Jpmorgan International Value ETF JIVE

Though still a nascent strategy approaching its three-year anniversary, JPMorgan International Value benefits from an experienced management team and a well-defined investment process, earning Above Average ratings for both People and Process.

The strategy is comanaged by Thomas Buckingham and Joyce Weng, supported by veteran manager and team head Michael Barakos. Buckingham, with 19 years at J.P. Morgan, has managed European and international value mandates since 2014 and 2017, respectively. Weng, a global emerging-markets specialist with 19 years of experience (15 of them at J.P. Morgan), joined the team in 2023, expanding the strategy’s reach beyond developed markets. Barakos provides strategic oversight, bringing 27 years of experience and a strong European value track record.

The managers also benefit from one of the industry's strongest research platforms, supported by a large team of fundamental analysts, portfolio managers, and 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 200–400 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.

JPMorgan International Value’s short track record, from September 2023 through July 2026, 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, though 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 is typical for J.P. Morgan strategies, particularly in small and mid-cap names where in-house coverage is thinner.

Their 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. However, turnover can be high, with positions sold if they no longer meet their criteria or no longer look attractively valued.

JPMorgan International Value closely resembles its sibling JPMorgan Developed International Value, but with the added flexibility to invest in emerging markets.

The portfolio remains highly diversified, and the parameters have shifted slightly since our last review, with the holdings range increasing from 175–350 to 200–400. This gives the team more flexibility to invest in favored names from across the desk, though the change is expected to have minimal impact. Position sizes are capped at 2% active weight, though in practice few holdings approach this limit. There are also limits of plus or minus 10% at the industry and regional level, which help reduce single-stock risk and spread alpha across a broader set of smaller positions.

Though benchmark-aware, the managers are willing to invest outside the index and further down the market-cap spectrum. As of July 2026, small and mid-caps accounted for 26.4% of assets, notably above both the MSCI ACWI ex-USA Value Index (8.1%) and category peers (20.7%). 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.

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 managed 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 19 years at the firm, has run European and International Value mandates since 2014 and 2017, respectively. Weng, a global emerging-markets specialist with 19 years' experience (16 at J.P. Morgan), formally joined the team in 2023, broadening its scope beyond developed markets. The partnership is relatively new, but it appears to be working well so far; we will continue to monitor its evolution.

Veteran manager Michael Barakos provides strategic oversight as team head, drawing on 27 years of experience and a strong record in European value investing. Ian Butler, another seasoned investor with 21 years at the firm, comanages both European and global value portfolios. Kyle Williams, the most junior member, has spent his entire 15-year career at the firm and brings complementary experience from UK growth investing, now applied to global value strategies.

The team has continued to expand since our last review, which is a positive development. Demos Philippou joined via an internal move from the implementation team, and they also hired a graduate, continuing the well-trodden J.P. Morgan (and team) tradition of building a bench of future talent.

The managers benefit from one of the industry's strongest research platforms, supported by a large team of fundamental analysts, portfolio managers, and 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 record, having launched in September 2023. From its inception through July 2025, the strategy has delivered strong results, with annualized returns of 30.65% versus 25.44% for the MSCI ACWI ex-USA Value Index and 23.08% for the foreign large-value category. The team has gotten off to a very strong start, though this remains too short a period to draw definitive conclusions.

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

The fund had a strong 2024, ranking in the third percentile of the category, returning 10.9% versus 6.0% for the index and 4.4% for peers, driven largely by an overweighting in financials and strong stock selection within banks.

This outperformance continued into 2025, with a standout 50.1% return (5th percentile), outperforming the category and index by 11.6% and 10.6%, respectively. Financials again drove a significant share of performance, particularly banks, with strong contributions from names such as HSBC and Banco Santander. For the year to date through the end of July 2026, JPMorgan International Value has continued to deliver, returning 19.51% versus 15.11% for the category and 18.50% for the index.

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 0.86% 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.