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Is JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF (JPME) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 05/11/2016, the JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF (JPME - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid 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.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

JPME is managed by J.P. Morgan, and this fund has amassed over $321.70 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend. 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.

Cost & Other Expenses

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 0.24%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.73%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector - about 12.20% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Builders Firstsource Inc (BLDR - Free Report) accounts for about 0.45% of the fund's total assets, followed by Huntsman Corp Common (HUN - Free Report) and Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (LW - Free Report) .

JPME's top 10 holdings account for about 4.39% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 6.17% and is down about -0.61% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 02/13/2023), respectively. JPME has traded between $76.41 and $95.19 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 25.49% for the trailing three-year period. With about 364 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO - Free Report) tracks CRSP US Mid Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report) tracks S&P MidCap 400 Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $54.09 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $69.46 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.

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 - Mid 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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