This ETF offers exposure to the U.S. materials sector, a corner of the domestic economy that includes companies engaged in the extraction and production of various natural resources (and therefore potentially useful as a means of establishing “indirect” commodity exposure through commodity-intensive companies). Given the sector-specific focus, PYZ likely doesn’t deserve a core allocation, but may be useful as a means of implementing a tactical tilt towards the materials sector. PYZ is unique within this category due to the nature of the underlying index; this fund is part of the PowerShares Intellidex suite, seeking to replicate an index that employs quant-based screening techniques to identify companies deemed to maintain the greatest potential for capital appreciation. In return for exposure to this strategy, which has historically delivered impressive returns, investors can expect to pay a bit more; PYZ’s expense ratio is about 40 basis points higher than low cost options for materials exposure such as FBM and XLB. The unique index construction methodology has some other potential advantages; PYZ maintains much lower concentration of top holdings than do cap-weighted funds such as FBM and XLB. That means that performance isn’t as dependent on a handful of large cap stocks, potentially giving a better way to access materials. For those who believe in the merits of the Intellidex methodology and willing to pay a little extra for a shot at alpha, PYZ might be worth a closer look (First Trust’s FXZ maintains a similar objective; a comparison of these two funds and a third cap-weighted or equal-weighted option from the Materials ETFdb Category is probably a good idea for those considering an investment). Those looking to keep a cap on expenses and simply own the broader market have cheaper options available to them.