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Should JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (BBSC) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (BBSC - Free Report) was launched on 11/16/2020, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by J.P. Morgan. It has amassed assets over $862.57 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Value

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

While value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, they also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value stocks in strong bull markets.

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 0.09%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.63%.

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 Financials sector--about 20.30% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Jpmorgan Us Govt Mmkt Fun accounts for about 1.22% of total assets, followed by Affirm Holdings Inc (AFRM - Free Report) and Immunogen Inc Common .

The top 10 holdings account for about 4.94% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

BBSC seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US SML CP TRG MRK EXP EXT ID before fees and expenses. The Morningstar US Small Cap Target Market Exposure Extended Index is a free-float adjusted, market-cap weighted index that targets small cap securities traded in the U.S.

The ETF has lost about -3.15% so far this year and it's up approximately 13.28% in the last one year (as of 01/10/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $48.58 and $62.66.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 23.59% for the trailing three-year period. With about 894 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, BBSC is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN - Free Report) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $12.16 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF has $26.53 billion. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBR charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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