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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?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

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

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.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by John Hancock, JHMM has amassed assets over $4.10 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, JHMM 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

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.

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 0.39%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For JHMM, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 20% of the portfolio --while Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, United Rentals Inc (URI - Free Report) accounts for about 0.65% of the fund's total assets, followed by Vistra Corp (VST - Free Report) and Ameriprise Financial Inc (AMP - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 4.91% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 16.38% and is up roughly 16.62% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/26/2024), respectively. JHMM has traded between $51.10 and $64.80 during this last 52-week period.

JHMM has a beta of 1.09 and standard deviation of 18.80% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 666 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 $72.86 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $95.57 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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