PowerShares has launched five new ETFs for public investment Friday, October 9th. Together, these ETFs cover a broad spectrum of investment styles and asset classes. Value plays, tactical sector rotations, momentum strategies, emerging markets and currency hedges are all addressed in the ETFs below.
PowerShares S&P 500 Momentum Portfolio (SPMO )
SPMO is based on the S&P 500 Momentum Index and is composed of stocks within the S&P 500 that have a high “momentum score”. The “momentum score” is a combination of technical indicators such as moving price averages, speed of price changes and stability of price direction. These indicators suggest sustainable stock price appreciation. The fund is rebalanced twice per year.
Top 5 Sectors:
- Consumer Discretionary 32.56%
- Health Care 27.99%
- Consumer Staples 17.57%
- Information Technology 10.91%
- Industrials 4.85%
Top 5 Holdings:
PowerShares S&P 500 Value Portfolio (SPVU )
SPVU is based on the S&P 500 Enhanced Value Index and is composed of stocks within the S&P 500 that have the highest “value score”. The “value score” is a combination of metrics that gauge a company’s cash flow, credit worthiness, value of underlying assets and leadership. These metrics create an overall score of “value” based upon current stock prices. The fund is rebalanced twice per year.
Top 5 Sectors:
- Financials 39.68%
- Energy 19.43%
- Consumer Discretionary 8.91%
- Consumer Staples 7.95%
- Utilities 6.82%
Top 5 Holdings:
PowerShares Developed EuroPacific Currency Hedged Low Volatility Portfolio (FXEP )
FXEP is composed of the 200 least volatile stocks in the S&P EPAC ex. Korea Low Volatility USD Hedged Index. The constituents of the fund are weighted based upon their inverse volatility, so the assets with the least volatility receive the highest exposure in FXEP. After the asset weighting is complete, the fund then hedges 100% of the currency risk using rolling one month forward contracts. The fund is rebalanced each quarter.
Top 5 Sectors:
- Financials 40%
- Industrials 17.95%
- Consumer Discretionary 10.96%
- Consumer Staples 9.81%
- Utilities 8.75%
Top 5 Holdings (ex. Currency):
- (MAN) MAN SE 1.29%
- (2638*) HK Electric Investments – SS 0.96%
- (SPH) Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. 0.94%
- (STH) StarHub Ltd. 0.77%
- (2*) CLP Holdings Ltd. 0.75%
*These are numeric listings for the Japanese Stock Exchange.
PowerShares Japan Currency Hedged Low Volatility Portfolio (FXJP )
FXJP is composed of the 100 least volatile stocks in the S&P Japan 500 Low Volatility USD Hedged Index. It’s similar to FXEP in that the holdings of the fund are weighted based upon their inverse volatility, so the assets with the least volatility receive the highest exposure in FXJP. After the asset weighting is complete, the fund then hedges 100% of the currency risk using rolling one month forward contracts. The fund is rebalanced each quarter.
Top 5 Holdings (ex. Currency):
- (2702*) McDonald’s Holdings Co Japan 1.77%
- (2811*) Kagome Co Ltd. 1.64%
- (9601*) Shochiku Co Ltd. 1.32%
- (5012*) TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK 1.23%
- (4716*) Oracle Corp Japan 1.17%
*These are numeric listings for the Japanese Stock Exchange.
PowerShares DWA Tactical Sector Rotation Portfolio (DWTR )
DWTR is based on the Dorsey Wright Sector 4 Index and is essentially a “fund of funds”, meaning that DWTR invests in other ETFs instead of securities directly. The fund is designed to rotate into the strongest sectors in the US in order to profit while they increase in value.
Top Holdings:
