JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF

HELO

Market cap $3.47B

J.P. Morgan Asset Management launched the JPMorgan International Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF (HOLA) on the NYSE Arca today. According to the prospectus, the fund is designed to provide income through a diversified international equity portfolio while hedging overall market exposure.

JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF combines fundamental stock selection and SPY options to reduce downside risk. Despite an undeniable success at cutting volatility, HELO has given up a lot of market upside and underperformed SPY in risk-adjusted return. With only 21 months of track record, we still have to see how HELO behaves in a bear market or a deep correction.

The market is highly volatile, but it also offers opportunities. Building a fund-based portfolio with ETFs offers diversification and low maintenance. With the right funds, we can achieve high income, growth, capital conservation, and reduced volatility. The proposed portfolio of just 6 funds targets a 6% yield, providing $5,000 monthly income on a $1 million investment.

The article explains how to build a balanced, risk-averse, income-producing, and growth-oriented retirement portfolio with just five diversified funds to ensure simplicity and manageability. Despite market volatility, staying invested is crucial as cash rarely outperforms inflation; a SWAN portfolio aims for peace of mind and steady growth. The portfolio targets 5% income, 3-4% growth in addition to income, and 30% lower drawdowns and volatility.

I recommend the JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF (HELO) for its defensive design, offering protection against sharp 5-20% drawdowns while capturing ~65% of large-cap equity upside. With the S&P 500 trading at 22x Fwd P/E and potential volatility from President Trump's policies, large-cap stocks are vulnerable to sharp drawdowns. The Federal Reserve's hawkish stance could further pressure markets, making HELO's downside protection valuable.

J.P. Morgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF aims to provide returns similar to those reflected by the S&P 500 index but with lower volatility using a value-weighting and option strategy. Its risk-adjusted returns have been superior to relevant ETFs, but its high expense ratio and short track record are problematic. Despite its impressive performance, HELO's high fees and similar valuation to the S&P 500 make a traditional low-volatility fund the potentially better choice.

Through Q2, there has been a record number of new US ETFs on a rolling four-quarter basis. Fund issuers have met investors' demand for high-income equity ETFs, covered-call products, defined-outcome strategies, and single-stock funds. 2024 has also been the year of crypto ETFs, and funds tracking spot Ether recently began trading.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), was up 14% as of July 26, near its all-time high. With four months to go, VOO has already set a new calendar year record with $51 billion of net inflows.

HELO strategy combines stock selection based on valuation with laddered options strategy to reduce downside risk in S&P 500 universe. HELO quality metrics are superior to the benchmark. In 10 months, HELO underperformed SPY in total return but shows superior Sharpe ratio.

After a strong five months for the S&P 500 Index in 2024, many advisors thought the remainder of the year would be weaker. While taking profits might make sense to some, there's a range of ETFs to consider helping clients stay in the market.