Jpmorgan International Value ETF JIVE

JPMorgan International Value is a nascent strategy, approaching its two-year anniversary, but its experienced management team and well-defined investment process warrant an Above Average rating for People and Process.

The strategy is comanaged by Thomas Buckingham and Joyce Weng, supported by veteran manager and team head Michael Barakos. Buckingham, with 18 years at J.P. Morgan, has managed European and international value mandates since 2014 and 2017, respectively. Weng, a global emerging-market specialist with 18 years of experience (15 at J.P. Morgan), joined the team in 2023, expanding the strategy’s reach beyond developed markets. Barakos provides strategic oversight, bringing 24 years of experience and a strong European value track record.

The team benefits from one of the industry’s deepest research platforms, including roughly 80 fundamental analysts averaging 17 years’ experience, complemented by 19 quantitative specialists. The process, refined over more than two decades in Europe and more recently applied to international portfolios, combines a bottom-up, research-driven philosophy with a disciplined, consistent value orientation.

Portfolio construction is highly diversified, with 175–350 holdings, 2% active weight caps per position, and 10% active limits at the sector and regional levels. Managers are benchmark-aware but willing to invest outside the index and further down the market-cap spectrum.

The fund's short track record, from September 2023 through August 2025, shows strong results versus the MSCI ACWI ex-USA Value Index and the foreign large-value Morningstar Category. While promising, the limited history precludes definitive conclusions.

The team’s longer-established JPMorgan Developed International Value strategy has also outperformed its index and category, albeit with higher volatility, generally excelling in rising markets but capturing more downside in weaker periods. Risk-adjusted returns indicate investors have been compensated for this volatility, though the strategy’s value orientation may pose relative challenges in growth-led markets.

This strategy employs a codified, contrarian, and highly diversified approach to international value investing that merits an Above Average Process rating.

The framework has been refined in Europe for more than two decades and has more recently been extended to international and global portfolios. It carries many of the hallmarks typical of a J.P. Morgan strategy: a bottom-up, research-driven philosophy supported by the firm’s considerable analytical resources. What sets it apart is the managers’ deliberate and consistent application of a distinct value style.

The managers seek fundamentally sound companies trading at attractive valuations. Idea generation begins with the proprietary Spectrum platform, which leverages the firm’s quantitative research to narrow a broad investable universe. Screens incorporate valuation metrics alongside quality measures such as earnings durability, management assessment, and operational execution. These outputs are further tested using inputs from J.P. Morgan’s extensive fundamental analysts and cross-portfolio manager insights.

A distinctive feature is the quarterly survey of J.P. Morgan’s roughly 80 fundamental analysts, who are asked to provide their most contrarian stock idea within their coverage universe. This has been a consistent source of differentiated opportunities. The approach further distinguishes itself by integrating external sell-side research and broker relationships more extensively than typical for J.P. Morgan strategies, particularly in small- and mid-cap names where in-house coverage is thinner.

The approach is patient and does not rely on near-term catalysts. Managers are willing to hold positions for extended periods, collecting yield while awaiting value realization.

JPMorgan International Value closely resembles its sibling, JPMorgan Developed International Value, but with the added flexibility to invest in emerging markets. The strategy remains highly diversified, currently near the upper end of its 175–350 stock range. Position sizes are capped at 2% active weight, with plus-or-minus 10% limits at industry and regional levels, which helps reduce single-stock risk and spreads alpha across many smaller positions. The top 10 holdings make up only a modest share of assets: 12.5% as of July 2025.

Though benchmark-aware, the managers are willing to invest outside the index and further down the market-cap spectrum. As of July 2025, small- and mid-caps accounted for 27.1% of assets, notably above both the MSCI ACWI ex-USA Value Index (8.8%) and category peers (19.9%). This tilt is opportunistic rather than structural.

Despite a lower absolute quality profile, the portfolio has consistently shown stronger profitability metrics and slightly lower leverage than the benchmark. Turnover has stayed within the expected 30%–60% range, supported by rigorous quarterly oversight from J.P. Morgan’s investment directors.

As of July 2025, regional overweightings were in developed Europe, the UK, and Japan, while underweightings included North America, Australasia, and Africa/Middle East. Sector positioning favored industrials, consumer cyclical, and communication services, with consumer defensive, technology, and utilities the largest underweightings.

JPMorgan International Value earns an Above Average People rating, backed by a deep and collaborative management team. Five career-long J.P. Morgan investors have co-led the strategy since inception, reflecting a disciplined, team-based approach rather than a star-manager culture.

Thomas Buckingham and Joyce Weng serve as co-leads. Buckingham, with 18 years at the firm, has run European and international value mandates since 2014 and 2017, respectively. Weng, a global emerging-markets specialist with 18 years of experience (15 at J.P. Morgan), formally joined the team in 2023, broadening its scope beyond developed markets. The partnership is relatively new, and we will continue to monitor its evolution.

Veteran manager Michael Barakos provides strategic oversight as team head, drawing on 24 years of experience and a strong record in European value investing. Ian Butler, another seasoned investor with 20 years at the firm, comanages both European and global value portfolios. Kyle Williams, the most junior member, brings complementary experience from UK growth and now global value strategies.

The managers benefit from one of the industry’s strongest research platforms: roughly 80 fundamental analysts averaging 17 years’ industry experience, supplemented by 19 quantitative specialists.

While the team oversees a large suite of strategies, its scale and consistent process help keep workloads manageable, and we view retention risk as low.

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.

JPMorgan International Value has a short track record, having launched in September 2023. From its inception through August 2025, the strategy has delivered strong results, with annualized returns of 24.8% versus 19.6% for the MSCI ACWI ex-USA Value Index and 19.0% for the foreign large-value category. While promising, the track record is not yet long enough to draw definitive conclusions.

For additional context, we look to the JPMorgan Developed International Value strategy, which has been managed by the same team and with the same process since June 2018. During this time, it has outperformed its index and category, albeit with higher volatility. It has tended to excel in rising markets while capturing more downside in weaker periods, but risk-adjusted returns suggest investors have been compensated for this additional volatility. Given its clear value tilt, relative results will likely be challenged in growth-led markets.

Calendar-year results for the fund have been strong. In 2024, it gained 10.9% versus 6.0% for the index and 4.4% for peers, driven largely by an overweighting in financials and strong selection in banks. For the year to date 2025 (end of July), performance has been even stronger, up 26.3% against 20.7% for the index and 21.4% for peers. Financials, particularly banks and insurers, accounted for roughly half of gains.

JPMorgan International Value ETF's Prospectus Adjusted Expense Ratio is 0.55% per year. It places it in the cheapest quintile of the Morningstar US Fund Foreign Large Value Category, where the median fee is 0.87% per year. This cost positioning translates into a Medalist Rating Price Score of 1.79, 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.