Launched on 12/23/2014, the Invesco Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF (EQAL) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $809.88 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, EQAL seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Equal Weight Index.
The Russell 1000 Equal Weight Index is composed of securities in the Russell 1000 Index and is equally weighted across nine sector groups with each security within the sector receiving equal weight.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.20%.
EQAL's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.69%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For EQAL, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 14% of the portfolio --while Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Iridium Communications Inc (IRDM) accounts for about 0.88% of total assets, followed by Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) and Lumentum Holdings Inc (LITE).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 6.03% of EQAL's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 13.36% so far this year and was up about 20.05% in the last one year (as of 07/14/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $49.29 and $59.55
EQAL has a beta of 0.90 and standard deviation of 14.71% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 993 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Invesco Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $887.33 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $981.42 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.
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 - Large Cap Blend
Bottom Line
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Invesco Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF (EQAL): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).