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Should Schwab U.S. MidCap ETF (SCHM) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Schwab U.S. MidCap ETF (SCHM - Free Report) was launched on 01/13/2011, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $8.59 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Blend

With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.

Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.

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 the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.74%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 17% of the portfolio. Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Devon Energy Corp (DVN - Free Report) accounts for about 0.97% of total assets, followed by On Semiconductor Corp (ON - Free Report) and Diamondback Energy Inc (FANG - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.88% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SCHM seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index. The Index includes the mid-cap portion of the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index actually available to investors in the marketplace and includes the components ranked 501-1000 by full market capitalization.

The ETF has lost about -20.47% so far this year and is down about -17.59% in the last one year (as of 07/12/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $60.91 and $83.39.

The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 27.45% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 506 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Schwab U.S. MidCap ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, SCHM is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard MidCap ETF (VO - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P MidCap ETF (IJH - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard MidCap ETF has $47.06 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P MidCap ETF has $56.72 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.

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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