PowerShares to Expand Low Volatility ETF Suite

Invesco's (NYSE:IVZ) PowerShares unit, the fourth-largest U.S. ETF sponsor, said Wednesday it will introduce two more low volatility ETFs on Friday, expanding its lineup of such funds to five.

The new PowerShares low volatility offerings will be the PowerShares S&P MidCap Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSE: XMLV) and the PowerShares S&P SmallCap Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSE: XSLV).

XMLV is based on the S&P MidCap 400 Low Volatility Index, which is designed to measure the performance of 80 of the least volatile stocks from the S&P MidCap 400 Index over the past 12 months, according to PowerShares.

XSLV is based on the S&P SmallCap 600 Low Volatility Index, which is designed to measure the performance of 120 of the least volatile stocks from the S&P SmallCap 600 Index over the past 12 months, the firm said in a statement.

PowerShares has proven to be one of the leaders among ETF sponsors when it comes to so-called "low vol" funds. The firm introduced the category's dominant ETF in May 2011, the PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSE:SPLV), a fund that has already raked in more than $3.3 billion in assets under management.

The PowerShares S&P Emerging Markets Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSE:EELV), which is just over a year old, has $103 million in assets while the PowerShares S&P International Developed Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSE:IDLV), also just over a year old, has $34.4 million in AUM.

Since inception on January 13, 2012, both EELV and IDLV have achieved better risk-adjusted returns compared to their respective MSCI benchmarks, according to PowerShares.

Investors continue to embrace low-volatility ETF strategies as a simple and effective way to maintain equity exposure while mitigating overall portfolio risk," said Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs, in the statement. "The two new PowerShares ETFs will provide investors with convenient access to low volatility strategies covering the US mid-cap and small-cap segments."

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