Guggenheim Investments has placed 16 ETFs on E*TRADE’s commission-free trading platform including the $11.8bn Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSE: RSP). Investors will also be able to trade commission-free on the firm’s suite of S&P 500 Equal Weight Sector ETFs, US mid-cap and small-cap ETFs and an emerging markets equal country-weighted ETF.
RSP launched in 2003, becoming one of the industry’s first ETFs to offer a smart beta solution to a major index exposure. Equal-weight ETFs seek to provide greater diversification and enhanced performance potential compared to similar market cap-weighted exposures. In theory, giving greater weight to the smaller names of the S&P 500 in an equal-weight portfolio may increase the return potential due to greater exposure to the higher risk premium associated with smaller-cap firms. However, the strategy will bear relatively higher trading costs.
William Belden, Managing Director and Head of ETF Product Development at Guggenheim Investments, commented: “Guggenheim’s participation in E*TRADE’s Commission-Free ETF platform underscores our ongoing commitment to providing investors access to innovative solutions through our distinctive ETF product line. Equal weight strategies represent an alternative to traditional cap-weighted strategies, which have several potential drawbacks.”
Cap-weighting can lead to overconcentration in a small group of the index’s largest stocks. Additionally, cap-weighting can cause a bias towards companies that have experienced growth runs. This may hinder performance by overweighting overvalued stocks and, conversely, underweighting undervalued ones.”
Lena Haas, SVP, Investing at E*TRADE Financial, added: “Equal-weight ETFs can reduce the outsized influence large companies have on ETF returns by giving each underlying security, regardless of size, equal weight. This approach can allow even small companies the opportunity to generate material returns for the fund, adding yet another tool for investors looking to potentially increase returns or reduce risk. With the addition of 14 Guggenheim Equal Weight ETFs to E*TRADE’s Commission-Free ETF platform, we continue in our pursuit to offer our customers a robust range of investment choices that are commission-free to trade.”
Guggenheim has also added an actively managed fixed income ETF and a global infrastructure equities ETF to E*TRADE’s commission-free line-up.
The Guggenheim Total Return Bond ETF (NYSE: GTO) provides investors a way to access Guggenheim’s actively managed fixed-income capabilities to seek maximum total return in an ETF format.
The Guggenheim S&P High Income Infrastructure ETF (NYSE: GHII) is the first yield-weighted global infrastructure ETF, which may help investors seeking alternative sources of income in a low interest-rate environment.
The Guggenheim ETFs now available on E*TRADE’s commission-free platform are:
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP)
Guggenheim MSCI Emerging Markets Equal Country Weight (EWEM)
Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Equal Weight ETF (EWMC)
Guggenheim S&P Small Cap 600 Equal Weight ETF (EWSC)
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF (RCD)
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF (RHS)
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Energy ETF (RYE)
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF (RYF)
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF (RYH)
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Industrials ETF (RGI)
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Materials ETF (RTM)
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Real Estate ETF (EWRE)
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Technology ETF (RYT)
Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RYU)
Guggenheim Total Return Bond ETF (GTO)
Guggenheim S&P High Income Infrastructure ETF (GHII)