Is JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market, the JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 01/07/2015.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.A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.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 & IndexThe fund is sponsored by J.P. Morgan. It has amassed assets over $410.04 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund 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 ExpensesWhen considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.44% for JPEM, making it on par with most peer products in the space.It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.26%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsETFs 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.Taking into account individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductoraccounts for about 1.51% of the fund's total assets, followed by China Construction Bank and Naspers Ltd Common Stock (NPN).The top 10 holdings account for about 10.58% of total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF has added about 9.22% and was up about 32.02% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/29/2026), respectively. JPEM has traded between $48.41 and $66.33 during this last 52-week period. The fund has a beta of 0.46 and standard deviation of 11.59% for the trailing three-year period, which makes JPEM a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 579 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .AlternativesJPMorgan 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 $113.91 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $140.67 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IEMG changes 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 ETFsBottom LineTo 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.Boost Your Portfolio with Our Top ETF InsightsZacks' exclusive Fund Newsletter delivers actionable information, top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, straight to your inbox every week.Don’t miss out on this valuable resource. It’s free!Get it now >>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 JPMorgan Diversified Return Emerging Markets Equity ETF (JPEM): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks