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Is Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Equity ETF (FNDE) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 08/13/2013, smart beta exchange traded fund Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Equity ETF (FNDE - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well 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.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $9.65 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. FNDE is managed by Charles Schwab. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI Emerging Markets Large Co. Index (Net).
The RAFI Fundamental High Liquidity Emerging Markets Index measures the performance of large sized companies, based on their fundamental size and weight, in emerging market countries.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.39% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.65%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
When you look at individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturingaccounts for about 5.27% of the fund's total assets, followed by Vale Sa (VALE3) and Petroleo Brasileiro Pref Sa (PETR4).
The top 10 holdings account for about 26.88% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 14.67% and was up about 34.95% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 05/14/2026), respectively. FNDE has traded between $31.41 and $41.74 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.55 and standard deviation of 16.38% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 394 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares has $122.02 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $159.33 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.06% and IEMG changes 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market ETFs
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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Is Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Equity ETF (FNDE) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 08/13/2013, smart beta exchange traded fund Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Equity ETF (FNDE - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Emerging Market ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well 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.
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.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Because the fund has amassed over $9.65 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Broad Emerging Market ETFs. FNDE is managed by Charles Schwab. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI Emerging Markets Large Co. Index (Net).
The RAFI Fundamental High Liquidity Emerging Markets Index measures the performance of large sized companies, based on their fundamental size and weight, in emerging market countries.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.39% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.65%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
When you look at individual holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturingaccounts for about 5.27% of the fund's total assets, followed by Vale Sa (VALE3) and Petroleo Brasileiro Pref Sa (PETR4).
The top 10 holdings account for about 26.88% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 14.67% and was up about 34.95% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 05/14/2026), respectively. FNDE has traded between $31.41 and $41.74 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.55 and standard deviation of 16.38% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 394 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Equity ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Emerging Market ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VWO) tracks FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) tracks MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index. Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF Shares has $122.02 billion in assets, iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has $159.33 billion. VWO has an expense ratio of 0.06% and IEMG changes 0.09%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Broad Emerging Market ETFs
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.