Should John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF (JHML) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/28/2015.

The fund is sponsored by John Hancock. It has amassed assets over $941.49 million, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.29%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.15%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a 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 to the Information Technology sector--about 24.10% of the portfolio. Financials and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) accounts for about 4.11% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).

The top 10 holdings account for about 21.47% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

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.

The ETF has added roughly 1.32% so far this year and it's up approximately 10.66% in the last one year (as of 05/28/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $59.74 and $73.44.

The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 17.02% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 782 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

John Hancock Multifactor Large Cap ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, JHML is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) track a similar index. While SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $606.27 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $646.60 billion. SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VOO charges 0.03%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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