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Should iShares Morningstar Small-Cap ETF (JKJ) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Launched on 06/28/2004, the iShares Morningstar Small-Cap ETF is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $233.10 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

Costs

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 0.25%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.42%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 20% of the portfolio. Industrials and Real Estate round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Molina Healthcare Inc (MOH - Free Report) accounts for about 1.37% of total assets, followed by Haemonetics Corp (HAE - Free Report) and Primerica Inc (PRI - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 8.57% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

JKJ seeks to match the performance of the Morningstar Small Core Index before fees and expenses. The Morningstar Small Core Index measures the performance of stocks issued by small-capitalization companies.

The ETF has lost about -3.40% so far this year and was up about 1.47% in the last one year (as of 11/19/2018). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $159.12 and $186.23.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 14.20% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 260 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Morningstar Small-Cap ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, JKJ is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Small Cap ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report) and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $42.69 B in assets, iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $44.74 B. IJR has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWM charges 0.19%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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