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Is John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML - Free Report) was launched on 09/28/2015, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by John Hancock, and has been able to amass over $1.03 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. JHML, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the John Hancock Dimensional Large Cap Index.

The John Hancock Dimensional Large Cap Index comprises of a subset of securities in the U.S. Universe issued by companies whose market capitalizations are larger than that of the 801st largest U.S. company.

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.29%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.07%.

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.

For JHML, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 27.5% of the portfolio --while Financials and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 4.24% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).

JHML's top 10 holdings account for about 24.31% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, JHML has added roughly 14.51%, and is up roughly 16.63% in the last one year (as of 11/03/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $59.74 and $80.09.

JHML has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 14.95% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 785 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $721.51 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $783.07 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO changes 0.03%.

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 - Large Cap Blend

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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