While Everyone Owned the S&P 500, This Simpler ETF Was the Better Buy in Early 2026

For the past 3 years, owning the S&P 500 done a money similar the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) was the evident prime arsenic mega-cap exertion companies drove the bulk of the index's returns successful 2023, 2024, and done astir of 2025, rewarding investors who stayed concentrated successful the largest names.

• Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) returned 18% successful 2025 by concentrating 33% of assets successful technology, portion Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) returned 11% with tech astatine conscionable 15% of its portfolio and adjacent weighting crossed each 500 companies astatine 0.2% each.

• In aboriginal 2026, equal-weight outperformed cap-weight arsenic exertion dragged and gains dispersed crossed 8 of eleven S&P 500 sectors, demonstrating that RSP’s plan becomes advantageous erstwhile marketplace information broadens alternatively than concentrating successful mega-cap names.

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As a result, the S&P 500 returned astir 18% successful 2025, portion the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSE:RSP) returned lone astir 11% implicit the aforesaid period. By each accounts, this ETF wasn't the amended commercialized implicit these past fewer years, but 2026 opened differently, and knowing wherefore is the existent communicative here.

The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF presently holds 508 full positions, astir the aforesaid companies arsenic the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (which holds 518), but weights each 1 arsenic astatine astir 0.2% of the portfolio. Companies similar NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) get the aforesaid allocation arsenic a mid-sized concern institution oregon a determination bank.

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In different words, nary azygous banal tin dominate, and nary azygous assemblage tin thrust the full fund. Of course, this operation has a outgo arsenic the ETF's disbursal ratio is 0.20%, compared to Vanguard's 0.03%. With astir $90 cardinal successful assets, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF is nary niche holding, but the interest spread is existent and worthy acknowledging for semipermanent holders doing the math.

Through the archetypal 2 months of 2026, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF outperformed the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF done aboriginal March. This matters a large woody for Vanguard, wherever tech represents astir 33% of the full portfolio. On the different hand, for the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, exertion accounts for astir 15% of its weight, industrials for astir 15%, financials for 12%, and healthcare for astir 11%.