Charles Schwab Adds New Large-Cap Growth Fund to its Stable of Actively-Managed Mutual Funds
07 September 2005 - 3:06AM
PR Newswire (US)
New fund based on industry-recognized Schwab Equity Ratings meets
emerging investor demand for access to growth stocks. SAN
FRANCISCO, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Expanding its diverse
selection of actively-managed mutual funds, Charles Schwab
Investment Management announces the launch of the Schwab Large-Cap
Growth Fund(TM). The new fund will seek long-term capital growth
and will use Schwab Equity Ratings(R) to help identify stocks with
excellent performance potential. "Our new Large-Cap Growth Fund
underscores Schwab's commitment to providing investors with a broad
selection of quality funds that are a great value and strive to be
top performers in their category," said Evelyn Dilsaver, president
and chief executive officer, Charles Schwab Investment Management.
"By continuously adding to our lineup of mutual funds, we're able
to meet more of our clients' needs." According to Morningstar,
growth stocks have underperformed the market for so long that they
are trading closer to the price of value stocks, providing a new
opportunity for investors to now buy growth at reasonable prices.
Since this year's market low on April 20, the Russell 1000 Growth
Index has risen 8.18 percent while the Russell 1000 Value Index has
risen just 7 percent. "As the market begins to cycle from value to
growth, now may be the right time for investors to take a fresh
look at growth investing," said Vivienne Hsu, CFA, senior portfolio
manager for Charles Schwab Investment Management and co-manager of
the new fund. "We believe our fund is a great option for the growth
portion of their portfolio because, unlike other funds, we combine
active management with the objectivity and discipline of Schwab
Equity Ratings to provide investors with a sensible approach to
growth investing." The subscription period for the fund opened on
August 19 and runs through September 30, 2005. The fund will
commence operations October 3. Investor shares with a 1.20 percent
operating expense ratio (OER) are available with a minimum
investment of $2,500 ($1,000 for retirement, education and
custodial accounts). Select Shares will carry an OER of 0.99
percent, and are available with a minimum initial investment of
$50,000. The Schwab Large-Cap Growth Fund is slated to be a
component of the recently launched Schwab Portfolios, which are
diversified portfolios of stocks, ETFs or mutual funds. The fund
will be utilized in the mutual fund portfolios for domestic equity
category allocations, while funds chosen from Schwab's Mutual Fund
OneSource Select List(TM)(1) will be used for fixed income and
international category allocations. (See end of press release for
regulation analyst certification and how to obtain important
required disclosures.) Fund management The new fund will be
co-managed by Hsu and Larry Mano, vice president and senior
portfolio manager. Hsu and Mano, along with chief equities
investment officer Jeff Mortimer, manage Schwab's full line-up of
mutual funds that tap into Schwab Equity Ratings, Schwab's
proprietary stock selection methodology. These 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, Schwab Technology Focus Fund, Schwab
Premier Equity Fund and the new Schwab Large-Cap Growth Fund. About
Schwab Equity Ratings(R) Schwab Equity Ratings offer an objective
and disciplined assessment of approximately 3,000 U.S.
head-quartered stocks, 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
ratings reflect each stock's evaluation across 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. 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 June 30, 2005.
It is among the country's largest money market fund managers and is
the third- largest provider of retail index funds. In addition to
managing Schwab proprietary funds, CSIM provides oversight for the
institutional-style, sub- advised Laudus Fund family. CSIM
currently manages 67 mutual funds including 23 actively managed
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 (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/.
(0905-9005) 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 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. A growth investing strategy typically carries a higher risk
of loss and a higher potential for reward than a value investing
strategy. Because the fund limits its holdings to between 50 and 80
individual equities, it may experience more volatility. The
Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index measures the performance of all
U.S. headquartered equity securities with readily available price
data. Over 7,000 capitalization-weighted security returns are used
to adjust the index. It is not an investment product available for
purchase. Russell 1000 Growth -- The Russell 1000 Growth Index
measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with
higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. It
is not an investment product available for purchase. Russell 1000
Value -- The Russell 1000 Value Index measures the performance of
those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and
lower forecasted growth values. It is not an investment product
available for purchase. (1) Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., member
SIPC receives remuneration from fund companies participating in the
Mutual Fund OneSource(R) service for recordkeeping and shareholder
services and other administrative services. Schwab also may receive
remuneration from transaction fee fund companies for certain
administrative services. The Schwab Equity Ratings and stock lists
or models are not personal recommendations for any particular
investor and do not take into account the financial, investment or
other objectives and may not be suitable for any particular
investor. Before buying, investors should consider whether the
investment is suitable for themselves and their portfolio.
Additionally, investors should consider any recent market or
company news. Stocks can be volatile and entail risk and individual
stocks may not be suitable for an investor. DATASOURCE: Charles
Schwab CONTACT: Sondra Harris of Charles Schwab, +1-415-636-3292,
or Web site: http://www.schwab.com/
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