Invesco PowerShares Capital Management’s PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio, which was launched one year ago, has attracted the highest monthly inflows of all ETFs listed in 2011.
Listed on 5 May, 2011, the PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio was the first volatility-weighted ETF available to US investors and currently has over USD1.5 billion in AUM.
Since inception, the PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio has outperformed the S&P 500 Index market-cap weighted benchmark while delivering lower volatility. For the one-year period ending 5 May, 2012, SPLV achieved a total return of 11.57% based on NAV, significantly outperforming the S&P 500 Index which had a total return of 4.80% during the same period. (note:total return figures include all dividends). Additionally, SPLV had a volatility of 16.14%, compared to 23.12% for the S&P 500 Index over the same period.
“Investors’ affinity for low volatility investment strategies is driven by the potential to provide improved risk adjusted returns over long term market cycles,” says Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs. “One of the central themes of the low volatility strategy is the potential for a degree of downside protection in falling markets, while seeking to maintain upside participation. We are very pleased with the initial performance for the PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (SPLV) and believe the recent addition of PowerShares low volatility ETFs for emerging and international developed markets (EELV, IDLV) can provide investors with efficient access to this investment approach on a global level.”
