The JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM) was launched on 01/07/2015, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
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.
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
JPEM is managed by J.P. Morgan, and this fund has amassed over $326.82 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the FTSE Emerging Diversified Factor Index.
The JP Morgan Diversified Factor Emerging Markets Equity Index reflects the performance of emerging market securities representing a diversified set of factor characteristics which include Value, Price, Momentum, Earnings, Revisions and Quality characteristics.
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.44%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 5.14%.
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.
Looking at individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor accounts for about 1.72% of total assets, followed by Infosys Ltd Common Stock (INFY_D.) and Bank Of China Ltd Common.
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.29% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, JPEM has gained about 5.47%, and was up about 2.88% in the last one year (as of 05/07/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $48.41 and $57.84.
The fund has a beta of 0.52 and standard deviation of 13.23% for the trailing three-year period, which makes JPEM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 556 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF has $84.52 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $86.22 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IEMG 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 Broad Emerging Market ETFs.
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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JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM): ETF Research Reports iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG): ETF Research Reports Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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