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Is Janus Henderson Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha ETF (JSMD) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Janus Henderson Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha ETF (JSMD - Free Report) made its debut on 02/23/2016, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth 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 offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Janus Henderson. It has amassed assets over $206.89 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Growth. JSMD, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Janus Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha Index.

The Janus Henderson Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha Index selects small- and medium-sized capitalization stocks that are poised for smart growth by evaluating each company performance in three critical areas: growth, profitability, and capital efficiency.

Cost & Other Expenses

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.30%.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.39%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

JSMD's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 26.60% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Shockwave Medical Inc. (SWAV - Free Report) accounts for about 3.33% of the fund's total assets, followed by Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO - Free Report) and Repligen Corporation (RGEN - Free Report) .

JSMD's top 10 holdings account for about 24.96% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 16.93% so far this year and is up roughly 18.99% in the last one year (as of 06/16/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $48.53 and $60.94.

The fund has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 23.66% for the trailing three-year period. With about 243 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Janus Henderson Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO - Free Report) tracks Russell 2000 Growth Index and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Small Cap Growth Index. IShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $10.01 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $14.03 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VBK charges 0.07%.

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 - Small Cap Growth.

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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