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Should John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML - Free Report) was launched on 09/28/2015, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by John Hancock. It has amassed assets over $766.34 million, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Large cap companies usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.

Costs

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.29%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.45%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a 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 to the Information Technology sector--about 23% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) accounts for about 3.46% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 15.01% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

JHML seeks to match the performance of the John Hancock Dimensional Large Cap Index before fees and expenses. The John Hancock Dimensional Large Cap Index comprises of a subset of securities in the U.S. Universe issued by companies whose market capitalizations are larger than that of the 801st largest U.S. company.

The ETF return is roughly 11.07% so far this year and was up about 14.27% in the last one year (as of 07/07/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $45.43 and $54.99.

The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 17.72% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 771 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

John Hancock Multifactor Large 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, JHML is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $332.84 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $419.12 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

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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