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Is John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML - Free Report) debuted on 09/28/2015, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by John Hancock, JHML has amassed assets over $763.08 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, JHML seeks to match the performance of the John Hancock Dimensional Large Cap Index.

The John Hancock Dimensional Large Cap Index comprises of a subset of securities in the U.S. Universe issued by companies whose market capitalizations are larger than that of the 801st largest U.S. company.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.29% for JHML, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

JHML's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.26%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

JHML's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 23% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 4.10% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .

JHML's top 10 holdings account for about 17.24% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -14.50% so far this year and is down about -2.01% in the last one year (as of 05/16/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $49.73 and $59.70.

The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 23.54% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 783 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $285.59 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $361.26 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend.

Bottom Line

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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