Janus Henderson launched a new international equity ETF on Wednesday, according to a Janus Henderson press release. The Janus Henderson International Core Alpha ETF (JINT) seeks long-term growth of capital across developed markets outside the U.S.
Key Takeaways:
- Janus Henderson launched JINT, its first international entry in the SystemActive ETF lineup.
- Financials, industrials and materials carry far more weight in the MSCI EAFE Index than in the S&P 500.
- U.S. small-caps are also outpacing large-caps, with Russell 2000 earnings growth far above forecasts.
International developed markets are having a rare run. They climbed 32% in 2025 and outperformed the S&P 500 Index by its widest margin since 1993. JINT portfolio managers Benjamin Wang and Zoey Zhu detailed the shift in commentary published by Janus Henderson. That advantage has continued into 2026. If it holds, it would mark the first consecutive years of EAFE outperformance since a six-year run ended in 2007.
JINT extends Janus Henderson’s SystemActive framework into international markets, according to the release. The same approach already runs across the firm’s U.S. Small Cap (JSML), SMID Cap (JSMD) and Mid Cap (JMID) ETFs. It pairs proprietary investment signals with active portfolio risk management, aiming to systematically identify stocks with favorable return characteristics.
“What differentiates this strategy is the combination of fundamentally informed research, proprietary alpha factors and explicit risk management,” Zhu said in the release.
Elevated concentration in U.S. technology stocks has coincided with improving overseas earnings, though valuation gaps abroad persist, Wang and Zhu found. Those trends have pushed some investors to look beyond American markets.
Technology and communication services make up about 47% of the S&P 500, Wang and Zhu wrote. The MSCI EAFE Index carries far more exposure to financials, industrials and materials instead.
Why International Markets Look Different
A less tech-heavy composition can act as a counterweight to U.S. concentration and widen the pool of potential return drivers, Wang and Zhu explained.
In Wang and Zhu’s view, the fragmented nature of international markets can also create pricing inefficiencies. A multi-factor approach seeks to exploit those gaps, much as it has in U.S. small- and midcap stocks.
Dividend yield has also been a stronger factor abroad, according to the commentary. Stocks in the EAFE’s top dividend-yield quintile outperformed the bottom quintile by 3.5% annually over the past 20 years. In the U.S., that same gap was just 0.7%.
The gap traces largely to sector mix and capital-return preferences, Wang and Zhu noted. Soaring U.S. tech valuations and a preference for buybacks over dividends have driven down American yields.
The rotation away from U.S. mega-cap concentration isn’t limited to international markets. Janus Henderson portfolio managers Jonathan Coleman and Aaron Schaechterle highlighted the same shift among small-caps, writing for Advisor Perspectives.
See more: The Catalysts Behind Small Cap Outperformance
Since early April 2025 market lows, the Russell 2000 Index has outperformed the S&P 500 by roughly 14%. It remains ahead by about 7% year to date. Second-quarter earnings for the Russell 2000 grew about 43% from a year earlier. Wall Street had expected just 26%.
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Originally posted on ETF Trends
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