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Should Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company Index ETF (FNDA) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company Index ETF (FNDA - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 08/13/2013.

The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $8.23 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Value

With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Looking at their long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets. They are however likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.25%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.37%.

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 21.80% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Abercrombie And Fitch Class A (ANF - Free Report) accounts for about 0.54% of total assets, followed by Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC - Free Report) and Xpo Inc (XPO - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 3.54% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

FNDA seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI US Small Co. Index before fees and expenses. The Russell RAFI US Small Company Index measures the performance of the small company size segment by fundamental overall company scores.

The ETF return is roughly 2.25% so far this year and was up about 17.55% in the last one year (as of 04/02/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $44.98 and $57.03.

The ETF has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 21.50% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 961 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company Index ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FNDA is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN - Free Report) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $12.39 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF has $28.72 billion. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBR charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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