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"
