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Should iShares Morningstar MidCap Value ETF (JKI) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the iShares Morningstar MidCap Value ETF is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 06/28/2004.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $351.70 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Value

With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

Value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios. They also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Considering long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets; however, they are more likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.30%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.29%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 19.70% of the portfolio. Utilities and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Travelers Companies Inc (JCI - Free Report) accounts for about 1.54% of total assets, followed by Eversource Energy (ES - Free Report) and American International Group Inc (AIG - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 14.01% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

JKI seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar Mid Value Index before fees and expenses. The Morningstar Mid Value Index measures the performance of stocks issued by mid-capitalization companies.

The ETF has lost about -16.89% so far this year and is down about -7.99% in the last one year (as of 08/12/2020). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $91.54 and $170.57.

The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 25.47% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 170 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Morningstar MidCap Value ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, JKI is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Value area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard MidCap Value ETF (VOE - Free Report) and the iShares Russell MidCap Value ETF (IWS - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard MidCap Value ETF has $9.17 billion in assets, iShares Russell MidCap Value ETF has $10.25 billion. VOE has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWS charges 0.24%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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