PowerShares

PowerShares was a brand of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) issued by PowerShares Capital Management LLC, an asset-management firm based in the United States. The PowerShares lineup covered a broad range of asset classes, including U.S. and international equities, fixed income, commodities, and currency exposure, as well as factor- and thematic-oriented strategies designed to track indices or provide targeted exposure.

In the mid-2000s, Invesco Ltd. acquired PowerShares and integrated the operation into its own ETF business, with the funds marketed under the Invesco PowerShares banner. The acquisition expanded Invesco’s ETF lineup and helped popularize a variety of index-based and strategy-driven offerings.

Throughout the 2010s, many PowerShares ETFs were renamed to reflect the Invesco brand, and the product range evolved to include smart-beta and sector- or region-specific funds. The PowerShares name thus shifted from being a primary brand to more of a legacy or sub-brand within the broader Invesco ETF family.

Today, Invesco remains a major sponsor of exchange-traded funds, and the PowerShares branding is largely historical, appearing primarily in discussions of ETF history or in reference to legacy products. As with all ETFs, PowerShares funds are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and trade on major stock exchanges, offering investors intraday liquidity and transparency in pricing.