This, likewise with Verizon Communications, is a high-yielding dividend. Unlike VZ, however, this is an ETF and not entirely a company; it is an underlying initiative/subsection under a big corporation like JPMorgan. An ETF, if you have no clue what it is, is a specialized investment company that manages a portfolio of a pool of stocks, bonds, and other assets. The benefits of investing in ETFs include portfolio diversification, lower average costs than mutual funds, trading flexibility, and tax effectivity.
In this specific ETF, they buy and sell multitudes of stocks, which develop a turnover rate. This turnover rate was 190%, which is pretty impressive if you ask me. Most of the money, 80%, associated with the ETF is placed into equity securities, like the S&P 500 and more, which translates to the stock price almost always mirroring the movement in the S&P 500. You may be asking yourself, how in the world do they make massive profits by just investing in the regular market?
Well consider that question answered. Firstly, this fund has equity management that follows a three-step process of research, valuation, and stock selection, allowing it to create a way of making large sums of money in the purchase of equity alone. These research findings allow the advisor to rank companies based on perceived relative value, in hindsight creating a portfolio with lower volatility than the S&P 500 index. Additionally, the advisor assesses environmental, social, and governance(ESG) factors, impacting investment decisions, and employs active trading strategies, considering catalysts, risk impact, and potential rewards to guide stock selection and portfolio adjustments. Not only, does it invest in the S&P 500, but other soundproofed and backtested companies are imminent for success.
But, even without that, it isn’t the biggest money maker, JEPI’s primary way of generating income is to sell call options linked to the S&P 500’s index. The selling of call options and covered calls comes from a strategy through the use of ELNs. This investment product combines a fixed-income investment with additional potential returns that are tied to the performance of equities. These ELNs, issued by counterparties like banks or broker-dealers, combine the economic characteristics of the S&P 500 index and written call options, providing the Fund with recurring cash flow through premiums received from selling call options. Additionally, the use of ELNs is intended to reduce the Fund’s volatility and enhance returns by periodically resetting to capitalize on the current market conditions.
With all these strategies, there are always inherent risks. Most include the general risk of the volatile market itself, an unsuccessful evaluation of a picked stock by an advisor, ELN’s risk, the covered call strategy risk, and more. All these risks could be aligned with any type of investment that you make in the market. If you are interested in learning more beyond this surface-level covering, go to JPMorgan for more in-depth details.
In my opinion, the future is bright, with this stock in all of its 3-year lifespan hovering between 7-10% yield and a pretty consistent growth rate throughout those years. Between the two portfolio managers in charge of all proceeds within the ETF, they have accumulated 70 years of experience in the financial field. Also, having a great selection process of hand-picking out the correct stocks to purchase, and a well-thought-out plan of action for selling call options and covering calls, seems to create a safe and reliable bet. On top of all that, JEPI has received a 4-star Morningstar, meaning that it is a top 22.5% fund in its respective category, suggesting that the stock may be even moderately undervalued and trading at a slight discount relative to its fair value estimate.