Schwab Ariel Opportunities ETF (formerly Schwab Ariel ESG ETF) (SAEF)

SAEF is an actively managed exchange-traded fund from Charles Schwab Asset Management, with stock selection by Ariel Investments, the Chicago value investing firm. It launched on NYSE Arca on November 16, 2021 as the Schwab Ariel ESG ETF, Schwab's first ETF with an environmental, social and governance focus, and used a semi-transparent structure that does not publish its full holdings every day.

The fund invests mainly in U.S. small and mid-sized companies that Ariel considers undervalued, reflecting the patient, value-oriented approach that Ariel has used in its mutual funds for decades. Portfolios of this kind tend to hold a few dozen stocks across financial services, industrials, consumer discretionary and media companies.

In July 2025 the fund was renamed the Schwab Ariel Opportunities ETF and its strategy was revised, moving away from an explicit ESG mandate. It kept the SAEF ticker and is a small fund, with net assets of about $25 million at the end of 2025.