Products February 5, 2008
Schwab Beefs Up Fund Lineup
Charles Schwab Investment Management has added two new international funds to its lineup.
Reported by Nevin E. Adams
According to a press release from the asset management subsidiary of the Charles Schwab Corporation, the new Schwab Fundamental International Small-Mid Company Index Fund and the Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Index became available on January 31, 2008. They are the latest additions to the three Schwab Fundamental Index funds that were launched in April 2007 to invest in large U.S. companies, large international companies, and small-mid size U.S. companies.
All five of Schwab’s Fundamental Index Funds are based on the FTSE RAFI Index series, for which Schwab Funds is the exclusive non-ETF equity mutual fund provider in the United States, according to the firm. They leverage the groundbreaking research of Robert Arnott and his company, Research Affiliates, as well as FTSE Group’s global indexing expertise.
The Fundamental Index methodology differs from traditional indexes, which are weighted by market capitalization, by selecting and weighting stocks based on four fundamental financial measures: sales, cash flow, book value and dividends, according to the announcement.
Portfolio Oversight
Jeff Mortimer, senior vice president and chief investment officer, equities, for Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., has overall responsibility for the management of Schwab’s Fundamental Index funds. He joined Schwab in 1997 after working for nine years in asset allocation and manager selection. Larry Mano, senior portfolio manager, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the funds. Prior to joining Schwab in 1998, he worked for 20 years in equity management.
Randall Merk, president and CEO of Charles Schwab Investment Management, said the first three Schwab Fundamental Index funds attracted nearly $900 million in assets in their first eight months of operation. “Our investment managers will continue to evaluate other possible applications of what Arnott calls “the next generation of indexing’,’ he added.
Each Schwab Fundamental Index fund is available in three share classes: Investor Shares with a $100 minimum investment, Select Shares with a $50,000 minimum, and Institutional Shares with a $500,000 minimum.
Advisers may aggregate client funds to meet the investment minimums for Select and Institutional Shares.
All five of Schwab’s Fundamental Index Funds are based on the FTSE RAFI Index series, for which Schwab Funds is the exclusive non-ETF equity mutual fund provider in the United States, according to the firm. They leverage the groundbreaking research of Robert Arnott and his company, Research Affiliates, as well as FTSE Group’s global indexing expertise.
The Fundamental Index methodology differs from traditional indexes, which are weighted by market capitalization, by selecting and weighting stocks based on four fundamental financial measures: sales, cash flow, book value and dividends, according to the announcement.
Portfolio Oversight
Jeff Mortimer, senior vice president and chief investment officer, equities, for Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., has overall responsibility for the management of Schwab’s Fundamental Index funds. He joined Schwab in 1997 after working for nine years in asset allocation and manager selection. Larry Mano, senior portfolio manager, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the funds. Prior to joining Schwab in 1998, he worked for 20 years in equity management.
Randall Merk, president and CEO of Charles Schwab Investment Management, said the first three Schwab Fundamental Index funds attracted nearly $900 million in assets in their first eight months of operation. “Our investment managers will continue to evaluate other possible applications of what Arnott calls “the next generation of indexing’,’ he added.
Each Schwab Fundamental Index fund is available in three share classes: Investor Shares with a $100 minimum investment, Select Shares with a $50,000 minimum, and Institutional Shares with a $500,000 minimum.
Advisers may aggregate client funds to meet the investment minimums for Select and Institutional Shares.
More information about Schwab’s line-up of Fundamental Index Funds is available at www.schwabfunds.com/fundamental or by calling (800) 308-1486.