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Is Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF (FNDB) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 08/13/2013, smart beta exchange traded fund Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF (FNDB - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

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 sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $416.16 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. FNDB seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI US Index before fees and expenses.

The Russell RAFI US Index measures the performance of the constituent companies by fundamental overall company scores.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.25%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.71%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Representing 17.20% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc Common Stock Usd.00001 (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 3.80% of the fund's total assets, followed by Exxon Mobil Corp Common Stock (XOM - Free Report) and Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd.00000625 (MSFT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 16.83% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -5.67% so far this year and is up roughly 12.44% in the last one year (as of 02/25/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $48.28 and $59.23.

The fund has a beta of 1.06 and standard deviation of 23.29% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FNDB a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 1651 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF (DFAT - Free Report) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV - Free Report) tracks S&P 900 Value Index. Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF has $6.70 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $11.41 billion. DFAT has an expense ratio of 0.34% 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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