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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 10/20/2011.
The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $36.81 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Value
Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.
Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Considering long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets; however, they are more likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.
Costs
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.06%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.38%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 19.70% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Consumer Staples round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Merck & Co Inc (MRK) accounts for about 4.38% of total assets, followed by International Business Machines Co (IBM) and Pepsico Inc (PEP).
The top 10 holdings account for about 41.58% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
SCHD seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index is designed to measure the performance of high dividend yielding stocks issued by U.S. companies that have a record of consistently paying dividends, selected for fundamental strength relative to their peers, based on financial ratios.
The ETF has lost about -9.66% so far this year and is down about -4.60% in the last one year (as of 09/07/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $70.31 and $81.94.