The list of low volatility ETFs is extensive - a testimony of the popularity of a strategy combining lower risk exposure and sustained returns
But reality did not quite make good on these promises over the past years, essentially because the top performing industries – healthcare and technology – also turned out to be the most volatile … and the less favored in volatility weighing by the funds
The funds have mostly fulfilled their mandate of lowering volatility by market cap
For investors, the multiple factors filtering the securities data base before volatility rescaling also matter
Multi-factor and high-beta selections are discussed separately