HB Wealth Management Significantly Boosts JPMorgan Core Plus Bond ETF Stake, Adjusts Other Holdings

HB Wealth Management LLC's position in JPMorgan Core Plus Bond ETF (JCPB) remains a top holding, with 14,422,179 shares after a 16.5% Q1 increase. The stake accounts for about 4.4% of HB's total holdings and roughly 9.82% of JCPB's outstanding shares, valued at about $676.2 million.
HB cut its Hartford Total Return Bond ETF (HTRB) position by 13.2% to 1,210,171 shares, worth about $40.83 million. The ETF is currently trading near its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, with a 12-month price range of $33.28 to $34.82 and an opening price of $33.70 on the reporting day.
HB trimmed its stake in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) by 2.2% to 244,385 shares, valued at about $30.38 million. Notably, institutional investors and hedge funds own a sizable majority of IJR (about 66.92%).
HB sold 83,268 shares (10%) of JPMorgan Short Duration Core Plus ETF (JSCP), leaving 752,086 shares valued around $35.57 million. The ETF opened at $46.99, with a 1-year price range of $46.87 to $47.87 and a market cap of about $1.61 billion.
HB's JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST) stake rose 1.1% to 9,550,931 shares, about 3.1% of HB's portfolio and roughly $480.9 million in value. JPST has a market cap around $39.17 billion, and institutional ownership of JPST stock is about 2.17%.
HB Wealth Management LLC sharply increased its bet on fixed income in the first quarter of 2025, boosting its stake in JPMorgan Core Plus Bond ETF (JCPB) by 16.5% to 14,422,179 shares — a position now worth about $676.2 million, according to Ticker Report. That single holding accounts for roughly 4.4% of HB's total portfolio and about 9.82% of JCPB's outstanding shares, making it the firm's top holding.
The moves came alongside a mix of cuts and small additions across other ETFs. HB trimmed several positions while nudging up its ultra-short income exposure. The filings paint a picture of a firm rotating deeper into core bond strategies while paring back on riskier and shorter-duration bets.
HB's JCPB position is the clearest signal of its Q1 strategy. The firm added enough shares to push its ownership to nearly one-tenth of the entire fund, according to Ticker Report. At roughly $676.2 million in value, the stake dwarfs every other holding in the portfolio. JCPB is a bond ETF that targets a mix of investment-grade and higher-yielding debt — often called "core plus" because it goes beyond safe bonds to chase more return.
HB also nudged up its position in JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST) by 1.1%, bringing it to 9,550,931 shares worth about $480.9 million. JPST holds very short-term debt, making it almost like a cash-like holding. The ETF has a massive market cap of around $39.17 billion. Institutional investors own only about 2.17% of the fund — making HB's roughly 3.1% slice notably large.
HB sold off 13.2% of its Hartford Total Return Bond ETF (HTRB) stake, dropping to 1,210,171 shares worth about $40.83 million, according to Ticker Report. HTRB has been trading close to both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages — a sign of price stability with little momentum in either direction. Its 12-month range runs from $33.28 to $34.82.
HB also trimmed its iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) position by 2.2%, leaving 244,385 shares valued at about $30.38 million. IJR tracks small U.S. companies, a riskier corner of the market. Institutional investors and hedge funds already own about 66.92% of the fund — a sign of heavy professional interest in the space even as HB pulled back slightly.
HB sold 83,268 shares of JPMorgan Short Duration Core Plus ETF (JSCP) — a 10% cut — leaving 752,086 shares worth roughly $35.57 million, per Ticker Report. JSCP opened at $46.99 on the reporting day. Its 1-year price range sits between $46.87 and $47.87, showing very little price movement. The fund has a total market cap of about $1.61 billion.
The JSCP reduction is notable because HB was trimming a short-duration bond fund at the same time it was loading up on the longer-duration JCPB. That shift suggests the firm may be betting that interest rates will stay steady or fall — conditions that typically favor longer-duration bonds over short ones.
Taken together, HB's Q1 moves point in one direction: more exposure to core and core-plus bonds, less to short-duration and riskier equity-linked products. The firm added to its two largest JPMorgan bond positions — JCPB and JPST — while cutting HTRB, IJR, and JSCP. Bond funds tend to perform better when interest rates drop, since existing bonds with higher payouts become more valuable.
HB's JCPB stake alone — at $676.2 million — is more than ten times the size of its next-largest trimmed position. That concentration is a strong statement. Whether it pays off depends largely on where the Federal Reserve takes interest rates in the months ahead.
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