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Is JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 01/07/2015, the JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Broad Developed Market ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

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.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of 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

Managed by J.P. Morgan, JPEM has amassed assets over $291.70 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Developed Market ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, 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

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.44%.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.86%.

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.

When you look at individual holdings, Infosys Ltd Common Stock (INFY_D.) accounts for about 1.44% of the fund's total assets, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor and Vale Sa Common Stock Brl (VALE3).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 10.31% of JPEM's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 3.53% and is up about 14.18% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 10/17/2023), respectively. JPEM has traded between $45.59 and $53.14 during this last 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 14.46% for the trailing three-year period, which makes JPEM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 539 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF is not a suitable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed Market ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are other ETFs in the space which investors should consider.

IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG - Free Report) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO - Free Report) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index. IShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $69.29 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $70.52 billion. IEMG has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VWO charges 0.08%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Developed 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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