ETF Evaluator: Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF (JSML) Follow This ETF

Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF Overview

Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF (JSML) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Growth exchange-traded fund (ETF). Janus Henderson launched the ETF in 2016.

The investment seeks to provide long-term growth of capital. The fund will, under normal circumstances, invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of small-sized capitalization (“small cap”) companies selected for their growth potential. For purposes of the 80% policy, the fund's managers consider small cap companies to be those whose market capitalization falls within the 12-month range of the Russell 2000TM Growth Index.

About Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF (JSML)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.26 years: Benjamin Wang (2016) and Zoey Zhu (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 2000 Growth TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF has 123 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 20.9% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF has 0.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.2% There is 0.7% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF has 0.0% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $450 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Small Growth category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

JSML Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Small Growth category. Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF has an expense ratio of 0.30%, which is 31% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 170%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 75% for the Small Growth category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF returned 6.8%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Small Growth category had an average return of 6.1%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF has a trailing yield of 0.32%, which is below the 0.40% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 26.9%, 3.3 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 38.9% over the past year (grade of B), 19.0% over the past three years (grade of B) and 7.3% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 13.7% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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