Designed to provide broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF (JHSC) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on November 8, 2017.
The fund is sponsored by John Hancock. It has amassed assets over $717.26 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Blend
With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.
Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.
Costs
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.42%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.02%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector -- about 21.1% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Sandisk Corp (SNDK) accounts for about 1.98% of total assets, followed by Revolution Medicines Inc (RVMD) and Mks Inc (MKSI).
The top 10 holdings account for about 7.34% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
JHSC seeks to match the performance of the JOHN HANCOCK DIMENSIONAL SMALL CAP INDEX before fees and expenses. The John Hancock Dimensional Small Cap Index is designed to comprise a subset of securities in the U.S. Universe issued by companies whose market capitalizations are smaller than the 750th largest U.S. company but excluding the smallest 4% of U.S. companies at the time of reconstitution.
The ETF return is roughly 10.22% so far this year and is up roughly 32.45% in the last one year (as of 04/24/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $35.87 and $46.67.
The ETF has a beta of 1.03 and standard deviation of 18.7% for the trailing three-year period. With about 525 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, JHSC is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
The Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund ETF Shares (VB) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) track a similar index. While Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund ETF Shares has $76.30 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $100.49 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.03% and IJR charges 0.06%.
Bottom-Line
An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.
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 Small Cap ETF (JHSC): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).