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Is JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM - Free Report) debuted on 01/07/2015, and offers broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs 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.
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.
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
The fund is sponsored by J.P. Morgan. It has amassed assets over $375.77 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, JPEM seeks to match the performance of the FTSE Emerging Diversified Factor Index.
The JP Morgan Diversified Factor Emerging Markets Equity Index reflects the performance of emerging market securities representing a diversified set of factor characteristics which include Value, Price, Momentum, Earnings, Revisions and Quality characteristics.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for JPEM are 0.44%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.52%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Looking at individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor accounts for about 2.01% of total assets, followed by China Construction Bank and Anglogold Ashanti Plc (AU).
JPEM's top 10 holdings account for about 11.55% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF has gained about 7.9% so far, and is up roughly 13.05% over the last 12 months (as of 10/09/2026). JPEM has traded between $57.59 $67.31 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.47 and standard deviation of 12.74% for the trailing three-year period, which makes JPEM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 590 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares has $124.72 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $158.14 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.06% and IEMG changes 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market 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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Is JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM - Free Report) debuted on 01/07/2015, and offers broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs 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.
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.
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
The fund is sponsored by J.P. Morgan. It has amassed assets over $375.77 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, JPEM seeks to match the performance of the FTSE Emerging Diversified Factor Index.
The JP Morgan Diversified Factor Emerging Markets Equity Index reflects the performance of emerging market securities representing a diversified set of factor characteristics which include Value, Price, Momentum, Earnings, Revisions and Quality characteristics.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for JPEM are 0.44%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.52%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Looking at individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor accounts for about 2.01% of total assets, followed by China Construction Bank and Anglogold Ashanti Plc (AU).
JPEM's top 10 holdings account for about 11.55% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF has gained about 7.9% so far, and is up roughly 13.05% over the last 12 months (as of 10/09/2026). JPEM has traded between $57.59 $67.31 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.47 and standard deviation of 12.74% for the trailing three-year period, which makes JPEM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 590 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares has $124.72 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $158.14 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.06% and IEMG changes 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market 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.