Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Value ETF (JKI) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Read MoreHide Full Article

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

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $361.46 M, 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

Compared to large and small cap companies, mid cap businesses tend to have higher growth prospects and are less volatile, respectively, with market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.

While 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. Value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value 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 3.31%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 22% of the portfolio. Utilities and Materials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (ZBH - Free Report) accounts for about 1.44% of total assets, followed by Hp Inc (HPQ - Free Report) and State Street Corp (STT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 12.95% 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 -26.13% so far this year and is down about -16.97% in the last one year (as of 03/12/2020). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $124.61 and $170.57.

The ETF has a beta of 1.03 and standard deviation of 15.15% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 184 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Morningstar Mid-Cap 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 good 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 Mid-Cap Value ETF (VOE - Free Report) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF has $8.02 B in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has $8.87 B. VOE has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWS charges 0.24%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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.

Published in