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Is John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF (JHMM) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 09/28/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF (JHMM - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

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

The fund is managed by John Hancock, and has been able to amass over $3.71 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the John Hancock Dimensional Mid Cap Index.

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.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.42% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

JHMM's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.12%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

JHMM's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 19.50% of the portfolio. Its Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, United Rentals Inc (URI - Free Report) accounts for about 0.60% of the fund's total assets, followed by Ameriprise Financial Inc (AMP - Free Report) and Hartford Financial Svcs Grp (HIG - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 4.65% of JHMM's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF has added roughly 4.96% so far, and is up about 16.29% over the last 12 months (as of 06/11/2024). JHMM has traded between $44.18 and $57.38 in this past 52-week period.

JHMM has a beta of 1.09 and standard deviation of 18.81% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 675 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO - Free Report) tracks CRSP US Mid Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report) tracks S&P MidCap 400 Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $63.75 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $82.73 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend.

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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