Best ETFs
Schwab and Vanguard charge the same 0.03%. Their small-cap funds are 3.7 percentage points apart
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
$32.56−0.10 (−0.31%)
- 0.03%
- $21.8B
- +21.6%
- 1.13%
- 2.8M sh
- $32.80
- low $26.46high $36.20
The ETF.net SCHA Grade
A
Score 82 out of 100
- 1 of 17
Score 82 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A91 out of 100Rank 1 of 17Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A95 out of 100Rank 8 of 16Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C43 out of 100Rank 11 of 17Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A86 out of 100Rank 2 of 17Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A83 out of 100Rank 1 of 17Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A77 out of 100Rank 4 of 17
Our read on SCHA
ASchwab's small-cap workhorse: three basis points, roughly 1,700 companies, and a mandate to hold the slice of the US market that sits below the large and mid caps. Running since 2009.
The fund seeks to closely track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index. It generally invests in that index’s small-cap stocks and normally places at least 90% of net assets in them.
Why people hold it
- At 0.03% a year, it is tied for the cheapest fund in its small-cap peer group and a fraction of the 0.25% category median. The fee is the one variable you know in advance.
- Roughly 1,700 stocks, weighted by size. That is the whole small-cap tail rather than a curated shortlist, and no single name gets to steer the portfolio.
- The contract is plain: at least 90% of net assets in the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index, and it has tracked that benchmark closely.
- Sixteen years old, multi-billion-dollar, actively traded, and pays quarterly. One of the sturdier implementations among the broad small-cap index funds we cover.
Worth knowing
- Small caps move harder than large caps in both directions. This fund takes the full ride with no hedge, buffer, or volatility damper in the design.
- The index sorts by size, not quality. Unprofitable and lightly covered companies come along with everything else, since no earnings screen sits in front of the portfolio.
- It follows a Dow Jones small-cap index, not the Russell 2000 that IWM and VTWO track, so its returns and headlines about that benchmark will not line up exactly.
SCHA Holdings
- Stocks
- 1,747
- 3%
- BMNR
Sectors
- Financials16.9%
- Health Care16.7%
- Technology16.1%
- Industrials14.8%
- Consumer Discretionary10.8%
- Real Estate6.7%
- Energy5.5%
- Materials4.3%
- Consumer Staples2.9%
- Communication2.9%
- Utilities2.4%
Geography
- United States97.59%
- Bermuda0.93%
- Puerto Rico0.45%
- Switzerland0.33%
- Ireland0.20%
- United Kingdom0.19%
- Canada0.12%
- Israel0.08%
- 0.11%
SCHA Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
SCHA$12,161
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | SCHA |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +15.5% |
| 1 month | −3.1% |
| 3 months | −6.2% |
| 1 year | +21.6% |
| 3 years | +19.1% |
| 5 years | +6.7% |
| 10 years | +10.3% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | SCHA |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +15.5% | |
| 2025 | +11.6% | |
| 2024 | +11.2% | |
| 2023 | +18.5% | |
| 2022 | −19.8% | |
| 2021 | +16.4% | |
| 2020 | +19.3% |
SCHA in the news
SCHA Dividends
- 1.13%
- $0.37
- $0.10 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
SCHA Risk
- 19.2%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.72
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −30.8%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 1.12
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
SCHA Cost
0.03%
SCHA0.03%
- The middle half of US Small-Cap funds
- Median 0.22%
No US Small-Cap fund charges less.
Other funds in US Small-Cap
- AVBVanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return +17.7%
- AVTWOVanguard Russell 2000 ETFExpense ratio 0.06%1 year return +18.3%
- ABKSEBNY Mellon US Small Cap Core Equity ETFExpense ratio 0.04%1 year return +18.8%
- AIWMiShares Russell 2000 ETFExpense ratio 0.19%1 year return +18.1%
- BRSSLGlobal X - Russell 2000 ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return +18.1%