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Is John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF (JHMM) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF (JHMM - Free Report) debuted on 09/28/2015, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader 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.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

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.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by John Hancock, and has been able to amass over $5.08 billion, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend. JHMM seeks to match the performance of the John Hancock Dimensional Mid Cap Index before fees and expenses.

The John Hancock Dimensional Mid Cap Index comprises of a subset of securities in the U.S. Universe issued by companies whose market capitalizations are between the 200th and 951st largest U.S. company.

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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.41% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.92%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 20.5% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Western Digital Corp (WDC) accounts for about 0.99% of the fund's total assets, followed by Ciena Corp (CIEN) and Sandisk Corp (SNDK).

The top 10 holdings account for about 6.51% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF has gained about 6.69% so far, and it's up approximately 40.1% over the last 12 months (as of 04/09/2026). JHMM has traded between $52.57 $71.51 in this past 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 1.02 and standard deviation of 16.17% for the trailing three-year period, which makes JHMM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 664 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap 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 Index Fund ETF Shares (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 Index Fund ETF Shares has $95.7 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $111.04 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.03% 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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