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Is Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF (FNDF) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 08/13/2013, smart beta exchange traded fund Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF (FNDF - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Broad Developed World 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.

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.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

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 $12.77 billion, this makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Broad Developed World ETFs. FNDF is managed by Charles Schwab. Before fees and expenses, FNDF seeks to match the performance of the Russell RAFI Developed ex US Large Co. Index (Net).

The Russell RAFI Developed ex US Large Company Index (Net) measures the performance of the large company size segment by fundamental overall company scores, which are created using as the universe the companies included in the Russell Developed ex-U.S. Index.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.25%.

FNDF's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 3.25%.

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.

Taking into account individual holdings, Shell Plc (SHEL - Free Report) accounts for about 2.52% of the fund's total assets, followed by Samsung Electronics Ltd and Toyota Motor Corp.

The top 10 holdings account for about 13.11% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 4.95% and it's up approximately 16.89% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 04/02/2024), respectively. FNDF has traded between $30.23 and $35.65 during this last 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 16.33% for the trailing three-year period, which makes FNDF a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 946 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Broad Developed World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF has $67.72 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $129.84 billion. VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.07% and VEA charges 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 Broad Developed World 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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