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Should Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (SCHM) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Launched on 01/13/2011, the Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (SCHM - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $11.44 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Blend

With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

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

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.04%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.44%.

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 21.50% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Pinterest Inc Class A (PINS - Free Report) accounts for about 0.54% of total assets, followed by Netapp Inc (NTAP - Free Report) and Dell Technologies Inc Class C (DELL - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.05% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SCHM seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index. The Index includes the mid-cap portion of the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index actually available to investors in the marketplace and includes the components ranked 501-1000 by full market capitalization.

The ETF has added roughly 6.60% so far this year and was up about 19.65% in the last one year (as of 04/03/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $63.01 and $81.43.

The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 19.91% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 503 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

The Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $63.11 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $83.34 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also 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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