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Is Schwab Fundamental International Small Company Index (SFILX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Schwab Fundamental International Small Company Index (SFILX - 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
SFILX finds itself in the Schwab Funds family, based out of San Francisco, CA. Schwab Fundamental International Small Company Index made its debut in January of 2008, and since then, SFILX has accumulated about $530.18 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.35%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of 7.73%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. Compared to the category average of 19.71%, the standard deviation of SFILX over the past three years is 18.58%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.73% compared to the category average of 21.26%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.92, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -8.72. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, SFILX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.39% compared to the category average of 1.13%. From a cost perspective, SFILX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about SFILX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is Schwab Fundamental International Small Company Index (SFILX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Schwab Fundamental International Small Company Index (SFILX - 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
SFILX finds itself in the Schwab Funds family, based out of San Francisco, CA. Schwab Fundamental International Small Company Index made its debut in January of 2008, and since then, SFILX has accumulated about $530.18 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.35%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of 7.73%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. Compared to the category average of 19.71%, the standard deviation of SFILX over the past three years is 18.58%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.73% compared to the category average of 21.26%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.92, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -8.72. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, SFILX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.39% compared to the category average of 1.13%. From a cost perspective, SFILX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about SFILX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.