JIRE vs SFTX

JIREAJPMorgan International Research Enhanced Equity ETF

SFTXDHorizon International Managed Risk ETF

In short

JIRE EAFE core with a stock-picker's fingerprints. JIRE holds sector and geographic risk close to the MSCI EAFE Index and expresses J.P. Morgan's global analyst calls as small over- and underweights, for 0.29% a year, below the typical active international fee.

SFTX An international stock fund with a brake pedal. Horizon's Risk Assist strategy watches volatility and can pull the portfolio into Treasuries or cash equivalents, up to entirely, instead of riding a selloff all the way down.

Stated mandate

JIRE JIRE seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in foreign developed-market companies. It uses global fundamental research and seeks to outperform the MSCI EAFE Index while maintaining similar sector and geographic risk characteristics.

SFTX Seeks total return from developed- and emerging-market equity securities while systematically adjusting exposure to limit downside risk. Its Risk Assist framework can reallocate part of the portfolio to U.S. Treasury securities or cash equivalents during market volatility.

Why people hold it

• JIRE Index-like by design: sector and geographic risk stay close to MSCI EAFE, so stock-level tilts from J.P. Morgan's worldwide research bench do the work.jpmorgan.com
• 0.29% a year, below the median fee in its active international category, and no waiver is propping that up, so there is no expiry date to watch.
• Risk spread wide: roughly 200 stocks across developed markets outside North America, inside a multi-billion-dollar fund.
• Rates as one of the stronger implementations in the active international equity group.

• SFTX The de-risking is built into the mandate, not left to you. Risk Assist monitors volatility and falling global equity values and can shift assets to Treasuries or cash equivalents.horizonmutualfunds.com
• Wide net abroad: roughly 200 holdings spanning developed and emerging markets, reached directly or through ADRs and other ETFs.horizonmutualfunds.com
• It did not launch as a shell. The 2025 debut came with real size and moderate daily volume, so it trades like an established ticker rather than a thin one.

Worth knowing

• JIRE Hugging the benchmark cuts both ways: differences from EAFE come in small slices from stock selection, not bold sector or country bets.
• Cheaper shelf-mates exist: DFIC at 0.22% and AVDE at 0.23%, plus TACN at 0.20% gross but 0% net of a waiver through January 30, 2027.
• Developed-market holdings are priced in foreign currencies, so moves in the dollar ride along with the stock results.jpmorgan.com

• SFTX Downside management costs money: 0.82% a year, above the typical actively managed international fund. Pacer's PTIN runs a rules-based trend overlay for 0.02%.
• The brake works both ways. The prospectus notes the fund can sit primarily or entirely in cash equivalents, and that Risk Assist carries no guarantee against losses.horizonmutualfunds.com
• Young ETF, thin evidence. It launched in December 2025, so there is little live history showing how the strategy behaves across a full market cycle.

Full JIRE profile⁠

Full SFTX profile⁠