Schwab ETFs are known for their low costs, and they’ve turned into a mainstay of the market, especially for low-cost ETF investing. The Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHD | SCHD Price Prediction) is a great example of how competent these ETFs can be. Very few dividend ETFs have managed to beat SCHD’s gains.
Schwab ETFs have underlying indexes that are refreshingly straightforward, and the firm’s own trading platform lets clients buy and sell without commissions.
Plus, having ETFs in your portfolio from well-known firms is quite essential. You get deep liquidity, meaning you can move in or out without giving up performance to slippage, and a well-known firm reduces the chance that a fund will be closed or merged away during a rough patch.
Here are two Schwab ETFs that stand out as straightforward, one-ticket ways to add quality exposure without overpaying for it.
Schwab US Small-Cap ETF (SCHA)
Schwab US Small-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHA) tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index. The focus is on the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity market.
These small-cap stocks have performed rather disappointingly over the past few years compared to the broader market, but things are increasingly looking rosier as interest rate cuts have restarted. Plus, Wall Street is growing increasingly wary of overpaying for mega-cap AI stocks.
The attention is shifting to mid-sized companies, like those in quantum computing and small modular reactor tech. Small-cap stocks could be next as those stocks have reached nosebleed levels.
Further rate cuts should boost SCHA as small-caps tend to perform well in a looser environment. There is also a well-known pattern where small caps perform worse, so it’s a good opportunity to load up on stocks before they rebound near the end of the year.
SCHA has a 1.41% trailing 12-month yield and an expense ratio of 0.04%, or just $4 per $10,000.
Schwab International Equity ETF (SCHF)
Schwab International Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHF) gives you broad exposure to large-cap and mid-cap stocks from developed countries outside the U.S. Having international exposure was not much of a positive before 2025. The U.S. dollar performed significantly better than almost any other currency, and investing domestically was far better.
SCHF has now become a nice-to-have ETF for any portfolio. This is because the USD is undergoing a dramatic decline, one that is expected to continue.
Morgan Stanley projects the most aggressive decline, estimating the U.S. currency could lose another 10% by the end of 2026. Scotia Bank expects the weakness to extend through 2026 and potentially longer.
Central banks are increasingly stockpiling gold and dumping the dollar. And as a result, SCHF has managed to return 24.4% year-to-date. This is almost twice as good as the SPY.
The government no longer seems interested in cutting down spending and rectifying fiscal deficits, and instead wishes to remedy the problem by raising enormous amounts of revenue through tariffs.
This may lead to a continuous decline in the value of the dollar. In turn, SCHF can begin outperforming the broader stock market.
SCHF has a TTM yield of 2.38% and an expense ratio of 0.03%, or $3 per $10,000.
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