Schwab index funds are good choices for investors for decades already, but because of reductions in management costs, Charles Schwab index funds became even more appealing.
Schwab now offers a wide selection of index funds: from US equities to international stocks, with expense ratios at percent fractions.
Top 10 Best Schwab Index Funds Over the Years
1. Schwab® S&P 500 Index Fund (SWPPX)
In Schwab 500 Index Fund, you are buying into a part of the 500 largest stocks listed on American exchanges.
Their appeal is that they are very cheap, and have a major coverage of the stock market by market value. S&P 500 constituents make up about 80% of the value of all American-listed companies.
Over the past 10 years, SWPPX has tracked the S&P accurately, rewarding long-term investors with a 10-year average return of over 13%.
Information technology stocks dominate the S&P index, making up over 20% of SWPPX’s holdings. Aside from IT stocks, healthcare, financials, and communications companies also make up double-digit percentages.
The expense ratio of SWPPX is set at 0.02%.
2. Schwab Total Stock Market Index Fund® (SWTSX)
Schwab’s Total Stock Market fund invests in almost 2,500 companies that make up virtually all of the market’s value.
An important advantage of SWTSX is that the Total Stock Market Index has small and micro cap stocks that are not included from other index funds that focus on larger stocks. Therefore, this fund wins over the S&P 500 when small company stocks outperform large companies, and vice versa. Small and microcap stocks make up 7.1% and 2.5% of the fund’s assets, respectively.
In total, you’ll own more than 3,000 stocks by purchasing one fund. Also, the expense ratio for SWTSX is set at 0.03%.
3. Schwab 1000 Index® Fund (SNXFX)
This fund tracks the Schwab 1000 index, a Schwab-branded imitation of the Russell 1000 Index, being heavily weighted toward midcap stocks, which comprises about 19% of the fund’s assets, compared to about 13% for S&P 500 fund, and 19% for Total Stock Market Index fund.
This structure gives an increase in the diversification of a portfolio more than an S&P focused fund, which also gives access to companies that can still grow.
When comparing performance over the past 10 years, SNXFX slightly lags behind Schwab’s SWPPX S&P 500 index fund, giving investors under 13% as an average annual return. In exchange for a lower performance, investors enjoy diversification through exposure to 500 additional companies.
Yields for SNXFX are seen at 1.79%, while the expense ratio is seen at 0.05%.
4. Schwab Small Cap Index Fund® (SWSSX)
Similar to the Rusell 2000 index, this fund is an excellent way to cheaply buy and hold small-cap stocks listed in the United States. The fund carries an annual expense ratio of 0.17%, and diversified across 1,962 stocks.
Over the past 10 years, the fund gave performance-driven investors with an average annual return of 12.63%. Since its creation in 1997, the fund has returned almost 9% on average.
The yields for this fund are seen at 1.32%.
5. Schwab Fundamental US Large Company Index Fund (SFLNX)
If you prefer to invest in proven options, you may check out Schwab’s Fundamental US Large Company Index. The fund reduces exposure to large cap stocks that may have outrun their value based on fundamentals.
Expense ratio comes high at 0.25%. However, this number is still below the cost of many actively managed mutual funds.
6. Schwab Fundamental US Small Company Index Fund (SFSNX)
SFSNX tracks an index of more than 900 small-cap stocks, leaning heavily towards industrials, consumer discretionary stocks, and financials, which comprises almost 50% of the fund’s holdings combined.
The expense ratio is at 0.25%, which is less expensive than many actively managed funds.
7. Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index Fund (SFNNX)
With nearly $1.3 billion in assets under management, SFNNX has nearly 25% of its investments in Japan and 16% in UK-based companies.
Currently, the fund yields over 3%. However, overall performance lags behind US large-cap indexes. Average 10-year performance for SFNNX is under 5%.
SFNXX has a price to earnings ratio of just 12.66%, while the expense ratio is at 0.25%.
8. Schwab Fundamental International Small Company Index Fund (SFILX)
SFILX focuses on international investments in developed countries, composed of around 1,700 small companies.
Exposure heavily leans toward Japanese stocks with nearly 35% of the fund’s assets invested in it.
SFILX’s 10-year average performance comes in at over 7% with a stronger-than-average 2.34% yield, coupled with a 0.39% expense ratio.
9. Schwab International Index Fund® SWISX
The Schwab International Index Fund invests in countries with developed equity markets.
Yields are at 2.67%, and with just a 5% turnover, SWISX delivers steady gains with an affordable 0.06% expense ratio.
10. Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estate Index Fund (SFREX)
A fund that is heavy on REITs, yields for The Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estate Index Fund are higher than for broad market funds, seen at over 3.5%.
The fund’s short-term returns are strong as well, with a 1-year annual return of over 12%.
Since its creation in 2014, SFREX investors have earned an average of 7.63%.
Charles Schwab over the years
For less than 50 years, the Charles Schwab Corporation has made a permanent mark on the history of the investment world. The company started in 1971, starting as an investment newsletter service, which later evolved to include a broker-dealer business.
Changes to SEC regulations in the early 1970s provided an opportunity for Schwab, which was used to launch its first retail brokerage branches.
Charles Schwab has almost 350 brick-and-mortar brokerages throughout the US at present time. As time went by, the brokerage began acquiring funds of its own, which fueled its continued growth.
In 1997, Schwab introduced its famous Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund (SWPPX), the same year the company was added to the S&P 500 index.
At present, the company offers more than 50 funds, which ranks it as the 3rd largest mutual company in terms of assets under management.
Services
Charles Schwab aims to empower individual investors, which is a part of the company’s mission statement. Their client-first philosophy helps investors through several types of investment services. The offers of Schwab are listed below.
1. Brokerage accounts
As expected by investors, Schwab brings world-class services to both its retail branches and online accounts.
With low investment requirements, no minimum deposit, and the availability of $0 trades, a Schwab brokerage account offers an attractive way to start investing that is accessible to everyone.
2. Trading solutions
Schwab’s goal of empowering investors can be seen in the tools offered by the company.
Research tools and market data comprises the core of Schwab’s offering of its StreetSmart Edge trading platform for making educated trading decisions.
The company also offers trades and research details in its website as well as mobile apps, so your portfolio is available to you wherever you go.
3. Automated investing
Schwab offers an automated hands-off investing for investors preferring that kind of situation. With this, you can set up automatic reinvestments for continued growth of accounts through dividends and other earnings.
Schwab also offers a computer-generated advisor, an automated service that helps you build an ETF-based portfolio that keeps you diversified. Schwab’s experts also monitor underlying funds to be sure they still match your strategy, which means that you will gain the advantages of both automation and expert oversight.
4. Schwab global account
Similar to other Schwab services, Schwab’s global account is designed for accessibility.
They have no account minimum and no trade minimum, and they also allow you to trade on your terms and gain access to leading markets like Australia, Canada, and several European countries, as well as Asian markets.
5. Retirement accounts
Schwab offers a full complement of retirement accounts, which allows you to choose from Traditional or Roth IRAs. You may also start a Rollover IRA to move retirement funds from another source into your Schwab portfolio.
A SEP IRA or a Simple IRA can also be an effective way for self-employed investors to plan for your future using Schwab’s investment services.
6. Education savings accounts
Ideal as a supplement to a 529 plan, an education savings account (ESA) helps in paying for education expenses from kindergarten through college. Withdrawals are tax-free when used for eligible education expenses. Account earnings can also grow tax-deferred.
Conclusion: Which Schwab Index Fund is right for you?
To choose the best Schwab Index Fund, you need to consider the long-term average of its returns, its yield percentage, as well as its expense ratio. This will help you assess and strike a balance between your goals as an investor, the investment cost that you are willing to part with, and your risk-reward preference as well.
Also, the option of choosing a diversified portfolio or opting for a portfolio with a particular concentration needs to be considered by the investor as well, applying their own beliefs and goals in their given choice.
To find out more about the investment world or anything financial, you may check out Investoralist.com, designed to bring you the latest updated articles to help you make better finance-related decisions in life.
