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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?

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.

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.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix 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

FNDX is managed by Charles Schwab, and this fund has amassed over $27.51 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund 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

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.

Annual operating expenses for FNDX are 0.25%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.48%.

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.

Representing 20.2% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Apple (AAPL) accounts for about 4.55% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft (MSFT) and Exxonmobil Holdings Corp (XOM).

FNDX's top 10 holdings account for about 21.06% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 18.48% and was up about 22.49% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 10/08/2026), respectively. FNDX has traded between $25.68 and $32.79 during this last 52-week period.

FNDX has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 12.72% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 734 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 Morningstar Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $108.64 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF has $186.21 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV changes 0.03%.

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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