The PowerShares S&P 500 High Beta Portolio (NYSEArca: SPHB) “has been part of the Lunt strategy since early 2013, when it replaced SPLV. SPHB also currently has high stakes in Financials stocks, but also in Energy and Consumer Discretionary,” according to S&P Capital IQ.
SPHB, which S&P Capital IQ rates overweight, does not command the attention that SPLV does, but the former has nearly $553 million in assets. SPHB has outperformed SPLV and USMV this year.
The other high beta play is the PowerShares S&P International Developed High Beta Portfolio (NYSEArca: IDHB), rated marketweight by S&P Capital IQ. Although IDHB is framed as a more exciting version of a plain vanilla developed markets ETF, it is not excessively risky at the country level as Japan, Sweden, the U.K. and Germany combine for nearly two-thirds of the ETF’s weight.
IDHB’s elevated beta comes by virtue of its combined 57% weight to financial services and materials stocks. The ETF is up nearly 5% this year.
PowerShares S&P International Developed High Beta Portfolio
