FDM vs SCHA: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund

FDMCNYSE Arca

Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF

SCHAANYSE Arca

Overlap

0.8%by weight

Expense ratio

SCHA −0.57pt a year

FDM0.60%SCHA0.03%

Avg volume · 30D

SCHA 326.0×the volume

FDM9.39KSCHA3.06M

10Y return · a year

FDM +1.0pt

FDM+11.6%SCHA+10.6%

FDM vs SCHA Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+58.7%FDM+35.3%SCHA

Expense ratio: FDM 0.60%; SCHA 0.03%, better
Fund size: FDM $268M; SCHA $22B
1Y total return: FDM +25.1%, better; SCHA +18.9%
Yield (12M): FDM 1.51%, better; SCHA 1.12%
Holdings: FDM 136; SCHA 1743
Avg volume (30D): FDM 9.39K sh; SCHA 3.06M sh, better
NAV per share: FDM $90.64; SCHA $33.00
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FDM, SCHA, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FDM	SCHA
Cost30% weight	F6	A91Higher
Mission25% weight	A76	A95Higher
Risk15% weight	A70Higher	C40
Tradability15% weight	B58	A86Higher
Holdings10% weight	F23	A81Higher
Durability5% weight	C42	A77Higher

Rank among US Small-Cap funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FDM and SCHA are both graded against the same 16 US Small-Cap funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Small-Cap⁠

Category · 16 funds

See all 16 ›

SCHA ranks 1st and FDM 12th of 16 funds in the US Small-Cap Category.

Rank 1ASCHASchwab U.S. Small-Cap ETFScore 81
Rank 2AVBVanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETFScore 77
Rank 11CEBITHarbor AlphaEdge Small Cap Earners ETF (EBIT)Score 48
Rank 12CFDMFirst Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index FundScore 44
Rank 13CEESWisdomTree U.S. SmallCap FundScore 41

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FDMCFirst Trust Dow Jones Select MicroCap Index Fund

SCHAASchwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF

In short

FDM Micro-cap, but screened. FDM's index starts with the US total market and keeps only the tiny companies that clear size, liquidity and fundamental tests. Running since 2005, at 0.60% net of a waiver through April 30, 2027.

SCHA Schwab'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.

Stated mandate

FDM The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield of the Dow Jones Select Microcap Index.

SCHA 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

FDM The index is a filter, not a dragnet: it pulls from the Dow Jones US Total Stock Market universe and keeps only micro caps meeting size, liquidity and fundamental eligibility criteria.spglobal.com
Listed in September 2005, one of the longest-tenured micro-cap index ETFs around, with a methodology that has been doing the same job through multiple market cycles.ftportfolios.com
Roughly 140 stocks, so this is a diversified basket of micro caps rather than a few concentrated bets. Normally at least 90% of assets sit in actual index constituents.ftportfolios.com
Cash comes back on a quarterly schedule, which is not a given in a corner of the market full of companies that pay nothing.

SCHA 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

FDM Screening costs money: 0.60% net of a waiver through April 30, 2027 (0.65% gross), above the category median. Plain small-cap trackers like SCHA and VB charge 0.03%.
Thinly traded next to the giant small-cap funds, so bid-ask spreads can widen and sizeable orders deserve a careful look at the quote before they go in.
Micro caps are the volatile end of US equities. The fundamental screens narrow the list; they do not soften the ride, and the fund stays fully invested in the index.spglobal.com

SCHA 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.

Full FDM profile⁠

Full SCHA profile⁠

FDM vs SCHA Holdings

How FDM and SCHA differ

Overlap by weight

0.8%

Shared holdings make up 55.8% of FDM and 0.8% of SCHA.

Level by level

Holdings57 in both0.8%
Sector11 Sectors58.0%
Countryby domicile98.9%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in FDM and SCHA, widest gap first
Sector	More in FDMMore in SCHA	FDM	SCHA
Financials	FDM +40.0 points	57.2%	17.2%
Health Care	SCHA +10.1 points	6.9%	17.0%
Technology	SCHA +10.0 points	5.5%	15.5%
Industrials	SCHA +8.3 points	5.8%	14.1%
Consumer Discretionary	SCHA +5.5 points	5.6%	11.1%
Materials	SCHA +3.3 points	0.9%	4.2%
Utilities	SCHA +2.5 points	0.0%	2.5%
Energy	SCHA +1.3 points	4.4%	5.7%
Communication	FDM +1.1 points	4.0%	2.9%
Real Estate	SCHA +1.2 points	5.8%	7.0%
Consumer Staples	FDM +0.8 points	3.9%	3.0%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FDM and SCHA, widest gap first
Country	More in FDMMore in SCHA	FDM	SCHA
United States	FDM +1.1 points	100.0%	98.9%
Other countries (12)	SCHA +1.1 points	0.0%	1.1%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FDM15.3%
SCHA2.9%

Securities held

FDM135
SCHA1,743

Asset class

FDM: Equity
SCHA: Equity

Holdings

Only in FDM78
In both57
Only in SCHA1,686

Only in FDM

78 securities, 44.1% of FDM by weight

Shore Bancshares, Inc.1.12%
Bar Harbor Bankshares1.10%
ACNB Corporation1.08%
Peoples Financial Services Corp.1.06%
Carter Bankshares, Inc.1.05%
First Business Financial Services, Inc.1.03%
Third Coast Bancshares, Inc.0.99%
Civista Bancshares, Inc.0.95%
California BanCorp0.95%
Southern First Bancshares, Inc.0.87%
Northrim BanCorp, Inc.0.86%
ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc.0.81%
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc.0.81%
Sierra Bancorp0.78%
Ponce Financial Group, Inc.0.77%
Capital Bancorp, Inc.0.76%
West Bancorporation, Inc.0.75%
Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc.0.73%
Orange County Bancorp, Inc.0.72%
Colony Bankcorp, Inc.0.70%
First Bank0.69%
Home Bancorp, Inc.0.69%
Oportun Financial Corp.0.69%
Investors Title Company0.68%
Bankwell Financial Group, Inc.0.68%
Unity Bancorp, Inc.0.68%
Puma Biotechnology, Inc.0.67%
Plumas Bancorp0.67%
RBB Bancorp0.65%
Village Super Market, Inc.0.64%
Primis Financial Corp.0.59%
Timberland Bancorp, Inc.0.59%
Flexsteel Industries, Inc.0.58%
Rocky Brands, Inc.0.56%
Investar Holding Corporation0.56%
Parke Bancorp, Inc.0.55%
Chemung Financial Corporation0.55%
First Community Corporation0.50%
Regional Management Corp.0.50%
Franklin Financial Services Corporation0.49%
MVB Financial Corp.0.49%
Ames National Corporation0.48%
Cricut, Inc. (Class A)0.47%
Alto Ingredients, Inc.0.46%
Friedman Industries, Incorporated0.46%
Isabella Bank Corporation0.46%
Twin Disc, Incorporated0.44%
American Coastal Insurance Corporation0.43%
First Western Financial, Inc.0.43%
Strattec Security Corporation0.43%

Only in SCHA

1,686 securities, 99.2% of SCHA by weight

Halozyme Therapeutics0.35%
Glaukos0.34%
Wayfair Class A0.33%
Bitmine Immersion Technologies0.31%
American Healthcare Reit0.27%
Twist Bioscience0.27%
Ensign Group0.26%
Ryder System0.26%
Viasat Inc0.25%
Wintrust Financial0.25%
Affiliated Managers Group0.25%
Southstate Bank Corp0.24%
Littelfuse0.24%
Brightspring Health Services Inc0.24%
Flowserve0.24%
Popular0.24%
New York Times Class A0.24%
Solstice Advanced Materials Inc0.24%
Rambus0.23%
Umb Financial0.23%
10X Genomics Class A0.23%
Hecla Mining0.23%
Watts Water Technologies Class A0.23%
Brinker International Inc0.22%
Sm Energy0.22%
Protagonist Therapeutics0.22%
Globus Medical Class A0.22%
Sanmina0.22%
Ryman Hospitality Properties Reit0.22%
Viper Energy Inc Class A0.22%
Allison Transmission Holdings0.22%
Kymera Therapeutics0.21%
Brixmor Property Group Reit Inc0.21%
Cytokinetics0.21%
Columbia Banking System Inc0.21%
Primerica0.21%
Prosperity Bancshares0.21%
Darling Ingredients0.21%
Sentinelone Inc Class A0.21%
Krystal Biotech0.20%
Interdigital Inc0.20%
Life Time Group Holdings0.20%
Vaxcyte0.20%
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals0.20%
Caretrust Reit0.20%
Gitlab Class A0.20%
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals0.20%
Old National Bancorp0.20%
Healthequity0.20%
Jackson Financial Class A0.20%

Weight gaps

All 57 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in FDM and SCHA, widest gap first
Holding	More in FDMMore in SCHA	FDM	SCHA
PagerDuty, Inc.PD	FDM +2.09 points	2.12%	0.03%
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.RIGL	FDM +1.54 points	1.56%	0.02%
OneSpan Inc.OSPN	FDM +1.52 points	1.54%	0.02%
Apogee Enterprises, Inc.APOG	FDM +1.52 points	1.53%	0.02%
QuinStreet, Inc.QNST	FDM +1.51 points	1.53%	0.02%
Riley Exploration Permian, Inc.REPX	FDM +1.46 points	1.48%	0.02%
Standard Motor Products, Inc.SMP	FDM +1.44 points	1.46%	0.02%
Orrstown Financial Services, Inc.ORRF	FDM +1.38 points	1.40%	0.02%
Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc.HRTG	FDM +1.35 points	1.37%	0.02%
Phibro Animal Health Corporation (Class A)PAHC	FDM +1.31 points	1.33%	0.02%
Independent Bank CorporationIBCP	FDM +1.30 points	1.32%	0.02%
Financial Institutions, Inc.FISI	FDM +1.24 points	1.26%	0.02%
Flowco Holdings Inc. (Class A)FLOC	FDM +1.24 points	1.26%	0.02%
GCM Grosvenor Inc. (Class A)GCMG	FDM +1.24 points	1.26%	0.02%
Hippo Holdings Inc.HIPO	FDM +1.19 points	1.21%	0.02%
CTO Realty Growth, Inc.CTO	FDM +1.18 points	1.20%	0.02%
Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.WASH	FDM +1.18 points	1.20%	0.02%
Peapack-Gladstone Financial CorporationPGC	FDM +1.14 points	1.16%	0.02%
Seneca Foods CorporationSENEA	FDM +1.13 points	1.15%	0.02%
Root, Inc. (Class A)ROOT	FDM +1.13 points	1.15%	0.02%
Capital City Bank Group, Inc.CCBG	FDM +1.11 points	1.13%	0.02%
HomeTrust Bancshares, Inc.HTB	FDM +1.10 points	1.12%	0.02%
Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc.CCSI	FDM +1.09 points	1.11%	0.02%
South Plains Financial, Inc.SPFI	FDM +1.05 points	1.06%	0.02%
Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc.SMBC	FDM +1.04 points	1.06%	0.02%
PennyMac Mortgage Investment TrustPMT	FDM +1.04 points	1.06%	0.02%
EverQuote, Inc. (Class A)EVER	FDM +1.04 points	1.05%	0.01%
Great Southern Bancorp, Inc.GSBC	FDM +1.03 points	1.05%	0.02%
Arrow Financial CorporationAROW	FDM +1.00 points	1.01%	0.01%
Scholastic CorporationSCHL	FDM +0.99 points	1.00%	0.01%
Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc.IVR	FDM +0.92 points	0.93%	0.01%
Insteel Industries, Inc.IIIN	FDM +0.89 points	0.90%	0.01%
Adamas Trust Inc.ADAM	FDM +0.88 points	0.89%	0.01%
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.IRWD	FDM +0.86 points	0.87%	0.01%
Kearny Financial Corp.KRNY	FDM +0.84 points	0.85%	0.01%
Ennis, Inc.EBF	FDM +0.83 points	0.84%	0.01%
Arbutus Biopharma CorporationABUS	FDM +0.82 points	0.83%	0.01%
TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc.TRTX	FDM +0.80 points	0.81%	0.01%
Carriage Services, Inc.CSV	FDM +0.80 points	0.81%	0.01%
John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.JBSS	FDM +0.79 points	0.80%	0.01%
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.ETD	FDM +0.75 points	0.76%	0.01%
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.LOCO	FDM +0.75 points	0.76%	0.01%
MediaAlpha, Inc. (Class A)MAX	FDM +0.74 points	0.75%	0.01%
SandRidge Energy, Inc.SD	FDM +0.73 points	0.74%	0.01%
CorMedix Inc.CRMD	FDM +0.60 points	0.61%	0.01%
Central Garden & Pet CompanyCENT	FDM +0.59 points	0.60%	<0.01%
Northpointe Bancshares, Inc.NPB	FDM +0.57 points	0.58%	<0.01%
American Integrity Insurance Group, Inc.AII	FDM +0.55 points	0.56%	<0.01%
Waterstone Financia, Inc.WSBF	FDM +0.53 points	0.54%	<0.01%
Donegal Group Inc. (Class A)DGICA	FDM +0.51 points	0.52%	<0.01%
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.NGVC	FDM +0.43 points	0.44%	<0.01%
NewtekOne, Inc.NEWT	FDM +0.43 points	0.44%	<0.01%
The RMR Group Inc. (Class A)RMR	FDM +0.43 points	0.44%	<0.01%
Priority Technology Holdings, Inc.PRTH	FDM +0.41 points	0.42%	<0.01%
Legacy Housing CorporationLEGH	FDM +0.41 points	0.42%	<0.01%
Velocity Financial, Inc.VEL	FDM +0.30 points	0.30%	<0.01%
BRC Group Holdings, Inc.RILY	FDM +0.21 points	0.21%	<0.01%

All 135 FDM holdings⁠All 1,748 SCHA holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

FDM vs SCHA Cost

Overpaying FDM vs SCHA

$11,179

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

FDM 0.60%
$11,817
SCHA 0.03%
$638

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FDM 0.60%
SCHA 0.03%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FDM	SCHA	Overpaying
10	$1,076	$55	$1,021
20	$4,116	$216	$3,900
30	$11,817	$638	$11,179

Expense ratio

0.60%FDM
0.03%SCHA, cheaper

SCHA0.03%FDM0.60%

0.03%0.60%

Middle half of US Small-Cap funds
Median 0.20%

SCHA cheapest of 16 funds

FDM 14th cheapest of 16 funds

FDM vs SCHA Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): FDM 1.51%, better; SCHA 1.12%
Payout (12M): FDM $1.37; SCHA $0.37
Last payment: FDM $0.38; SCHA $0.10
Ex-dividend: FDM Sep 24, 2026; SCHA Sep 23, 2026
Paid on: FDM Sep 30, 2026; SCHA Sep 28, 2026
Frequency: FDM Quarterly; SCHA Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

FDMQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll FDM payments⁠

SCHAQuarterly · 40 paymentsAll SCHA payments⁠

FDM vs SCHA Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

FDM
SCHA

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FDM 18.7%SCHA 18.6%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FDM 0.93, betterSCHA 0.88
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FDM −23.7%, betterSCHA −30.8%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FDM 0.98SCHA 1.12; Market = 1

FDM and SCHA in the news

All news⁠

Best ETFs
Best small-cap ETFs: Vanguard’s VB beats three great funds all charging just 0.03%
Updated Nov 2, 2026SCHA
Best ETFs
Schwab and Vanguard charge the same 0.03%. Their small-cap funds are 3.7 percentage points apart
Updated Oct 2, 2026SCHA

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FDM vs SCHA

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How FDM and SCHA differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in FDM

Only in SCHA

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Best small-cap ETFs: Vanguard’s VB beats three great funds all charging just 0.03%

Schwab and Vanguard charge the same 0.03%. Their small-cap funds are 3.7 percentage points apart

How FDM and SCHA differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in FDM

Only in SCHA

Weight gaps