Designed to provide broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF (JSML) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 02/23/2016.

The fund is sponsored by Janus Henderson. It has amassed assets over $242.91 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Growth

There's a lot of potential to investing in small cap companies, but with market capitalization below $2 billion, that high potential comes with even higher risk.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.

Costs

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 0.30%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.44%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. 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 29.90% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Doximity Inc. Class A (DOCS) accounts for about 3.63% of total assets, followed by Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated. (CORT) and Corvel Corporation (CRVL).

The top 10 holdings account for about 24.51% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

JSML seeks to match the performance of the Janus Small Cap Growth Alpha Index before fees and expenses. The Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha Index selects small-sized capitalization stocks that are poised for smart growth by evaluating each company performance in three critical areas: growth, profitability, and capital efficiency.

The ETF return is roughly 12.93% so far this year and it's up approximately 33.87% in the last one year (as of 10/21/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $47.39 and $66.71.

The ETF has a beta of 1.25 and standard deviation of 25.31% for the trailing three-year period. With about 206 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha 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, JSML is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $12.26 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $18.51 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds 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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Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF (JSML): ETF Research Reports

Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (CORT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO): ETF Research Reports

Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK): ETF Research Reports

Doximity, Inc. (DOCS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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