Switching up its lineup of smart beta and alternative ETF strategies it is known for, J.P. Morgan Asset Management launched a plain-vanilla real estate investment strategy in what could be part of its new suite of “BetaBuilders.”
On Monday, J.P. Morgan rolled out the JPMorgan BetaBuilders MSCI U.S. REIT ETF (Cboe: BBRE), which has a 0.11% expense ratio.
Unlike J.P. Morgan’s other ETFs that are known for their customized indices that follow smart-beta equity factors and alternative investment strategies reminiscent of hedge fund investments, BBRE follows a traditional market capitalization-weighted indexing methodology.
“Beta is a measure of the volatility of a security or a portfolio relative to a market benchmark,” according to J.P. Morgan. “The term ‘BetaBuilders’ in the Fund’s name conveys the intended outcome of providing investors with passive exposure and return that generally correspond to a market cap weighted benchmark.”
The MSCI US REIT Index
BBRE will try to reflect the performance of the MSCI US REIT Index, a free-float adjusted market-cap weighted index designed to measure the performance of mid- and small-cap US equity real estate investment trust securities.
The underlying portfolio may include exposure to Health Care REITs, Hotel & Resort REITs, Industrial REITs, Office REITs, Residential REITs, Retail REITs, Diversified REITs and certain Specialized REITs. Specialized REITs include storage and self-storage facilities, data centers, correctional facilities, theaters, casinos and gaming facilities or restaurants, according to the fund’s prospectus.