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Is Schwab Small-Cap Index (SWSSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for an Index fund category, then a possible option is Schwab Small-Cap Index (SWSSX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Schwab Funds is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of SWSSX. Schwab Small-Cap Index debuted in May of 1997. Since then, SWSSX has accumulated assets of about $6.27 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 13.52%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.62%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Over the past three years, SWSSX's standard deviation comes in at 25.74%, compared to the category average of 25.72%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.14% compared to the category average of 21.1%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.22, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. SWSSX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.13, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 97.13% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $3.80 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Health
Industrial Cyclical
Technology
Other
Turnover is about 6%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, SWSSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.04% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SWSSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Your research on the Index segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Schwab Small-Cap Index (SWSSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for an Index fund category, then a possible option is Schwab Small-Cap Index (SWSSX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Schwab Funds is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of SWSSX. Schwab Small-Cap Index debuted in May of 1997. Since then, SWSSX has accumulated assets of about $6.27 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 13.52%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.62%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Over the past three years, SWSSX's standard deviation comes in at 25.74%, compared to the category average of 25.72%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.14% compared to the category average of 21.1%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.22, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. SWSSX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.13, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 97.13% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $3.80 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Finance
- Health
- Industrial Cyclical
- Technology
- Other
Turnover is about 6%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, SWSSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.04% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SWSSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Your research on the Index segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.