Steve Deroian, Head of ETF Strategy, John Hancock Investment Management met with Julie Cooling, Founder & CEO, RIA Channel to discuss the benefits of factor-based ETF strategies and why they are rising in popularity.
John Hancock Investment Management, known for their manager of managers approach, entered the word of ETFs in 2015. In the last five years, the firm has strategically partnered with top tier manager Dimensional Funds to deliver a robust lineup of multifactor ETFs. Dimensional Funds, often touted as a pioneer of multifactor investing, brings decades of academic research, insights and experience implementing rules-based strategies to the table.
Factor-based investing, which is a form of strategic beta, harnesses research-backed active insights into a cost effective rules-based index. The approach seeks to identify and capture certain investment characteristics, such as size and momentum, that research has shown to drive long-term performance. While single factor or concentrated strategies, come with a certain level of risk and volatility, multifactor strategies consider several factors into a single portfolio and can often offer a smoother ride for investors. Ultimately the mulitfactor ETF lineup aims to outperform the market at a lower cost. Amidst the recent market volatility, multifactor strategies have seen increased asset growth relative to their passive and single factor counterparts.
John Hancock Investment Management’s ETF suite provides access to U.S. equity markets, international equity markets and a variety of sectors, ranging from healthcare to consumer staples. Some of their flagship products include mid cap ETF, JHMM, large cap ETF, JHML and emerging markets ETF, JHEM.
Steve Deroian is responsible for growing the John Hancock Investment Management’s ETF platform by expanding distribution opportunities for our existing offerings, developing new capabilities, and overseeing the ETF lineup as a whole. Prior to joining John Hancock Investment Management, Deroian gathered over two decades of industry experience in a variety of roles, including North America product specialist for risk-based investment solutions at Rothschild Asset Management, primarily focused on growing their strategic beta product and sales strategy. Steve also worked at FSquared Investments as senior vice president of global strategic product and partnerships.
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