Is John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 09/28/2015, the John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large 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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by John Hancock, and has been able to amass over $887.70 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, JHML seeks to match the performance of the John Hancock Dimensional Large Cap Index.
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
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.29%.
JHML's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.26%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 22.90% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Financials and Industrials round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) accounts for about 4.06% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.51% of JHML's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 10.34% so far this year and is up about 21.33% in the last one year (as of 06/17/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $50.68 and $65.08.
The fund has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 16.70% for the trailing three-year period, which makes JHML a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 771 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.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) tracks S&P 500 Index. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $469.45 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $545.62 billion. VOO 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
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): ETF Research Reports
