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Is Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF (FNDX) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF (FNDX - Free Report) made its debut on 08/13/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large 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.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $20.33 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI US Large Co. Index.

The RAFI Fundamental High Liquidity US Large Index measures the performance of large U.S. companies based on their fundamental size and weight.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for FNDX are 0.25%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.64%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector - about 17.4% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 4.2% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM).

FNDX's top 10 holdings account for about 21.16% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FNDX return is roughly 11.88%, and was up about 12.12% in the last one year (as of 09/22/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $20.84 and $26.30.

FNDX has a beta of 0.94 and standard deviation of 14.74% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 740 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $71.62 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $147.01 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV changes 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 - Large 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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