Launched on 09/28/2015, the John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF (JHMM) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering 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.
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.
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.
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 $3.76 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend. JHMM, before fees and expenses, 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
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.42%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.09%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 19.70% of the portfolio. Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, United Rentals Inc (URI) accounts for about 0.54% of total assets, followed by Hartford Insurance Group Inc (HIG) and Targa Resources Corp (TRGP).
JHMM's top 10 holdings account for about 4.54% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -6.50% so far this year and is up roughly 3.21% in the last one year (as of 04/29/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $50.32 and $64.80.
The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 19.53% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 668 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) tracks CRSP US Mid Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) tracks S&P MidCap 400 Index. Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $72.34 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $86.53 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.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF (JHMM): ETF Research Reports The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (HIG): Free Stock Analysis Report United Rentals, Inc. (URI): Free Stock Analysis Report Targa Resources, Inc. (TRGP): Free Stock Analysis Report iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH): ETF Research Reports Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
