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Is JPMorgan Diversified Return International Equity ETF (JPIN) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Broad Developed World ETFs category of the market, the JPMorgan Diversified Return International Equity ETF (JPIN - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 11/06/2014.

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 work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by J.P. Morgan, and has been able to amass over $352.11 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the FTSE Developed ex North America Diversified Factor Index.

The JP Morgan Diversified Factor International Equity Index utilizes a rules-based approach combining risk-weighted portfolio construction with multi-factor security screening based on value, quality and momentum factors.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.37%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.60%.

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.

Taking into account individual holdings, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co (4519.T) accounts for about 0.57% of the fund's total assets, followed by Hanwha Aerospace Co Ltd (A012450) and Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd.

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 4.81% of JPIN's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, JPIN return is roughly 9.60%, and was up about 17.15% in the last one year (as of 09/12/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $48.36 and $59.50.

JPIN has a beta of 0.81 and standard deviation of 14.76% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 508 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

JPMorgan Diversified Return International Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF has $74.91 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $137.58 billion. VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VEA charges 0.06%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Developed World ETFs.

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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