Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

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?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

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

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.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Charles Schwab, FNDB has amassed assets over $459.76 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. FNDB, before fees and expenses, 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

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

Annual operating expenses for FNDB are 0.25%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.91%.

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 15.50% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 3.64% of total assets, followed by Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 18.3% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -7.70% so far this year and is down about -2.47% in the last one year (as of 08/30/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $49.26 and $59.23.

FNDB has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 24.39% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1722 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.

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 $7 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $11.93 billion. DFAT has an expense ratio of 0.29% 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.

Published in