Launched on 09/28/2015, the John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF (JHMM) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by John Hancock. It has amassed assets over $1.55 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Mid Cap Blend
With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.
Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.
Costs
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.42%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.22%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector–about 21% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Synopsys Inc (SNPS) accounts for about 0.50% of total assets, followed by Cadence Design Sys Inc (CDNS) and Ansys Inc (ANSS).
The top 10 holdings account for about 3.61% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
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.
The ETF has lost about -2.88% so far this year and is up about 7.74% in the last one year (as of 08/07/2020). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $24 and $40.48.
The ETF has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 24.40% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 690 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
John Hancock Multifactor Mid 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, JHMM is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box – Mid Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
The Vanguard MidCap ETF (VO) and the iShares Core SP MidCap ETF (IJH) track a similar index. While Vanguard MidCap ETF has $34.26 billion in assets, iShares Core SP MidCap ETF has $44.97 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.
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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