Equal weighting provides increased diversification compared to their market cap-weighted counterparts and have historically fared well – as demonstrated last month when the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index outperformed the S&P 500 by 2%.
Funds that weight each security equally are picking up steam; however, investors are missing out on another opportunity: funds that weight equally by sector, such as the ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL).
EQL offers exposure to the domestic equity market but utilizes a unique methodology to access this asset class. Each sector of the economy receives an equal weight in EQL, a strategy that results in a drastically different composition relative to market cap-weighted products such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY).
EQL is designed to offer more balanced exposure than its market cap-weighted peers and has the added benefit of avoiding the potentially adverse impact of rallies or crashes in specific sectors of the economy, according to ETF Database.
The fund has outperformed the FactSet Segment Average amid the recent market turbulence. EQL has returned -3.65% over a one-month period compared to its peers’ average of -4.58%. Year-to-date, EQL has returned -6.89% compared to its peers’ average return of -8.48% during the same period, according to ETF Database.
EQL uses a fund of funds approach and tracks the NYSE Equal Sector Weight Index, an index comprising all active Select Sector SPDR ETFs in an equal-weighted portfolio.
EQL has a net expense ratio of 28 basis points.
While up on Wednesday afternoon with the markets, EQL is still trading lower than its 20-day and 60-day moving averages, making now a great time to add exposure to the fund for a deal.
For more news, information, and strategy, visit the ETF Building Blocks Channel.
