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Is Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company ETF (FNDA) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company ETF (FNDA - Free Report) was launched on 08/13/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking 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
The fund is managed by Charles Schwab. FNDA has been able to amass assets over $8.75 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, FNDA seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI US Small Co. Index.
The RAFI Fundamental High Liquidity US Small Index measures the performance of small U.S. companies based on their fundamental size and weight.
Cost & Other Expenses
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.
With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.25%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.24%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For FNDA, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 18.9% of the portfolio --while Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) accounts for about 0.52% of the fund's total assets, followed by Victoria S Secret (VSXY) and Compass Inc Class A (COMP).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 3.81% of FNDA's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 13.77% and it's up approximately 15.28% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 10/09/2026), respectively. FNDA has traded between $29.34 and $38.52 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 18.93% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 918 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) tracks Russell 2000 Value Index and the Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR) tracks CRSP U.S. Small Cap Value Index. iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $13.82 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Value ETF has $35.56 billion. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBR changes 0.05%.
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 - Small 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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Is Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company ETF (FNDA) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company ETF (FNDA - Free Report) was launched on 08/13/2013, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking 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
The fund is managed by Charles Schwab. FNDA has been able to amass assets over $8.75 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, FNDA seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI US Small Co. Index.
The RAFI Fundamental High Liquidity US Small Index measures the performance of small U.S. companies based on their fundamental size and weight.
Cost & Other Expenses
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.
With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.25%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.24%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For FNDA, it has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector --about 18.9% of the portfolio --while Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) accounts for about 0.52% of the fund's total assets, followed by Victoria S Secret (VSXY) and Compass Inc Class A (COMP).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 3.81% of FNDA's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 13.77% and it's up approximately 15.28% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 10/09/2026), respectively. FNDA has traded between $29.34 and $38.52 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 18.93% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 918 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) tracks Russell 2000 Value Index and the Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR) tracks CRSP U.S. Small Cap Value Index. iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $13.82 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Value ETF has $35.56 billion. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBR changes 0.05%.
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 - Small 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.