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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?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

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.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $583.54 million, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. FNDB is managed by Charles Schwab. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund 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

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.25%.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.89%.

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 in the Information Technology sector - about 18.30% of the portfolio. Financials and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 4.16% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (BRK/B).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.09% of FNDB's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FNDB has added about 10.21%, and was up about 7.27% in the last one year (as of 11/22/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $51.70 and $58.95.

The fund has a beta of 1.03 and standard deviation of 16.70% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FNDB a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 1718 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 $8.44 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $14.27 billion. DFAT has an expense ratio of 0.28% 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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