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Should Schwab U.S. LargeCap Growth ETF (SCHG) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Schwab U.S. LargeCap Growth ETF (SCHG - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/11/2009.

The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $13.45 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.04%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.58%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 64.80% of the portfolio. Telecom and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc. Com (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 12.86% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corporation Com (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon.com Inc. Com (AMZN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 56.48% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SCHG seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index is float-adjusted market-capitalization weighted and includes the large-cap growth portion of the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index.

The ETF has lost about -27.66% so far this year and is down about -19.09% in the last one year (as of 07/06/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $55.73 and $83.40.

The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 27.74% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 24 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

Schwab U.S. LargeCap Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SCHG is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $68.27 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $156.87 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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