Bigger does not always mean better and that is certainly true in the exchange traded funds business. Not that Guggenheim Investments is small. As of July 21, the company was home to nearly $31 billion in ETF assets under management, making it the eighth-largest U.S. ETF issuer.
Perhaps more impressive than that statistic is the number of Guggenheim ETFs that rank as the best across the various Morningstar style categories since the current bull market started in March 2009.
Guggenheim’s lineup of pure style ETFs is prominent among the top-performing funds in Morningstar’s various style boxes since the birth of the current bull market. Six such Guggenheim funds rank at or near the top of their respective Morningstar categories. A $60,000 investment ($10,000 in each) in each of those ETFs on March 10, 2009 would be worth over $329,000 today.
On March 10, the six-year anniversary of the bull market, it was noted that of the broad market funds of the 10 best ETFs since the current bull market commenced, all three hailed from the Guggenheim ETF suite, led by the Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Value ETF (NYSEArca: RPV). RPV targets the cheapest third of the S&P 500 Index and weights its holdings by the strength of their value characteristics,” according to Morningstar analyst Alex Bryan.
Since March 10, 2009 through July 16, RPV has delivered an average annualized returns of almost 35.4%, turning a $10,000 investment into almost $68,400, according to Morningstar data. That is enough to make RPV the best-performing ETF that fits into Morningstar’s large value box. [Celebrating the Bull Market With ETFs]
The Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEArca: RSP), the equal-weight answer to traditional S&P 500 ETFs, has delivered average annualized returns of 26.1%, according to Mornigstar data. A $10,000 investment in RSP on March 10, 2009 would be worth over $43,000 today. RSP, the best ETF in the Morningstar large blend category over the aforementioned period, has generated an average annualized return of 9.4% over the past 10-years, whereas the market-cap-weighted S&P 500 Index has returned an average 8%.
While equal-weight ETFs have been more than legitimized over the years, some critics allege that the advantages of these products are solely tied to deeper exposure to small-caps and/or value stocks. However, three is an on an oft-overlooked driver of returns to equal-weight ETFs: Rebalancing. Efficient rebalancing of equal-weight ETFs, either sector or broad market funds, not only drives returns, but also helps these ETFs steer clear of concentration risk. [How to Evaluate ETFs]
In the large growth category, Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF (NYSEArca: RPG) ranks with average annualized gains of 27.7% since March 10, 2009. [Grabbing for Growth ETFs]
Guggenheim ETFs are also prominent across the Morningstar mid-cap categories with the Guggenheim Spin-Off ETF (NYSEArca: CSD) and the Guggenheim S&P Midcap 400 Pure Growth ETF (NYSEArca: RFG) topping Morningstar’s mid blend and mid growth categories. If the Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Value ETF (NYSEArca: RFV) was categorized as a mid-cap value ETF, it would lead that pack with post-March 10, 2009 average annualized gains of 31.4%.
RFV was among the Guggenheim broad market funds found among the 10 best ETFs since March 10, 2009. Guggenheim has four ETFs on the top 10 since March 2009 list, double the amount of any other issuer. Of the top 50 non-leveraged ETFs since the start of the bull market six years ago, 10 are Guggenheim funds, including all six of the firm’s pure style ETFs. [Advantages of Smart Beta ETFs]
Among small-cap ETFs, the Guggenheim S&P Smallcap 600 Pure Value ETF (NYSEArca: RZV) has turned $10,000 into nearly $66,600, leading Morningstar’s small value group, since March 10, 2009. The Guggenheim S&P Smallcap 600Pure Growth ETF (NYSEArca: RZG) is the top-performing small-cap growth ETF over that period with average annualized gains of almost 29.3%, according to Morningstar data.
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of RSP.