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Is Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF (JSML) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF (JSML - Free Report) debuted on 02/23/2016, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth 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 offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by Janus Henderson. JSML has been able to amass assets over $200.59 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Growth. JSML, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Janus Small Cap Growth Alpha Index.

The Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha Index selects small-sized capitalization stocks that are poised for smart growth by evaluating each company performance in three critical areas: growth, profitability, and capital efficiency.

Cost & Other Expenses

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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.30% for JSML, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.50%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer 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.

Representing 32.70% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector; Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc (AMPH - Free Report) accounts for about 3.45% of the fund's total assets, followed by Westlake Corporation (WLK - Free Report) and Amkor Technology Inc (AMKR - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 26.35% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, JSML has lost about -2.69%, and was up about 9.20% in the last one year (as of 02/14/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $47.02 and $60.03.

JSML has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 25.68% for the trailing three-year period. With about 179 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

IShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO - Free Report) tracks Russell 2000 Growth Index and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Small Cap Growth Index. IShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $10.76 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $15.58 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.

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 - Small Cap Growth.

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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