Should You Invest in the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RSPU)?

The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RSPU), with $462.56 million in assets, aims to mirror the performance of the S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities Plus Index and has returned 11.39% YTD and 21.49% over the past year; however, Zacks Investment Research gives RSPU a "Sell" rating, suggesting that alternatives like Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) and Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), with lower expense ratios, may be better options for investors seeking exposure to the utilities sector.

Analysis

The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RSPU), a passively managed fund with $462.56 million in assets under management, offers exposure to the Utilities - Broad segment by equally weighting common stocks of S&P 500 utility companies. The Utilities - Broad sector is currently ranked 2nd out of 16 Zacks sectors, placing it in the top 13%. RSPU has delivered notable performance, with an 11.39% gain year-to-date and a 21.49% increase over the last year as of May 21, 2025, alongside a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.35%. However, the ETF's annual operating expense ratio is 0.40%, which is on par with some peers but significantly higher than prominent alternatives. The fund holds approximately 33 stocks, with the top 10 holdings accounting for 34.58% of total assets, led by NRG Energy Inc. at 3.89%. Despite its positive historical returns, Zacks Investment Research has assigned RSPU an ETF Rank of 4, signifying a "Sell" recommendation. This contrasts with alternative ETFs in the utilities space, such as the Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which have substantially larger asset bases ($7.01 billion and $19.05 billion, respectively) and markedly lower expense ratios (0.09% for VPU and 0.08% for XLU). The overall sentiment for RSPU is also noted as negative with a score of -0.4 from the provided signals.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Given RSPU's Zacks ETF Rank of 4 (Sell) and its 0.40% expense ratio, investors should critically assess existing positions and exercise caution before initiating new investments in this particular ETF.
• Investors seeking exposure to the utilities sector should consider exploring alternative, lower-cost ETFs such as the Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) or the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), which offer significantly lower expense ratios of 0.09% and 0.08% respectively, and possess much larger asset bases.
• While RSPU has demonstrated strong past performance, including an 11.39% year-to-date return, the current "Sell" rating and the availability of more cost-efficient peer funds suggest a potentially less favorable risk-adjusted return profile moving forward.