# SCHF ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What SCHF holds, its 0.03% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

Schwab International Equity ETF (SCHF) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Schwab. This fund owns shares of about 1,500 large and medium companies in rich countries outside the United States. It charges 0.03% a year. From November 2009 to October 2026 it returned about 7.5% a year, and its worst drop was −34.9%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.03% a year (about $3 on $10,000).
- Started trading on November 3, 2009.
- Last close: $26.93 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: 18.0%.
- Worst drop since 2009: −34.9%.
- No Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## How has SCHF done since 2009?

From November 2009 to October 2026, SCHF returned about 7.5% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 14.4% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $34,128 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | SCHF | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | −2.5% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −0.9% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | 2.2% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 12.7% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 18.0% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 20.2% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | 9.6% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 9.9% | 15.4% |
| Since 2009, per year | 7.5% | 14.4% |

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## SCHF returns by month and year

SCHF rose in 120 of its 204 months (59%). Its best month was November 2020, at 14.2%. Its worst was March 2020, at −14.6%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 5.8% | 6.3% | −8.4% | 7.3% | 4.6% | 0.4% | −1.0% | 2.9% | −2.7% | −2.0% |  |  | 12.7% |
| 2025 | 4.4% | 2.4% | −0.1% | 3.9% | 5.0% | 3.1% | −1.4% | 4.2% | 2.5% | 2.1% | 1.0% | 3.0% | 34.5% |
| 2024 | −0.9% | 3.0% | 3.5% | −3.5% | 4.6% | −1.6% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 0.9% | −5.0% | 0.4% | −3.6% | 3.3% |
| 2023 | 9.0% | −3.4% | 2.6% | 2.8% | −3.6% | 4.5% | 3.0% | −3.9% | −3.7% | −3.2% | 8.6% | 5.6% | 18.4% |
| 2022 | −3.4% | −2.8% | 0.6% | −6.8% | 1.9% | −9.0% | 5.1% | −5.8% | −9.6% | 5.9% | 12.7% | −2.2% | −14.8% |
| 2021 | −0.8% | 2.5% | 2.7% | 3.0% | 3.6% | −0.9% | 0.3% | 1.2% | −3.4% | 3.3% | −4.5% | 4.2% | 11.4% |
| 2020 | −2.9% | −7.4% | −14.6% | 6.2% | 5.4% | 3.7% | 2.4% | 4.9% | −1.8% | −3.4% | 14.2% | 5.5% | 9.5% |
| 2019 | 7.2% | 2.4% | 0.6% | 2.9% | −5.2% | 6.0% | −2.0% | −1.9% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 1.3% | 3.3% | 22.3% |
| 2018 | 4.8% | −5.3% | −0.3% | 1.4% | −1.7% | −1.7% | 2.5% | −1.9% | 0.9% | −8.4% | 0.5% | −5.4% | −14.3% |
| 2017 | 3.6% | 1.0% | 3.1% | 2.1% | 3.5% | 0.7% | 2.9% | −0.1% | 2.5% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 1.6% | 26.0% |
| 2016 | −5.4% | −2.9% | 7.1% | 2.4% | −0.4% | −1.9% | 4.1% | 0.6% | 1.4% | −2.2% | −1.5% | 2.4% | 3.0% |
| 2015 | 0.1% | 5.9% | −1.3% | 4.0% | −0.3% | −2.8% | 0.9% | −6.9% | −4.3% | 6.6% | −1.0% | −2.4% | −2.5% |
| 2014 | −4.7% | 5.0% | −0.1% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.5% | −2.1% | 0.4% | −4.3% | −0.4% | 0.0% | −3.7% | −5.7% |
| 2013 | 2.6% | −1.0% | 1.1% | 4.3% | −3.0% | −3.3% | 5.8% | −1.8% | 7.3% | 3.2% | 0.7% | 2.1% | 18.9% |
| 2012 | 6.0% | 4.9% | −0.1% | −1.8% | −11.2% | 6.4% | 0.2% | 3.7% | 2.9% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 4.4% | 18.8% |
| 2011 | 2.2% | 3.3% | −1.4% | 5.7% | −2.8% | −1.2% | −2.7% | −8.6% | −11.4% | 10.4% | −2.4% | −2.6% | −12.6% |
| 2010 | −5.6% | 1.0% | 6.4% | −2.2% | −10.8% | −2.3% | 11.2% | −3.9% | 10.2% | 3.4% | −4.1% | 8.3% | 9.3% |
| 2009 (part) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3.5% | 1.3% | 4.8% |

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

## How risky is SCHF compared with the S&P 500?

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

- **Beta 0.79.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, SCHF tended to move about 0.79%.
- **Correlation 0.80.** SCHF mostly moved with the S&P 500.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, SCHF rose 84% as much on average. In months it fell, SCHF fell 88% as much.

| Measure | SCHF | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | 9.7% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 16.8% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −28.8% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.64 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.94 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.34 | 0.52 |

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

## Is SCHF above its 200-day average?

SCHF closed 0.9% above its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds SCHF only above that average would hold it today.

- Its 50-day average is 4.6% above its 200-day average.
- It closed 5.8% below its highest close of the last 52 weeks.

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as [the 10-month moving average strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md) hold a fund only while it is above one. You can [build that rule for SCHF](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was SCHF's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. SCHF's worst fall was −34.9%, from January 26, 2018 to March 23, 2020. It got back to that high on November 11, 2020. On October 16, 2026 it was 5.8% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −34.9% | Jan 26, 2018 | Mar 23, 2020 | Nov 11, 2020 | 2.2 years | 8 months |
| −29.1% | Sep 3, 2021 | Oct 12, 2022 | Feb 22, 2024 | 13 months | 16 months |
| −26.4% | Apr 29, 2011 | Oct 3, 2011 | Apr 29, 2013 | 5 months | 19 months |
| −23.7% | Jul 3, 2014 | Feb 11, 2016 | May 4, 2017 | 19 months | 15 months |
| −19.2% | Apr 14, 2010 | Jun 7, 2010 | Oct 8, 2010 | 2 months | 4 months |

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## What does SCHF hold?

This fund owns shares of about 1,500 large and medium companies in rich countries outside the United States. Changes in foreign money values can move its price too.

It tracks the FTSE Developed ex US Index. It had 1,480 holdings as of February 28, 2026, according to Schwab.

| Fact | SCHF |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Schwab International Equity ETF |
| Issuer | Schwab |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% a year |
| Started trading | November 3, 2009 |
| Tracks | FTSE Developed ex US Index |
| Type | International stocks, ETF |
| Holdings | 1,480 holdings as of February 28, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 17, 2026 on the [Schwab fund page](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1454889/000110465926020707/tm266454-7_497k.htm) |

## What is the SCHF expense ratio?

SCHF charges 0.03% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.03% fee comes to about $3 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 85% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold SCHF?

No classic strategy holds SCHF yet. You can add it to your own rules in the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and see how they would have done.

## How does SCHF compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for SCHF:

- [VEA](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VEA.md): Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, 0.03% a year
- [IEFA](https://tactfolio.com/etf/IEFA.md): iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF, 0.07% a year
- [EFA](https://tactfolio.com/etf/EFA.md): iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, 0.32% a year
- [VEU](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VEU.md): Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF, 0.04% a year

See [all 8 SCHF alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/SCHF.md), compared on the same dates as SCHF.

## Test SCHF in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add SCHF, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for SCHF and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from Schwab. We checked them on October 17, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [What is an ETF](https://tactfolio.com/learn/what-is-an-etf): An ETF is a fund that trades like a stock. Learn how ETFs work, what they cost, the main types, and the risks, with SEC sources.
- [Momentum strategy](https://tactfolio.com/learn/momentum-strategy): A momentum strategy buys recent winners by a written rule.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of SCHF?

SCHF charges 0.03% a year, according to Schwab as of October 17, 2026. That is about $3 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did SCHF start trading?

SCHF started trading on November 3, 2009. It is run by Schwab.

### What does SCHF track?

SCHF tracks the FTSE Developed ex US Index. This fund owns shares of about 1,500 large and medium companies in rich countries outside the United States.

### How much has SCHF returned per year?

From November 2009 to October 2026, SCHF returned about 7.5% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −34.9%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Is SCHF above its 200-day moving average?

On October 16, 2026, SCHF closed 0.9% above its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use SCHF?

None of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold SCHF yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.

## Sources

- [Schwab: Schwab International Equity ETF fund page](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1454889/000110465926020707/tm266454-7_497k.htm)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.