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Is John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (JHSC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 11/08/2017, smart beta exchange traded fund John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (JHSC - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market.
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.
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.
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.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
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 John Hancock. JHSC has been able to amass assets over $701.34 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the JOHN HANCOCK DIMENSIONAL SMALL CAP INDEX.
The John Hancock Dimensional Small Cap Index is designed to comprise a subset of securities in the U.S. Universe issued by companies whose market capitalizations are smaller than the 750th largest U.S. company but excluding the smallest 4% of U.S. companies at the time of reconstitution.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.42% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
JHSC's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.02%.
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.
Representing 19.6% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector; Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Ryder System Inc (R) accounts for about 0.48% of the fund's total assets, followed by Sm Energy Co (SM) and Voya Financial Inc (VOYA).
JHSC's top 10 holdings account for about 4.46% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, JHSC return is roughly 14.08%, and was up about 16.01% in the last one year (as of 11/04/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $39.61 and $49.95.
JHSC has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 18.08% for the trailing three-year period. With about 494 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF (VB) tracks CRSP US Small Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF has $79.11 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $106.33 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.03% and IJR changes 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 Style Box - Small 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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Is John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (JHSC) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 11/08/2017, smart beta exchange traded fund John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (JHSC - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market.
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.
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.
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.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
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 John Hancock. JHSC has been able to amass assets over $701.34 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the JOHN HANCOCK DIMENSIONAL SMALL CAP INDEX.
The John Hancock Dimensional Small Cap Index is designed to comprise a subset of securities in the U.S. Universe issued by companies whose market capitalizations are smaller than the 750th largest U.S. company but excluding the smallest 4% of U.S. companies at the time of reconstitution.
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.42% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
JHSC's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.02%.
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.
Representing 19.6% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector; Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Ryder System Inc (R) accounts for about 0.48% of the fund's total assets, followed by Sm Energy Co (SM) and Voya Financial Inc (VOYA).
JHSC's top 10 holdings account for about 4.46% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, JHSC return is roughly 14.08%, and was up about 16.01% in the last one year (as of 11/04/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $39.61 and $49.95.
JHSC has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 18.08% for the trailing three-year period. With about 494 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF (VB) tracks CRSP US Small Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF has $79.11 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $106.33 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.03% and IJR changes 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 Style Box - Small 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.