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Should John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (JHSC) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Launched on 11/08/2017, the John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (JHSC - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by John Hancock. It has amassed assets over $414.60 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

Sitting at a market capitalization below $2 billion, small cap companies tend to be high-potential stocks compared to its large and mid cap counterparts, but come with higher risk.

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

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 0.42%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.95%.

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 21.80% of the portfolio. Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Super Micro Computer Inc (SMCI - Free Report) accounts for about 0.84% of total assets, followed by Topbuild Corp (BLD - Free Report) and National Instruments Corp .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.62% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

JHSC seeks to match the performance of the JOHN HANCOCK DIMENSIONAL SMALL CAP INDEX before fees and expenses. The John Hancock Dimensional Small Cap Index is designed to comprise a subset of securities in the U.S. Universe issued by companies whose market capitalizations are smaller than the 750th largest U.S. company but excluding the smallest 4% of U.S. companies at the time of reconstitution.

The ETF has added roughly 2.60% so far this year and it's up approximately 24.27% in the last one year (as of 03/25/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $29.77 and $37.89.

The ETF has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 20.48% for the trailing three-year period. With about 398 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap 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, JHSC is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $62.71 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $78.04 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

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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