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Should JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (BBSC) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (BBSC - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 11/16/2020.

The fund is sponsored by J.P. Morgan. It has amassed assets over $482.37 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Value

Sitting at a market capitalization below $2 billion, small cap companies tend to be high-potential stocks compared to its large and mid cap counterparts, but come with higher risk.

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. When you look at long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets. But in strong bull markets, growth stocks are more likely to be winners.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.09%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.49%.

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 19% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Jpmorgan Us Govt Mmkt Fun accounts for about 2.21% of total assets, followed by Karuna Therapeutics Inc and Chord Energy Corp Common (CHRD - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.39% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

BBSC seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US SML CP TRG MRK EXP EXT ID before fees and expenses. The Morningstar US Small Cap Target Market Exposure Extended Index is a free-float adjusted, market-cap weighted index that targets small cap securities traded in the U.S.

The ETF has lost about -19.27% so far this year and is down about -20.69% in the last one year (as of 10/26/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $48.73 and $71.50.

The ETF has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 24.47% for the trailing three-year period. With about 906 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Small Cap Equity 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, BBSC is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN - Free Report) and the Vanguard SmallCap Value ETF (VBR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $11.83 billion in assets, Vanguard SmallCap Value ETF has $22.85 billion. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VBR charges 0.07%.

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.

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