Is John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML) was launched on 09/28/2015, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
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.
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.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination 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
JHML is managed by John Hancock, and this fund has amassed over $968.54 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. 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.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.29% for JHML, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.14%.
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.
JHML's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 23.70% of the portfolio. Its Financials and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 3.99% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).
JHML's top 10 holdings account for about 20.86% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 20.35% and is up about 37.14% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 10/22/2024), respectively. JHML has traded between $50.68 and $70.78 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 16.82% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 774 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $547.19 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $599.57 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.
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 - Large 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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John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML): ETF Research Reports
Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): ETF Research Reports
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV): ETF Research Reports