Fund Evaluator:

Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx Overview

Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx (SFREX) is a passively managed Sector Equity Global Real Estate fund. Schwab Funds launched the fund in 2014.

The investment seeks to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the total return of an RAFI Fundamental High Liquidity Global Real Estate Index that measures the performance of global real estate equities based on their fundamental size and weight. It is the fund’s policy that, under normal circumstances, it will invest at least 90% of its net assets in stocks included in the index, including depositary receipts representing securities of the index; which may be in the form of ADRs, GDRs and EDRs. To pursue its goal, the fund generally invests in stocks that are included in the index.

About Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx (SFREX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.77 years: Christopher Bliss (2017), David Rios (2017), Joselle Duncan (2024), Mariela Jobson (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI ACWI NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and RAFI Fund Hi Liq Glb Real Estate NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx has 326 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 21.0% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Sector Equity fund group. Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx has 42.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 57.6%. There is 42.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx has 0.4% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $71 million in total assets, which is below the $202 million average for the Global Real Estate category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

SFREX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Global Real Estate category. Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx has an expense ratio of 0.39%, which is 66% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx has a portfolio turnover rate of 21%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 71% for the Global Real Estate category.

Recently, in the month of August 2026, Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx returned -3.1%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Global Real Estate category had an average return of -3.0%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx has a trailing yield of 3.41%, which is above the 2.83% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 4.8%, 2.8 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 3.7% over the past year (grade of F), 8.8% over the past three years (grade of C) and -0.1% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 3.0% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

For more mutual fund grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.

Otherwise, for more information about Schwab Fundamental Global Real Estt Idx, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.