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Is Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF (FNDB) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF (FNDB - 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 - All 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.

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.

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

Because the fund has amassed over $307.55 M, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. FNDB is managed by Charles Schwab. Before fees and expenses, FNDB seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI US Index.

The Russell RAFI US Index measures the performance of the constituent companies by fundamental overall company scores.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.25% for FNDB, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.23%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For FNDB, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 17.50% of the portfolio --while Financials and Industrials round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc Common Stock Usd.00001 (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 4.70% of the fund's total assets, followed by Exxon Mobil Corp Common Stock (XOM - Free Report) and Microsoft Corp Common Stock Usd.00000625 (MSFT - Free Report) .

FNDB's top 10 holdings account for about 18.49% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FNDB has added about 28.61%, and was up about 32.08% in the last one year (as of 12/24/2019). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $31.73 and $42.13.

FNDB has a beta of 1.02 and standard deviation of 12.16% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1616 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers ETF (PEY - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers 50 Index and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV - Free Report) tracks S&P 900 Value Index. Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers ETF has $980.91 M in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF has $8.60 B. PEY has an expense ratio of 0.53% and IUSV charges 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 - All 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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