JPST ETF Review – JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF

JPST is an actively managed ETF from J.P. Morgan that holds ultra-short-term debt instruments for the purpose of providing income. I review it here.

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JPST Methodology, Yield, and Fees

Think of JPST as being somewhat in between a money market fund, which is a cash equivalent, and a total bond market fund. This ETF from J.P. Morgan provides a higher yield than the former and a lower duration than the latter.

JPST launched in 2017 and has quickly amassed nearly $25 billion, making it the largest actively managed ETF in the world. The managers of the fund, who have decades of experience, select investment-grade bonds with maturities less than 1 year. JPST’s effective duration is about 4 months. This makes the fund nimble and adaptable.

JPST has a fee of 0.18%, considerably lower than its competitors. At the time of writing, its 30-day SEC yield is 4.51%.

JPST Sector Composition

The fund has about 600 holdings across various ultra-short-term USD-denominated debt instruments including corporate bonds, U.S. Treasury notes, agency-backed securities, and mortgage-related debt. To generate a higher yield, JPST tends to focus on the Financials sector for its corporate bonds. Here’s a breakdown of those debt types:

JPST Performance

In terms of performance, JPST fund has also beaten its competitors and its benchmark, the ICE BofAML 3-Month US Treasury Bill Index, by an impressive 50 bps since inception:

Is JPST a Good Investment?

So is JPST a good investment? Maybe.

JPST has proven its ability to provide appreciable income with low volatility during choppy markets or low yield environments and also take advantage of interest rate changes such as the recent Fed rate hikes.

I compared JPST to its closest competitors in a separate post here.

Conveniently, JPST should be available at any major broker, including M1 Finance, which is the one I’m usually suggesting around here.

What do you think of JPST? Do you own it? Let me know in the comments.

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Disclosure: None.

Disclaimer:  While I love diving into investing-related data and playing around with backtests, I am in no way a certified expert. I have no formal financial education. I am not a financial advisor, portfolio manager, or accountant. This is not financial advice, investing advice, or tax advice. The information on this website is for informational and recreational purposes only. Investment products discussed (ETFs, mutual funds, etc.) are for illustrative purposes only. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or otherwise transact in any of the products mentioned. Do your own due diligence. Past performance does not guarantee future returns. Read my lengthier disclaimer here.