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Should JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF (JPME) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF (JPME - Free Report) was launched on 05/11/2016, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by J.P. Morgan. It has amassed assets over $295.68 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Blend

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. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

Costs

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 counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.24%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.83%.

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 Information Technology sector--about 13.10% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Enphase Energy Inc (ENPH - Free Report) accounts for about 0.58% of total assets, followed by Arthur J Gallagher & Co (AJG - Free Report) and Quanta Services Inc (PWR - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 4.7% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

JPME seeks to match the performance of the Russell Midcap Diversified Factor Index before fees and expenses. The JP Morgan Diversified Factor US Mid Cap Equity Index utilizes a rules-based approach that combines risk-based portfolio construction with multi-factor security selection, including value, quality and momentum factors.

The ETF has lost about -9.52% so far this year and is down about -8.20% in the last one year (as of 12/27/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $76.41 and $95.75.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 25.43% for the trailing three-year period. With about 378 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Mid 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, JPME is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard MidCap ETF (VO - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P MidCap ETF (IJH - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard MidCap ETF has $49.69 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P MidCap ETF has $63.45 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.

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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