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Should Schwab U.S. SmallCap ETF (SCHA) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market? You should consider the Schwab U.S. SmallCap ETF (SCHA - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 11/03/2009.

The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $14.61 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

There's a lot of potential to investing in small cap companies, but with market capitalization below $2 billion, that high potential comes with even higher risk.

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

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

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 1.44%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 17.80% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Lpl Financial Holdings Inc (LPLA - Free Report) accounts for about 0.45% of total assets, followed by Ssc Government Mm Gvmxx (GVMXX) and First Horizon Corp (FHN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 3.38% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SCHA seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index includes the small-cap portion of the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index actually available to investors in the marketplace.

The ETF has lost about -17.91% so far this year and is down about -16.54% in the last one year (as of 09/09/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $37.88 and $55.07.

The ETF has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 30.05% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1814 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Schwab U.S. SmallCap 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, SCHA is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $52.73 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF has $65.01 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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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