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

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

The fund is sponsored by J.P. Morgan. It has amassed assets over $357.07 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

Mid cap companies, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.

Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

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 1.86%.

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 12.40% of the portfolio. Real Estate and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Gartner Inc Common Stock (IT - Free Report) accounts for about 0.50% of total assets, followed by Cardinal Health Inc (CAH - Free Report) and Vistra Corp Common Stock (VST - 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 -0.86% so far this year and is up about 6.23% in the last one year (as of 01/12/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $79.30 and $92.33.

The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 17.18% 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 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 reasonable 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 $58.67 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $75.17 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also 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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