are trending higher.”
PSP’s lineup includes securities, ADRs and GDRs of 40 to 75 private equity companies, including business development companies (BDCs), master limited partnerships (MLPs) and related entities.