PBUS vs RND

PBUSAInvesco MSCI USA ETF

RNDFFirst Trust Bloomberg R&D Leaders ETF

In short

PBUS Roughly 500 US stocks for 0.04% a year, benchmarked to the MSCI USA Index instead of the S&P 500. Invesco's rules-based core holding, running since 2017.

RND Most index funds rank companies by size. RND ranks them by research budget, holding roughly 50 heavy R&D spenders picked by the Bloomberg R&D Leaders Select Index. First Trust launched it in 2024.

Stated mandate

PBUS The Fund tracks the MSCI USA Index and commits at least 90% of its assets to securities included in that index.

RND The Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance of the Bloomberg R&D Leaders Select Index before fees and expenses, generally investing at least 80% of assets in index securities.

Why people hold it

• PBUS 0.04% a year sits at the floor of its peer group, matching SPYV and a hair above SCHK's 0.03%.invesco.com
• Returns have hugged the MSCI USA Index about as tightly as anything in its cohort, so index-level exposure arrives with very little slippage.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund trading since 2017, with a real market cycle behind it rather than a launch-window track record.
• Roughly 500 names and quarterly distributions: a plain broad-market wrapper with no options overlay, no leverage, no sector tilt bolted on.

• RND Buys the research spenders directly. The Bloomberg R&D Leaders Select Index does the choosing, so lab budgets drive the portfolio instead of market cap.ftportfolios.com
• Concentrated on purpose: roughly 50 names, so the R&D theme actually shows through instead of getting diluted across hundreds of holdings.
• Rules, not hunches. At least 80% of assets sit in index securities, and the index rebuilds by its own published method.ftportfolios.com

Worth knowing

• PBUS MSCI USA is not the S&P 500. Holdings and results drift from an S&P-benchmarked portfolio, which matters if that is the yardstick you track against.invesco.com
• The mandate commits at least 90% of assets to index securities, which leaves a slice of room outside the benchmark.
• Moderately traded rather than one of the tape's busiest tickers, so spreads deserve a glance and limit orders earn their keep.

• RND 0.60% a year is above the typical index-tracking ETF and many times what broad core trackers like SCHK (0.03%) or VXF (0.05%) charge for the whole market.
• Small fund, light trading. Thin markets tend to mean wider bid-ask spreads, a cost that lands on top of the expense ratio.
• Launched in 2024, so the live record is short and there is little history for judging how closely the fund shadows its index.

Full PBUS profile⁠

Full RND profile⁠