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Is Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF (FNDB) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF (FNDB - Free Report) was launched on 08/13/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Charles Schwab. FNDB has been able to amass assets over $205.79 M, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, FNDB seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI US Index.
The Russell RAFI US Index measures the performance of the constituent companies by fundamental overall company scores.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.25% for this ETF, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.51%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 18.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc Common Stock Usd.00001 (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 5.71% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd.00000625 (MSFT - Free Report) and At+t Inc Common Stock Usd1.0 (T - Free Report) .
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.81% of FNDB's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF has lost about -30.73% so far, and is down about -19.51% over the last 12 months (as of 03/25/2020). FNDB has traded between $26.60 and $43.02 in this past 52-week period.
FNDB has a beta of 1.03 and standard deviation of 19.33% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1603 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers ETF (PEY - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers 50 Index and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV - Free Report) tracks S&P 900 Value Index. Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers ETF has $594.63 M in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $4.77 B. PEY has an expense ratio of 0.53% and IUSV charges 0.04%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap Value.
Bottom Line
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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Is Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF (FNDB) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF (FNDB - Free Report) was launched on 08/13/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Charles Schwab. FNDB has been able to amass assets over $205.79 M, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, FNDB seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI US Index.
The Russell RAFI US Index measures the performance of the constituent companies by fundamental overall company scores.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.25% for this ETF, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.51%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 18.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc Common Stock Usd.00001 (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 5.71% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd.00000625 (MSFT - Free Report) and At+t Inc Common Stock Usd1.0 (T - Free Report) .
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.81% of FNDB's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF has lost about -30.73% so far, and is down about -19.51% over the last 12 months (as of 03/25/2020). FNDB has traded between $26.60 and $43.02 in this past 52-week period.
FNDB has a beta of 1.03 and standard deviation of 19.33% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1603 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers ETF (PEY - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers 50 Index and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV - Free Report) tracks S&P 900 Value Index. Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers ETF has $594.63 M in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $4.77 B. PEY has an expense ratio of 0.53% and IUSV charges 0.04%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap Value.
Bottom Line
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.