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Should JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (BBSC) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market? You should consider the JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (BBSC - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 11/16/2020.

The fund is sponsored by J.P. Morgan. It has amassed assets over $489.06 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Value

Small cap companies have market capitalization below $2 billion. They usually have higher potential than large and mid cap companies with stocks but higher risk.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Considering long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets; however, they are more likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

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 0.09%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.62%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 19.80% of the portfolio. Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Jpmorgan Us Govt Mmkt Fun accounts for about 1.93% of total assets, followed by Carvana Co Common Stock (CVNA - Free Report) and Affirm Holdings Inc (AFRM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 6.15% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

BBSC seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US SML CP TRG MRK EXP EXT ID before fees and expenses. The Morningstar US Small Cap Target Market Exposure Extended Index is a free-float adjusted, market-cap weighted index that targets small cap securities traded in the U.S.

The ETF return is roughly 2.23% so far this year and was up about 21.87% in the last one year (as of 05/15/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $48.58 and $62.91.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 23.10% for the trailing three-year period. With about 838 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, BBSC is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN - Free Report) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $12.03 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF has $28.83 billion. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBR charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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