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Is JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF (JPME) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 05/11/2016, smart beta exchange traded fund JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF (JPME - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

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.

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

Because the fund has amassed over $389.64 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend. JPME is managed by J.P. Morgan. JPME, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Russell Midcap Diversified Factor Index.

The JP Morgan Diversified Factor US Mid Cap Equity Index utilizes a rules-based approach that combines risk-based portfolio construction with multi-factor security selection, including value, quality and momentum factors.

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 JPME are 0.24%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.00%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector - about 12.5% of the portfolio. Industrials and Utilities round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Lumentum Holdings Inc (LITE) accounts for about 0.82% of the fund's total assets, followed by Ciena Corp Common Stock (CIEN) and Western Digital Corp (WDC).

JPME's top 10 holdings account for about 5.49% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 1.52% and it's up approximately 8.91% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/06/2026), respectively. JPME has traded between $89.28 and $110.89 during this last 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 0.94 and standard deviation of 14.46% for the trailing three-year period. With about 355 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO) tracks CRSP US Mid Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) tracks S&P MidCap 400 Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $91.12 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $105.17 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH changes 0.05%.

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 - Mid 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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