Charles Schwab’s ETF Selection is Broad

Charles Schwab’s discount investing company offers one of the industry’s widest selections of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The company recently fully embraced the world of ETFs with the launch of its ETF OneSource marketplace.

ETF OneSource offers commission-free trading on approximately 100 ETFs from five different providers, including some providers that recently have been featured in ETF Talks — Guggenheim, PowerShares and SPDR. Additionally, all of Schwab’s own 21 ETFs are available for trading commission-free.

Another innovation offered by Schwab in the ETF field is the Fundamental Index ETF. A Fundamental Index ETF measures companies by their sales, their operating cash flow and their return to shareholders in the form of buybacks and dividends. One such ETF is the Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company Index ETF (FNDA).

FNDA has made a 2.25% gain in the first three tumultuous months of this year. From its inception in August 2013, it has risen nearly 16%, and the fund issued dividends in October and December.

In addition to its Fundamental Index ETFs, Schwab also offers more traditional market-cap weighted ETFs. Charles Schwab & Co. does not itself offer the widest breadth and depth of ETFs, but they do offer their investment customers a commission-free introduction to the wider world of ETFs.

The investment firm has been an innovator in the past by introducing trading by phone in 1989, trading online in 1996 and a mobile app in 2010.

If you want my advice about buying and selling specific ETFs, including appropriate stop losses, please consider subscribing to my Successful Investing newsletter. As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an e-mail. You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.