Schwab's New Premier Equity Fund Launches With Record Subscription
29 April 2005 - 2:44AM
PR Newswire (US)
Schwab's New Premier Equity Fund Launches With Record Subscription
Launch a Testament to Demand for a One-Stop Solution to Capture the
Performance Promise of the Schwab Equity Rating System SAN
FRANCISCO, April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Premier Equity
Fund, inspired by Schwab's award-winning equity model portfolio,
garnered $334.2 million in assets during its initial subscription
period ending March 18, a record for Charles Schwab Investment
Management (CSIM), the mutual fund company owned by The Charles
Schwab Corporation. The Premier Equity Fund has continued to prove
popular with investors, with assets currently over $430 million.
Launched on March 21, 2005 to provide investors with access to
highly- rated stocks as identified by Schwab Equity Ratings(R), the
Premier Equity Fund is based on the stock evaluation methodology
behind Schwab's equity model portfolio, which in January took first
place for the second consecutive three- year period in Barron's
annual stock selection competition. "The popularity of Schwab's new
Premier Equity Fund is gratifying, but not a surprise," said Evelyn
Dilsaver, president and CEO of Charles Schwab Investment
Management. "Clients have been urging us to create a mutual fund
designed around Schwab's award-winning equity model portfolio since
it took first place in three-year performance in the 2003 Barron's
competition. The record inflows into the new fund substantiate the
appeal of Schwab Equity Ratings and the fund management team."
Building on success of larger fund family The Schwab Premier Equity
Fund is the latest addition to CSIM's growing family of actively
managed equity funds based on Schwab Equity Ratings and led by
co-managers Jeffrey Mortimer, Vivienne Hsu and Larry Mano. Other
funds include the Schwab Core Equity Fund, Schwab Dividend Equity
Fund, Schwab Hedged Equity Fund, Schwab Small-Cap Equity Fund,
Schwab Financial Services Fund, Schwab Health Care Fund and Schwab
Technology Fund. According to Morningstar rankings as of March 31,
2005, five of the seven existing funds are in the top quartile and
four of the funds are in the top 10 percent for their fund
category, including the Core Equity Fund, Small-Cap Equity Fund,
Heath Care Focus Fund and Hedged Equity Fund(1). Lipper also gives
the funds high rankings with five funds in the top quartile and
three in the top 10 percent for their fund category(2). About
Schwab Equity Ratings Schwab Equity Ratings offer an objective and
disciplined assessment of approximately 3,000 U.S. equities, more
than any other major brokerage firm. Stocks are assigned grades of
A, B, C, D, or F, reflecting performance potential over the next 12
months. Schwab's outlook is that "A"-rated stocks, on average, will
strongly outperform, and "F"-rated stocks, on average, will
strongly underperform the equities market over the next 12 months.
The ratings assess four broad categories: fundamentals, valuation,
momentum, and risk. They are updated each week to reflect new
financial data and other information. For more information on
Schwab Equity Ratings, including performance details, how
performance was calculated, comparison of performance to benchmarks
and limitations of model performance, visit
http://www.schwab.com/serperformance. See end of press release for
regulation analyst certification and how to obtain important
required disclosures. About Charles Schwab Investment Management
Founded in 1991, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM),
an affiliate of Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., is one of the
nation's largest mutual fund companies with $140 billion under
management as of March 31, 2005. It is the country's fourth-largest
money market fund manager and third-largest provider of retail
index funds. CSIM currently manages 62 mutual funds including 21
actively managed equity funds, taxable and tax-free bond funds, and
taxable and municipal money market funds. About Charles Schwab The
Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE / Nasdaq: SCH), through its
operating subsidiaries, provides securities brokerage and financial
services to individual investors and the independent investment
advisors who work with them. With over 7 million individual
investor accounts and more than $1 trillion in client assets, The
Charles Schwab Corporation is one of the nation's largest financial
services firms. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
(member SIPC) provides a complete range of investment services and
products, including an extensive selection of mutual funds;
financial planning and investment advice; retirement plans;
referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and
custodial, operational and trading support for independent
fee-based investment advisors. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab Bank,
N.A. (member FDIC) provides banking and mortgage services and
products. The Corporation's other operating subsidiaries include
U.S. Trust Corporation (member FDIC) and CyberTrader(R), Inc.
(member SIPC). These companies' Web sites can be reached at
http://www.schwab.com/, http://www.schwabbank.com/,
http://www.ustrust.com/, and http://www.cybertrader.com/. Investors
should consider carefully information contained in the prospectus,
including investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. You
can request a prospectus by calling Schwab at 1-800-435-4000.
Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. Investment
value will fluctuate and shares, when redeemed, may be worth more
or less than original cost. Schwab's Model Equity Portfolio
performance results are simulated model portfolio performance
results, which do not represent actual investment performance or
trading. The performance is past performance and no indication of
future results. Since the trades have not actually been executed,
the results do not reflect the impact of certain market factors
such as limited trading liquidity. No representation is being made
that any investor will or is likely to achieve profits or losses
similar to those shown in relying on Schwab Equity Ratings or any
stock model or list. The Schwab Equity Model Portfolio utilized the
Schwab Equity Ratings and final investment selection was made by a
portfolio manager. There are fundamental differences in the stock
selection process for the model equity portfolio compared to the
stock selection process used by the various funds that use Schwab
Equity Ratings. The performance of Schwab Equity Ratings is not an
indication of future performance of the Schwab Premier Equity Fund.
The fund could have a high portfolio turnover rate, which may
result in increased transaction costs and capital gain
distributions. (1) Additional Morningstar Rankings for these funds
as of March 31, 2005: One Year: 5/7 in top quartile Three Year: 3/4
in top quartile (2 in top decile) Five Year: 0/1 in top quartile
(2) Additional Lipper Rankings for these funds as of March 31,
2005: One Year: 5/7 in top quartile Three Year: 3/4 in top quartile
(2 in top decile) Five Year: 0/1 in top quartile Performance of the
portfolios submitted was calculated using an equal- weighted return
methodology that is administered by Zacks. Each brokerage firm had
its own methodologies in picking its stock lists, which differed in
many respects, including the number of issues held, frequency of
trading and changes of selection criteria over time. Barron's is a
registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights
reserved. [0005-7785] DATASOURCE: Charles Schwab CONTACT: Sondra
Harris of Charles Schwab, +1-415-636-3292, or ; or Kathy Vermazen
of Edelman, +1-415-486-3216, or , for Charles Schwab Web site:
http://www.schwab.com/
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