The Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (SCHA) was launched on November 3, 2009, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $17.74 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Blend
With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.
Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.
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 0.04%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.53%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector -- about 19.6% of the portfolio. Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Affirm Holdings Inc Class A (AFRM) accounts for about 0.47% of total assets, followed by Reddit Inc Class A (RDDT) and Duolingo Inc Class A (DUOL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 3.73% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
SCHA seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index includes the small-cap portion of the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index actually available to investors in the marketplace.
The ETF has added about 0.19% so far this year and was up about 8.93% in the last one year (as of 08/11/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $20.42 and $28.32.
The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 21.62% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1714 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SCHA is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (VB) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) track a similar index. While Vanguard Small-Cap ETF has $63.12 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $80.47 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.05% and IJR charges 0.06%.
Bottom-Line
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
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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Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (SCHA): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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