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

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

The fund is sponsored by J.P. Morgan. It has amassed assets over $349.76 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

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%, 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

ETFs offer a 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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 13.90% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Arista Networks Inc (ANET - Free Report) accounts for about 0.50% of total assets, followed by Hershey Co/the Common (HSY - Free Report) and Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 4.54% 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 added roughly 5.39% so far this year and was up about 10.52% in the last one year (as of 07/06/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $76.41 and $91.50.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 17.73% for the trailing three-year period. With about 366 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 Mid-Cap ETF (VO - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $53.81 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $68.95 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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