Is Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO) a Strong ETF Right Now?

A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO) debuted on 12/06/2005, and offers broad exposure to the Industrials ETFs category of the market.What Are Smart Beta ETFs?The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.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.Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.Fund Sponsor & IndexPHO is managed by Invesco, and this fund has amassed over $2.14 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. PHO seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ OMX US Water Index before fees and expenses.The NASDAQ OMX US Water Index tracks the performance of US exchange-listed companies that create products designed to conserve and purify water for homes, businesses and industries.Cost & Other ExpensesWhen considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.59%.PHO's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.48%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.Representing 62.90% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector; Information Technology and Utilities round out the top three.Looking at individual holdings, Ferguson Enterprises Inc (FERG) accounts for about 7.86% of total assets, followed by Roper Technologies Inc (ROP) and Ecolab Inc (ECL).PHO's top 10 holdings account for about 57.56% of its total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF has gained about 4.63% and is up roughly 2.48% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 05/28/2025), respectively. PHO has traded between $58.13 and $72.14 during this last 52-week period.The fund has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 19.01% for the trailing three-year period, which makes PHO a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 40 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.AlternativesInvesco Water Resources ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF (CGW) tracks S&P GLOBAL WATER INDEX and the First Trust Water ETF (FIW) tracks ISE Clean Edge Water Index. Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF has $962.85 million in assets, First Trust Water ETF has $1.83 billion. CGW has an expense ratio of 0.56% and FIW charges 0.53%.Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Industrials ETFs.Bottom LineTo learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.Get it free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Invesco Water Resources ETF (PHO): ETF Research Reports Ecolab Inc. (ECL): Free Stock Analysis Report Roper Technologies, Inc. (ROP): Free Stock Analysis Report Invesco S&P Global Water Index ETF (CGW): ETF Research Reports First Trust Water ETF (FIW): ETF Research Reports Ferguson plc (FERG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks