Is Janus Henderson Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha ETF (JSMD) a strong ETF right now?

Making its debut on 02/23/2016, smart beta exchange traded fund Janus Henderson Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha ETF (JSMD - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth category of the market.

What are smart beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund sponsor and index

The fund is managed by Janus Henderson, and has been able to amass over $711.91 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Janus Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha Index.

The Janus Henderson Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha Index selects small- and medium-sized capitalization stocks that are poised for smart growth by evaluating each company performance in three critical areas: growth, profitability, and capital efficiency.

Cost and other expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.30%.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.75%.

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 in the Information Technology sector - about 23.5% of the portfolio. Financials and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Medpace Holdings Inc. (MEDP) accounts for about 2.51% of total assets, followed by Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (HALO) and Installed Building Products Inc. (IBP).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 22.49% of JSMD's total assets under management.

Performance and risk

So far this year, JSMD has added roughly 12.85%, and was up about 17.95% in the last one year (as of 09/29/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $62.52 and $86.87.

JSMD has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 20.94% for the trailing three-year period. With about 111 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

Janus Henderson Small/Mid Cap Growth Alpha ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) tracks Russell 2000 Growth Index and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) tracks CRSP U.S. Small Cap Growth Index. iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $12.86 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $20.34 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK changes 0.07%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Small Cap Growth.

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