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Is Schwab Small-Cap Index (SWSSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Investors in search of a Small Cap Blend fund might want to consider looking at Schwab Small-Cap Index (SWSSX - Free Report) . While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.
Objective
Zacks categorizes SWSSX as Small Cap Blend, which is an area packed with options. Usually targeting stocks with market caps of less than $2 billion, a Small Cap Blend mutual fund lets investors diversify their funds among other kinds of small-cap equities. This can help reduce risk found in companies that have a lower stock market valuation.
History of Fund/Manager
Schwab Funds is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of SWSSX. Schwab Small-Cap Index made its debut in May of 1997, and since then, SWSSX has accumulated about $7.25 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. SWSSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.4%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 17.79%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Compared to the category average of 18.17%, the standard deviation of SWSSX over the past three years is 19.01%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.44% compared to the category average of 19.3%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.13, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.89. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 76.08% in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $6.93 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Health
Other
Turnover is 10%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, SWSSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.04% compared to the category average of 0.98%. So, SWSSX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about SWSSX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is Schwab Small-Cap Index (SWSSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Investors in search of a Small Cap Blend fund might want to consider looking at Schwab Small-Cap Index (SWSSX - Free Report) . While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.
Objective
Zacks categorizes SWSSX as Small Cap Blend, which is an area packed with options. Usually targeting stocks with market caps of less than $2 billion, a Small Cap Blend mutual fund lets investors diversify their funds among other kinds of small-cap equities. This can help reduce risk found in companies that have a lower stock market valuation.
History of Fund/Manager
Schwab Funds is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of SWSSX. Schwab Small-Cap Index made its debut in May of 1997, and since then, SWSSX has accumulated about $7.25 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. SWSSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.4%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 17.79%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Compared to the category average of 18.17%, the standard deviation of SWSSX over the past three years is 19.01%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.44% compared to the category average of 19.3%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.13, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.89. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 76.08% in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $6.93 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Turnover is 10%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, SWSSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.04% compared to the category average of 0.98%. So, SWSSX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about SWSSX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.