3 ETFs That Could Diversify Your Portfolio

Inflation cooled again last month after starting to decline in October.

The Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in November rose 7.1% increase year-over-year and was just 0.1% from the previous month.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected prices to grow at an annual 7.3% and 0.3% over the prior month.

The favorable November inflation report kept the Fed on track to increase interest rates by a relatively smaller amount after four consecutive hikes of 75-basis-point magnitude.

In addition to the optimism surrounding the decline in the Fed rate hikes, December has proven to be a strong month for the stock market over the past 70 years. However, many experts still expect a mild recession next year.

Given the backdrop, it could be wise to take advantage of the uptrend in JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST), IQ MacKay Municipal Intermediate ETF (MMIT), and VanEck Long Muni ETF (MLN) to diversify your portfolio this month.

JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST)

JPST is an actively managed, ultra-short-term, broad-market bond fund that aims to maximize income and preserve capital.

The fund makes investments in fixed-rate, variable-rate, and floating-rate debt, including corporate issues, asset-backed securities, and debt pertaining to mortgages, as well as U.S. government and agency debt, including treasury securities.

JPST has $22.76 billion in assets under management. The fund has a total of 467 holdings. Its top holdings include U.S. Dollar with a 44.64% weighting, Fixed Income (unclassified) at 1.73%, BNP Paribas S.A. 3.5% at 0.94%, and Nordea Bank AB (New York) FRN at 0.81%.

JPST has an expense ratio of 0.18%, lower than the category average of 0.60%. Over the past six months, JPST's fund inflows came in at $4.14 billion. Also, it has a beta of 0.04, indicating extremely low volatility compared to the broader market.

JPST pays an annual dividend of $1.04, which yields 2.08% on prevailing prices. Its dividend payments have grown at a 16.9% CAGR over the past five years. The fund has a record of dividend payments for five consecutive years.

JPST has gained marginally over the past month to close the last trading session at $50.19. It has a NAV of $50.19 as of December 12, 2022. Continue reading "3 ETFs That Could Diversify Your Portfolio"