New ProShares ETFs exclude S&P 500 sectors

BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - ProShare Advisors said on Thursday it has launched four exchange-traded funds that exclude sectors of the S&P 500, a new approach that could appeal to investors skeptical of the proliferation of "smart beta" funds.

Closely-held ProShare Advisors of Bethesda, Maryland, said the new ProShares ETFs will offer investors exposure to the S&P 500, but without sectors including energy, financials, health care or technology.

For investors, the products mean that for the first time "you can invest in an S&P 500 ETF and leave behind the sector you don't want," Proshare Advisors Chief Executive Michael Sapir said.

Investors may be skeptical of a particular set of companies or already have enough exposure to them through other investments, Sapir added.

Dave Nadig, director of ETF research at FactSet Research Systems, said the funds could appeal to investors concerned about the many types of "smart beta" ETFs that use complicated factors to create their weightings like dividend yields, sales growth or stock price moves.

"Often, these factors result in enormous sector tilts," Nadig said. "Sectors are something most investors understand intuitively, so these 'exclusionary' portfolios might fill a niche for investors with opinions, but not yet faith in the smart beta label," he said.

(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston and Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Alan Crosby)

You May Also Be Interested In

• Person covered in flames outside NY courthouse where Donald Trump's trial is held - CNN
• USC scraps outside speakers at commencement after canceling Muslim student's speech
• Nasdaq, S&P tumble as Netflix, chip stocks drag; AmEx boosts Dow