JPMorgan Active Growth ETF JGRO

JPMorgan Active Growth ETF benefits from experienced managers and a tenured and stable supporting cast, plying two proven approaches.

Launched in August 2022, this strategy splits assets equally between all-cap, best ideas JPMorgan Growth Advantage and large-cap JPMorgan Large Cap Growth. The managers simplistically rebalance every two weeks to maintain a 50/50 split.

Veteran managers Giri Devulapally and Felise Agranoff are at the helm here. Devulapally has overseen Large Cap Growth since mid-2005 and brings more than three decades of industry experience. While Agranoff only recently took charge of Growth Advantage in March 2024, she has been with the firm for more than 20 years and managed JPMorgan Mid-Cap Growth since 2015. Both managers have an experienced and stable growth-focused team of large- and mid/small-cap analysts. This exchange-traded fund simply pairs each portfolio together, with no adjustments from the managers to the combined portfolio.

The managers employ distinct approaches built on solid fundamental research, with some common tenets. Devulapally leans more on price momentum, typically waiting for the market to validate his research before making notable position increases. He’s adept at building and trimming stakes based on momentum signals without blindly following trends. Agranoff’s approach complements this well, using a more balanced framework, with less emphasis on momentum. She also has greater market-cap flexibility, which has helped Growth Advantage identify strong small- and mid-caps (such as Tesla in 2011 and Netflix in 2013) before they ascended into the large-cap territory.

Since its August 2022 debut, this ETF has posted impressive results versus its peers. Through November 2025, it delivered a 21.2% annualized return easily topping the typical large-growth category peer norm’s 18.8% return but lagging the Russell 1000 Growth Index’s 22.8% gain. Its results have typically performed as intended as an average of the two strategies; however, the ETF slightly lagged both funds during the first nine months of 2025 but has bounced back recently. This shows that the simple two-week rebalancing scheme can lead to short-term performance distortions, but it should level out over longer periods.

This fund splits assets evenly between JPMorgan Large Cap Growth and JPMorgan Growth Advantage, which both employ well-thought-out approaches and drive an Above Average Process Pillar rating.

Manager Giri Devulapally oversees the JPMorgan Large Cap Growth sleeve and has compiled a great track record, due to good stock picks and tactical trading, especially using momentum to scale positions. He typically starts small and waits for the market’s confirmation before adding more, reducing the risk of buying too much too soon. He’ll cut ties with winners that hit a rough patch, which has mitigated losses in years such as 2022. He doesn’t blindly follow trends; he bases his views on fundamental research. Turnover is lower than many competing strategies that incorporate momentum.

Felise Agranoff’s more balanced, all-cap, best ideas JPMorgan Growth Advantage sleeve represents the other half of the fund and offers diversification. Like Devulapally, she looks for companies with competitive advantages, margin-expansion potential, and positive price momentum.

Both portfolios use ideas from JPMorgan’s seasoned growth team, leading to considerable overlap across their holdings. Both managers say high-quality stocks can trade at premium valuations, so they watch each holding’s price and trim when valuations appear out of line with its history. They’ll take small positions in higher-risk names that could see major gains if growth catalysts come to fruition.

The strategy is well-diversified: It typically holds around 110 stocks and splits its assets evenly between JPMorgan Large Cap Growth and JPMorgan Growth Advantage, rebalancing every two weeks. As of September 2025, each underlying strategy held about 75 names, 44 of them shared.

While momentum plays a role in the strategy, annual portfolio turnover remains moderate, ranging from 30% to 60%. Name turnover is even lower, which underscores the fact that the managers aren’t trading through ideas frequently. For example, all but two of the top 10 names in JPMorgan Large Cap Growth have been in that portfolio for at least five years.

Managers Giri Devulapally and Felise Agranoff don’t hesitate to let winners run; they often add to positions once a stock starts climbing. During 2023’s market rally, they significantly increased stakes in Nvidia (from 1.5% to 5.0% of assets) and Meta Platforms (from near 0.0% to 5.0%). By November 2025, Nvidia had risen to about 11% of the ETF’s portfolio—still a shade below its weight in the Russell 1000 Growth Index.

Finally, based on historical valuation metrics of the two underlying strategies, multiples like price/earnings and price/sales generally exceed those of the index and peers, although they can occasionally fall below. As of November, both metrics were slightly above the index and peer group.

Seasoned managers and an experienced, stable team support an Above Average People Pillar rating.

Two experienced leaders direct this strategy. Managers Giri Devulapally and Felise Agranoff each oversee half of the portfolio’s assets, bringing extensive experience from JPMorgan. Devulapally has more than 30 years of industry experience and joined the firm in 2003. He has steered JPMorgan Large Cap Growth to strong results since 2005. Agranoff joined the firm in 2004 and has spent her entire 21-year industry career at JPMorgan. She took over as lead manager of JPMorgan Growth Advantage in March 2024 after her predecessor’s retirement. While she’s relatively new to running large-cap strategies, she’s a seasoned manager and has spent time managing the firm’s small-growth strategy and has managed JPMorgan Mid Cap Growth since 2015. She is well-positioned to carry forward the success her predecessor had on Growth Advantage.

The managers draw on an experienced and stable investment team. Together, they leverage a team of 15 growth analysts who average more than 15 years of industry experience. These analysts are organized by sector; some follow large-cap names, while others cover small- and mid-cap stocks. Both managers also benefit from the insights of JPMorgan’s 35-plus-member core and value research team, which supports the firm’s other large-cap strategies. This blend of proven leadership, specialized analyst coverage, and extensive research capabilities underpins our long-term conviction in the team.

J.P. Morgan continues to build a track record of strong stewardship, supporting a Parent rating upgrade to High from Above Average.

With more than USD 4 trillion in assets under management (including USD 1.3 trillion in money market funds) and a broad reach, J.P. Morgan is among the largest active asset managers in the US, Europe, and Asia. Although some multi-asset offerings have struggled over the past five years, prompting new leadership to make changes to investment teams, its equity and fixed-income teams boast long-tenured portfolio managers who practice repeatable investment processes that have generally produced strong long-term results. Most of its funds are core building blocks with long lifetimes, though its lineup around the world also includes more-specialized options: Two options-based equity-income exchange-traded funds, launched in 2020 and 2022, are now among the firm’s largest. J.P. Morgan has been an early mover in offering active ETFs, having converted 12 of its open-end mutual funds to the structure and launching others. It isn’t always at the forefront of emerging trends. While it has filed registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an interval fund and an ETF investing in private markets, it hasn’t yet introduced such an option for all investors, whether on its own or in partnership with another asset manager, unlike some of its closest competitors.

To support the firm’s diverse investment offerings, J.P. Morgan has invested heavily in both portfolio management tools and its client organization. Over the past 10 years, the firm has developed robust proprietary technology with advanced analytics and broad buy-in from investment analysts, portfolio traders, and portfolio managers, all of whom have easy access to the platform. The firm also stands apart for its demonstrated commitment to clients. In the early 2000s, J.P. Morgan began pivoting its engagement with financial advisors to adopt a more consultative approach, supported by its sought-after Guide to the Markets research series that focuses on investor education, not product pitches. This perspective can help clients stay the course, supporting positive investor outcomes.

Incentives reinforce alignment with fundholders. Beginning more than 10 years ago, investment team compensation is tied to three-, five-, and 10-year performance, and portfolio managers must invest at least half of their deferred compensation in J.P. Morgan strategies. Many firms encourage portfolio managers to invest alongside fundholders, but J.P. Morgan goes a step further in requiring client-facing individuals to invest substantial portions of their incentive compensation in the funds.

Although some funds still face high cost hurdles, more than half of share classes charge competitive fees relative to peers.

In the highly competitive large-growth Morningstar Category, this strategy has posted strong early results versus its peers. From its August 2022 launch through November 2025, the ETF delivered a 21.2% annualized return, easily topping the typical large-growth category peer norm’s 18.8% return, but lagged the tough-to-beat Russell 1000 Growth Index’s 22.8% gain.

The strategy has a momentum tilt, which can cause it to struggle a bit during choppier markets. For example, during 2025, the strategy lost less than the index in the market’s early pullback, but materially trailed during the rally back through November. The momentum tilt has proved to be a tailwind over the long run, allowing the team to effectively size and trade positions. Stock selection has also impressed within the underlying strategies.

This ETF has behaved much like the historical track records of its underlying JPMorgan Large Cap Growth and JPMorgan Growth Advantage strategies, tending to outperform in rallies while breaking even in downturns. Its performance has also typically been an average of the two strategies, which is as intended. That said, the ETF slightly lagged both funds during the first nine months of 2025 but has bounced back recently. This shows the simple two-week rebalancing scheme can lead to short-term performance distortions, but it should level out over longer periods.

JPMorgan Active Growth ETF's Prospectus Adjusted Expense Ratio is 0.44% per year. It places it in the cheapest quintile of the Morningstar US Fund Large Growth Category, where the median fee is 0.82% per year. This cost positioning translates into a Medalist Rating Price Score of 1.96, which reflects its relative price positioning within the category. The Price Score ranges from -2.50 (most expensive) to +2.50 (cheapest), with higher scores indicating better cost competitiveness.