Probably one of the best-known equal-weighted ETFs, RSP simply takes all the stocks in the S&P 500 and weights them equally. Equal weighting greatly increases the footprint of smaller S&P 500 stocks (many of which we consider to be midcaps), which results in higher beta for the portfolio. However, equal weighting also lowers concentration, reducing blow-up risk from any one name. While one should expect some sector biases here as well, RSP does not equal-weight sectors as some peer equal-weight ETFs do. Quarterly rebalancing implements the contrarian theme baked into all equal-weight plays: sell winners and buy losers.
