485BPOS 1 f33850e485bpos.txt 485BPOS File Nos. 33-37459 and 811-6200 As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 19, 2007 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM N-1A REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 Post-Effective Amendment No. 73 [X] and REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 Amendment No. 77 [X] SCHWAB INVESTMENTS ------------------ (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter) 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94104 ------------------------------------------------------ (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (zip code) Registrant's Telephone Number, including Area Code: (415) 627-7000 Randall W. Merk 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94104 ------------------------------------------------------ (Name and Address of Agent for Service) Copies of communications to: Timothy W. Levin, Esq. John M. Loder, Esq. Koji E. Felton, Esq. Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP Ropes & Gray Charles Schwab Investment 1701 Market Street One International Place Management, Inc. Philadelphia, PA 19103 Boston, MA 02110-2624 101 Montgomery Street 120KNY-14-109 San Francisco, CA 94104
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box): /X/ Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) / / On (date), pursuant to paragraph (b) / / 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) / / On (date), pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) / / 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) / / On (date), pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485 if appropriate, check appropriate box: / / This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment SCHWAB(R) PREMIER INCOME FUND SCHWAB FUNDS LOGO Prospectus September 19, 2007 As with all mutual funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved these securities or passed on whether the information in this prospectus is adequate and accurate. Anyone who indicates otherwise is committing a federal crime. [CHARLES SCHWAB LOGO] SCHWAB(R) PREMIER INCOME FUND ABOUT THE FUND STRATEGY................................................. 2 RISKS.................................................... 4 PERFORMANCE.............................................. 8 FUND FEES AND EXPENSES................................... 8 FUND MANAGEMENT.......................................... 9 INVESTING IN THE FUND Placing orders through your Intermediary................. 11 Methods for placing orders through your Intermediary..... 12 Placing direct orders for Institutional Shares........... 13 Transaction policies..................................... 16 Distributions and taxes.................................. 20
SCHWAB(R) PREMIER INCOME FUND Ticker symbols Investor Shares: SWPIX Select Shares(R): SWILX Institutional Shares(R): SWIIX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE THE FUND SEEKS HIGH CURRENT INCOME AND MAY ALSO SEEK CAPITAL APPRECIATION. The fund's investment objective is not fundamental and therefore may be changed by the fund's board of trustees without shareholder approval. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STRATEGY The fund invests primarily in fixed income instruments issued by U.S., non-U.S., and emerging market governments, governmental agencies, companies and entities and supranational entities of varying sectors, credit quality and maturities (bonds). The fund may also invest in income producing and non-income producing equity instruments (equities) issued by U.S., non-U.S., and emerging market companies and entities. The fund may invest all of its assets in a single country or in a small number of countries. The Fund may invest in bonds and equities denominated in non-U.S. and emerging market currencies on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The fund may invest in fixed, variable or floating rate bonds of any kind, including, without limitation, government and agency bonds, corporate bonds, commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities, collateralized mortgage obligations, asset-backed securities, corporate loans, hybrid securities, loan interests and preferred and convertible securities. The fund may invest in investment-grade and below investment-grade bonds (junk bonds) or its unrated equivalents as determined by the investment adviser and may invest all of its assets in either ratings category. The fund may invest in bonds having ultra-short, short, intermediate and long term maturities and may invest all of its assets in a single maturity category. The fund may invest in equities of any kind, including, without limitation, common and preferred stocks, rights and warrants to purchase stocks, depository receipts, real estate investment trusts (REITs), exchange traded funds (ETFs) and other investment companies. The fund may in invest in micro-cap, small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap equities and may invest all of its assets in a single market capitalization category. The fund also may invest all of its assets in derivatives of any kind, including, without limitation, futures, options, short sales, swaps, structured notes, residual interests, reverse repurchase agreements and dollar rolls. A derivative is a financial contract whose value depends upon or is derived from the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. The fund 2 Schwab(R) Premier Income Fund typically uses derivatives for risk management purposes and as a substitute for taking the position in an underlying asset. The fund may enter into forward commitment and delayed delivery agreements. Please see the Principal Risk Section for a description of these instruments. The fund selects investments across and within various market sectors based on the investment adviser's assessment of economic, market, political, and industry conditions and analysis of each issuer. In making this determination, the investment adviser may consider a variety of factors that it determines to be relevant from time to time, such as projected interest rate movements, volatility forecasts, technical data, industry cycles, political events and the issuer's financial condition, earning estimates, management and industry position. The fund is non-diversified and, as such, may allocate its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. The fund sells investments when the investment adviser believes it is appropriate to do so, regardless of how long the investments have been held. Such sales may cause the fund to experience high portfolio turnover and correspondingly increased transaction costs. The sales may also result in capital gain or loss, including short-term capital gain or loss. High portfolio turnover may adversely impact the fund's performance. The fund may hold all of its assets in cash, cash equivalents and other short-term investments for temporary or defensive purposes. The fund may utilize such tactics when the investment adviser believes that market or economic or political conditions are unfavorable for investors. Under such circumstances, the fund may not achieve its investment objective. Schwab(R) Premier Income Fund 3 PRINCIPAL RISKS MARKET RISK. Stock and bond markets and the values of the investments owned by the fund rise and fall daily. As with any investment whose performance is tied to these markets, the value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, which means that you could lose money. ALLOCATION RISK. The fund could miss attractive investment opportunities caused by underweighting or overweighting markets due to allocation decisions between equity securities, fixed income securities, and certain derivatives of these securities. INTEREST RATE RISK. The fund is subject to the risk that interest rates rise and fall over time. As with any investment whose yield reflects current interest rates, the fund's yield will change over time. During periods when interest rates are low, the fund's yield (and total return) also may be low. When interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall which could cause the fund's share price to fall. Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with shorter durations. CREDIT RISK. The fund is subject to the risk that a decline in the credit quality of a portfolio investment could cause the fund's share price to fall. The fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a portfolio investment or the counterparty to a derivatives contract fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations. Below investment-grade bonds (junk bonds) involve greater risks of default or downgrade and are more volatile than investment-grade bonds. Below investment-grade bonds also involve greater risk of price declines than investment-grade securities due to actual or perceived changes in an issuer's creditworthiness. In addition, issuers of below investment-grade bonds may be more susceptible than other issuers to economic downturns. Such bonds are subject to the risk that the issuer may not be able to pay interest or dividends and ultimately to repay principal upon maturity. Discontinuation of these payments could substantially adversely affect the market value of the bonds. PREPAYMENT AND EXTENSION RISK. The fund's fixed income investments are subject to the risk that the securities may be paid off earlier or later than expected. Either situation could cause the fund to hold securities paying lower-than market rates of interest, which could hurt the fund's yield or share price. In addition, rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of certain fixed income securities, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates. As a result, in a period of rising interest rates, the fund may exhibit additional volatility. This is known as extension risk. When interest rates decline, borrowers may pay off their fixed income securities sooner than expected. This can reduce the returns of the fund because the fund will have to reinvest that money at the lower prevailing interest rates. This is known as prepayment risk. FOREIGN INVESTMENT RISK. The fund's investments in foreign issuers involve certain risks that are greater than those associated with investments in U.S. issuers. These include risks of adverse changes in foreign economic, political, regulatory and other conditions, or changes in currency exchange rates or exchange control regulations (including limitations on currency movements and exchanges). In certain countries, legal remedies available to investors may be more limited than those available with respect to investments in the United States. The securities of some foreign companies may be less liquid and, at times, more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. The fund may also experience more rapid or extreme changes in value as compared to the fund that invests solely in securities of U.S. companies because the securities' markets of many foreign countries are relatively small, with a limited number of companies representing a small number of industries. EMERGING MARKET RISK. Emerging market countries are countries that the World Bank or the United Nations considers to be emerging or developing. Emerging markets countries may be more likely to experience political turmoil or rapid changes in market or economic conditions than more developed countries. Emerging market countries often have less uniformity in accounting and reporting requirements and unreliable securities 4 Schwab(R) Premier Income Fund valuation. It is sometimes difficult to obtain and enforce court judgments in such countries and there is often a greater potential for nationalization and/or expropriation of assets by the government of an emerging market country. In addition, the financial stability of issuers (including governments) in emerging market countries may be more precarious than in other countries. As a result, there will tend to be an increased risk of price volatility associated with the fund's investments in emerging market countries, which may be magnified by currency fluctuations relative to the U.S. dollar. CURRENCY RISK. The fund may invest in bonds and equities denominated in, and/or receiving revenues in, foreign currencies on a hedged or unhedged basis. As a result, the fund is subject to the risk that foreign currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar, or, in the case of hedging positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency hedged. In either event, the dollar value of an investment in the fund would be adversely affected. Currencies in non-U.S. countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates, intervention by U.S. or foreign governments, central banks or supranational agencies, such as the International Monetary Fund, or by the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the United State or abroad. EQUITIES RISK. The prices of equity securities rise and fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual companies, industries or the securities market as a whole. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by such companies may suffer a decline in response. In addition, the equity market tends to move in cycles which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time. SMALLER AND MEDIUM COMPANY RISK. Historically, smaller and medium company securities have been more volatile than, and have performed differently from, larger company stocks. Stock prices of smaller and medium companies may be based in substantial part on future expectations rather than current achievements and may move sharply, especially during market upturns and downturns. In addition, smaller and medium companies may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies. CONVERTIBLE SECURITIES RISK. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exercised for a prescribed amount of common stock at a specified time and price. Convertible securities provide an opportunity for equity participation, with the potential for a higher dividend or interest yield and lower price volatility compared to common stock. The value of a convertible security is influenced by changes in interest rates, with investment value declining as interest rates increase and increasing as interest rates decline, and the credit standing of the issuer. The price of a convertible security will also normally vary in some proportion to changes in the price of the underlying common stock because of the conversion or exercise feature. DERIVATIVES RISK. The fund may use derivatives to enhance returns or hedge against market declines. Examples of derivatives are options, futures, options on futures and swaps. An option is the right to buy or sell an instrument at a specific price before a specific date. A future is an agreement to buy or sell a financial instrument at a specific price on a specific day. A swap is an agreement whereby two parties agree to exchange payment streams calculated in relation to a rate, index, instrument or certain securities and a predetermined amount. A credit default swap is an agreement in which the seller agrees to make a payment to the buyer in the event of a specified credit event in exchange for a fixed payment or series of fixed payments. The fund's use of derivative instruments involves risks different from or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. Certain of these risks, such as credit risk, leverage risk, market risk and management risk, are discussed elsewhere in this section. The fund's use of derivatives is also subject to liquidity risk, lack of availability risk, valuation risk, correlation risk and tax risk. Liquidity risk is the risk that the fund may not be able to purchase or liquidate a particular derivative at Schwab(R) Premier Income Fund 5 an advantageous time or place. Lack of availability risk is the risk that suitable derivative transactions may not be available in all circumstances for risk management or other purposes. Valuation risk is the risk that a particular derivative may be valued incorrectly. Correlation risk is the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Tax risk is the risk that the use of derivatives may cause the fund to realize higher amounts of short-term capital gain. These risks could cause the fund to lose more than the principal amount invested. SHORT SALES RISK. Short sales are transactions in which the fund sells a security it does not own. To complete a short sale, the fund must borrow the security to deliver to the buyer. The fund is then obligated to replace the borrowed security by purchasing the security at the market price at the time of replacement. This price may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the fund and the fund will incur a loss if the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the fund replaces the borrowed security. LEVERAGE RISK. Certain fund transactions, such as derivatives, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, mortgage dollar rolls and delayed delivery and forward commitment transactions, may give rise to a form of leverage and may expose the fund to greater risk. In a reverse repurchase agreement, the fund would sell a security and enter into an agreement to repurchase the security at a specified future date and price. Mortgage dollar rolls are transactions in which the fund sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to repurchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. Leverage tends to magnify the effect of any decrease or increase in the value of the fund's portfolio securities. The use of leverage may cause the fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations. DELAYED DELIVERY AND FORWARD COMMITMENT TRANSACTION RISK. A delayed delivery agreement is a contract for the purchase or sale of one or more securities to be delivered on an agreed future settlement date. A forward commitment agreement is a contract for the purchase or sale of one or more securities at a specified price, with delivery and cash settlement on an agreed specified future date. When purchasing securities on a delayed delivery basis, the fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risk of price and yield fluctuations. Typically, no interest will accrue to the fund until the security is delivered. When the fund sells a security on a delayed delivery basis, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to that security. If the other party to a delayed delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, the fund could suffer losses. Securities purchased by the fund on a forward commitment basis may expose the fund to additional risks because they may experience fluctuations in value prior to their actual delivery date. For example, the yield available in the market on a debt security may be higher at the time delivery takes places than the yield the fund obtained in the forward commitment transaction itself. These transactions may result in a form of leverage and increase the fund's overall investment risk. REITS RISK. The fund's investments in REITs will be subject to the risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate. Risks commonly associated with the direct ownership of real estate include fluctuations in the value of underlying properties, defaults by borrowers or tenants, changes in interest rates and risks related to general or local economic conditions. In addition to the risks associated with investing in securities of real estate companies, REITs are subject to certain additional risks. Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying properties owned by the trusts, and mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit extended. Further, REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills and may have their investments in relatively few properties, or in a small geographic area or a single property type. REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers and self-liquidation. In addition, REITs could possibly fail to qualify for tax free pass-through of income under the Internal Revenue Code, or to maintain their exemptions from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The failure of a company to 6 Schwab(R) Premier Income Fund qualify as a REIT under federal tax law may have adverse consequences to the fund. The above factors may also adversely affect a borrower's or a lessee's ability to meet its obligations to the REIT. In the event of a default by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with protecting its investments. In addition, REITs have their own expenses, and the fund will bear a proportionate share of those expenses. EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS RISK (ETFS). ETFs hold portfolios of securities generally in proportion to the securities in a given market, sector or international index. The fund may purchase shares of ETFs to gain exposure to a particular portion of the market. When the fund invests in an ETF, in addition to directly bearing the expenses associated with its own operations, it will bear a pro rata portion of the ETF's expenses. Therefore, it may be more costly to own an ETF than to own the underlying securities directly. In addition, while the risks of owning shares of an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities the ETF is designed to track, lack of liquidity in an ETF can result in its value being more volatile than the underlying portfolio securities. SECURITIES LENDING RISK. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and other financial institutions provided a number of conditions are satisfied, including that the loan is fully collateralized. When the fund lends portfolio securities, its investment performance will continue to reflect changes in the value of the securities loaned, and the Fund will also receive a fee or interest on the collateral. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights in the collateral or delay in recovery of the collateral if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent. The fund may pay lending fees to a party arranging the loan. MANAGEMENT RISK. The fund is subject to the risk that its investment adviser will make poor investment selections. The fund's investment adviser applies its own investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the fund, but there can be no guarantee that they will produce the desired results. Schwab(R) Premier Income Fund 7 PERFORMANCE Because the fund is new, no performance figures are given. The information will appear in a future version of the fund's prospectus. FUND FEES AND EXPENSES The following table describes what you could expect to pay as a fund investor. "Shareholder fees" are charged to you directly by the fund. "Annual operating expenses" are paid out of fund assets, so their effect is included in the total return for each share class. FEE TABLE (%) SHAREHOLDER FEES INVESTOR SELECT INSTITUTIONAL (% of transaction amount) SHARES SHARES(R) SHARES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REDEMPTION FEE* 2.00 2.00 2.00 ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES (% of average net assets) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management fees 0.60 0.60 0.60 Distribution (12b-1) fees None None None Other expenses** 0.42 0.27 0.27 ------------------------------ Total annual operating expenses 1.02 0.87 0.87 Less expense reduction (0.15) (0.15) (0.24) ------------------------------ NET OPERATING EXPENSES*** 0.87 0.72 0.63 ------------------------------
* Charged only on shares you sell or exchange 30 days or less after buying them and paid directly to the fund. ** "Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. *** Schwab and the investment adviser have agreed to limit the net operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes and certain non-routine expenses) of the Investor Shares, Select Shares, and Institutional Shares to 0.00% through 1/31/08. Schwab and the investment adviser have agreed to limit the net operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes and certain non-routine expenses) of the Investor Shares, Select Shares, and Institutional Shares to 0.87%, 0.72% and 0.63% respectively, for the period 2/1/08 through 6/30/09. EXAMPLE Designed to help you compare expenses, the example below uses the same assumptions as other mutual fund prospectuses: a $10,000 investment, a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. The one year figures are based on net operating expenses. The expenses would be the same whether you stayed in the fund or sold your shares at the end of each period. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. EXPENSES ON A $10,000 INVESTMENT
1 year 3 years -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTOR SHARES $66 $288 SELECT SHARES $55 $245 INSTITUTIONAL SHARES $48 $238
8 Schwab(R) Premier Income Fund FUND MANAGEMENT The fund's investment adviser, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., (CSIM), has more than $210 billion under management. The investment adviser for the fund is Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94104. Founded in 1989, the firm today serves as investment adviser for all of the Schwab Funds(R). The firm manages assets for more than 5 million accounts. (All figures on this page are as of 6/30/07.) As the investment adviser, the firm oversees the asset management and administration of the fund. As compensation for these services, the firm receives a management fee from the fund of 0.60% of the fund's average daily net assets not in excess of $500 million, 0.55% of such assets over $500 million, and 0.50% of such assets over $1 billion. KIMON DAIFOTIS, CFA, a senior vice president and chief investment officer of fixed income portfolio management of the investment adviser, has overall responsibility for management of the fund. He joined the firm in September 1997 and has worked in fixed-income asset management and research since 1982. MATTHEW HASTINGS, CFA, a managing director and portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the fund. He joined the firm in 1999 and has worked in fixed-income asset management since 1996. STEVEN HUNG, a managing director and portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the fund. He joined the firm in 1998 and has worked in fixed-income asset management since 1999. ALFONSO PORTILLO, JR., a managing director and portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the fund. He joined the firm in 2007 and has worked in fixed-income and asset management since 1997. ANDREW TIKOFSKY, PHD, a managing director and portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the fund. He joined the firm in 2006 and has worked in fixed-income and asset management since 1997. Additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers' ownership of securities in the fund is available in the Statement of Additional Information. 9 INVESTING IN THE FUND On the following pages, you will find information on buying, selling and exchanging shares. You may invest in the fund through an intermediary by placing orders through your brokerage account at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab) or an account with another broker/dealer, investment adviser, 401(k) plan, employee benefit plan, administrator, bank, or other financial intermediary (intermediary) that is authorized to accept orders on behalf of the fund (intermediary orders). With respect to the Institutional Shares of the fund, Eligible Investors (as defined herein) may invest directly in the fund by placing orders through the fund's sub-transfer agent (direct orders). You also will see how to choose a distribution option for your investment. Helpful information on taxes is included as well. 10 PLACING ORDERS THROUGH YOUR INTERMEDIARY INVESTMENT MINIMUMS CHOOSE A SHARE CLASS, then decide how much you want to invest. Your choice may depend on the amount of your investment. The minimums shown below are for each share class. The Institutional Shares have lower expenses than the Select Shares, which, in turn, have lower expenses than the Investor Shares. You may convert your Investor Shares into Select Shares at any time if your account balance in the fund is at least $50,000. You may convert your Investor or Select Shares into Institutional Shares at any time if your account balance in the fund is at least $500,000. You must contact Schwab or your other intermediary to request an interclass exchange of your shares--conversion is not automatic. If you no longer meet the minimum balance requirement for your share class, the fund reserves the right to redeem your shares. Not all share classes may be available through financial intermediaries other than Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
MINIMUM INITIAL SHARE CLASS INVESTMENT MINIMUM BALANCE -------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTOR SHARES $100 NONE SELECT SHARES $50,000 $40,000 INSTITUTIONAL SHARES $500,000 $400,000
Certain investment managers, including CSIM and managers in Schwab Institutional, may aggregate the investments of their underlying customer accounts for purposes of meeting the Select and Institutional Shares initial minimum investment and minimum balance requirements. These minimums may be waived for certain retirement plans, including Schwab Corporate Services retirement plans, and plan participants, and for shareholders who roll an IRA from an exempted retirement plan. These minimums may also be waived for certain other investors, including trustees, officers and employees of Schwab, and for certain investment programs, including programs for education savings or charitable giving. Schwab may receive other compensation for providing services to these clients, investors and programs. DISTRIBUTION OPTIONS CHOOSE AN OPTION FOR FUND DISTRIBUTIONS. The three options are described below. If you don't indicate a choice, you will receive the first option.
OPTION FEATURES ----------------------------------------------------------------------- REINVESTMENT All dividends and capital gain distributions are invested automatically in shares of your share class. CASH/REINVESTMENT MIX You receive payment for dividends, while any capital gain distributions are invested automatically in shares of your share class. CASH You receive payment for all dividends and capital gain distributions.
11 METHODS FOR PLACING ORDERS THROUGH YOUR INTERMEDIARY To place intermediary orders to purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the fund, you must have a Schwab account or an account with another intermediary. Please contact your intermediary to learn how to place orders. When you place intermediary orders, you are not placing your orders directly with the fund, and you must follow Schwab's or the other intermediary's transaction procedures. Your intermediary, including Schwab, may impose different or additional conditions than the fund on purchases, redemptions and exchanges of fund shares. These differences may include initial, subsequent and maintenance investment requirements, exchange policies, fund choices, cut-off times for investment and trading restrictions. Your intermediary may independently establish and charge its customers transaction fees, account fees and other fees in addition to the fees charged by the fund. These additional fees may vary over time and would increase the cost of your investment and lower investment returns. You should consult your intermediary directly for information regarding these conditions and fees. The fund is not responsible for the acts or omissions of your intermediary or the failure of your intermediary to fulfill its responsibilities. BUYING SHARES To purchase shares of the fund you must place your intermediary orders through your Schwab account or through an account at another intermediary. You may not place intermediary orders to purchase shares directly with the fund. SELLING AND EXCHANGING SHARES To redeem or exchange shares held in your Schwab account or in your account at another intermediary, you must place your intermediary orders with the intermediary that holds your shares. You may not place intermediary orders to redeem or exchange shares directly with the fund. When selling or exchanging shares, you should be aware of the following fund policies: - The fund may take up to seven days to pay sale proceeds. - The fund reserves the right to honor redemptions in liquid portfolio securities instead of cash when your redemptions over a 90-day period exceed $250,000 or 1% of the fund's assets, whichever is less. You may incur transaction expenses in converting these securities to cash. - Exchange orders are limited to other Schwab Funds or Laudus MarketMasters Funds that are not Sweep Investments and must meet the minimum investment and other requirements for the fund and share class into which you are exchanging. - You must obtain and read the prospectus for the fund into which you are exchanging prior to placing your order. 12 Investing in the fund PLACING DIRECT ORDERS FOR INSTITUTIONAL SHARES INVESTOR ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PLACING DIRECT ORDERS FOR INSTITUTIONAL SHARES Only Eligible Investors (as defined below) may purchase Institutional Shares directly from the fund's sub-transfer agent. Eligible Investors include, but are not limited to, qualified and non-qualified employee benefit plans (including, but not limited to, defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, 401(k) plans), foundations and endowments, banks, trusts, investment companies and corporate capital and cash management accounts. Potential investors that are, or are investing on behalf of, natural persons will not be considered Eligible Investors. The fund reserves the right to determine which potential investors qualify as Eligible Investors. Institutional Shares held by a non-Eligible Investor are subject to involuntary redemption by the fund. INVESTMENT MINIMUMS The minimums shown below are for the fund's Institutional Shares. If you no longer meet the minimum balance requirement for the Institutional Shares, the fund reserves the right to redeem your shares.
MINIMUM INITIAL INVESTMENT MINIMUM BALANCE ------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTITUTIONAL SHARES $500,000 $400,000
DISTRIBUTION OPTIONS CHOOSE AN OPTION FOR FUND DISTRIBUTIONS. The three options are described below. If you don't indicate a choice, you will receive the first option.
OPTION FEATURES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REINVESTMENT All dividends and capital gain distributions are invested automatically in shares of your share class. CASH/REINVESTMENT MIX You receive payment for dividends, while any capital gain distributions are invested automatically in shares of your share class. CASH You receive payment for all dividends and capital gain distributions.
METHODS FOR PLACING DIRECT ORDERS -- INSTITUTIONAL SHARES The methods for placing direct orders to purchase or redeem Institutional Shares of the fund are described on this and the following page. With every direct order, you must include your name, your account number, the fund name and share class, and the dollar amount you would like to purchase or redeem. There are no exchange privileges for shares purchased directly from the fund through its sub-transfer agent. You cannot place direct orders by mail and cannot pay for purchases by check. In addition, you must authorize the telephone redemption option in the account application (and -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPENING AN ACCOUNT TO PLACE DIRECT ORDERS FOR INSTITUTIONAL SHARES OF THE FUND You must satisfy the investor eligibility requirements (set forth at left) in order to place direct orders for the fund's Institutional Shares. Eligible Investors must open an account with the fund through the fund's sub-transfer agent, Boston Financial Data Services (subtransfer agent), prior to placing direct orders. You may obtain an account application by calling the sub-transfer agent at 1-800-407-0256. Your completed application and supporting documents must be returned to, and accepted by, the sub-transfer agent before you can place direct orders. You cannot place direct orders through your Schwab account or through your account at another intermediary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 such authorization must be accepted by the fund) prior to placing orders with the fund's sub-transfer agent. INITIAL AND ADDITIONAL PURCHASES BY WIRE Subject to acceptance by the fund, you may make your initial purchase and any additional purchases of Institutional Shares by wiring federal funds to the sub-transfer agent. If you have not yet opened an account with the fund, you must fax a signed, hard copy of the completed account application and all supporting documents to the sub-transfer agent at 1-781-796-2938. You must call the sub-transfer agent at 1-800-407-0256 prior to the close of the fund (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time or the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), whichever is earlier) to place your order and to receive wire instructions. Orders received by the sub-transfer agent in good order on or prior to the close of the fund will be processed at the net asset value per share of the fund for that day. Your wired funds must be received and accepted by the sub-transfer agent prior to the close of the fund on settlement day. Please call the sub-transfer agent at 1-800-407-0256 if you have any questions or need additional information. REDEMPTIONS BY TELEPHONE Institutional Shares that were purchased directly from the fund through its sub-transfer agent can only be redeemed by telephone. You may place a redemption order by calling the sub-transfer agent at 1-800-407-0256 and requesting that the redemption proceeds be wired per the authorized instructions in the account application or mailed to the primary registration address. Your redemption order will be processed at the net asset value per share of the fund next determined after receipt of your telephone redemption order by the sub-transfer agent. Please note that the sub-transfer agent may only act on telephone instructions believed by the sub-transfer agent to be genuine. The sub-transfer agent's records of such instructions are binding on the shareholder. The fund and its service providers (including the sub-transfer agent, Schwab and CSIM) are not responsible for any losses or costs that may arise from following telephone instructions that the sub-transfer agent reasonably believes to be genuine. The sub-transfer agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine. These procedures include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone. ADDITIONAL REDEMPTION INFORMATION To protect you, the fund and its service providers from fraud, signature guarantees may be required to enable the sub-transfer agent to verify the identity of the person who has authorized a redemption from an account. Signature guarantees are required for (1) redemptions where the proceeds are to be sent to someone other than the registered shareholder(s) at the registered address, (2) redemptions if your account address has changed 14 Investing in the fund within the last 10 business days, (3) share transfer requests, and (4) redemptions where the proceeds are wired in connection with bank instructions not already on file with the sub-transfer agent. Signature guarantees may be obtained from certain eligible financial institutions, including, but not limited to, the following: U.S. banks, trust companies, credit unions, securities brokers and dealers, savings and loan associations and participants in the Securities and Transfer Association Medallion Program ("STAMP"), the Stock Exchange Medallion Program ("SEMP") or the New York Stock Exchange Medallion Signature Program ("MSP"). Signature guarantees from non-U.S. banks that do not include a stamp may require a U.S. consulate stamp. You may contact the sub-transfer agent at 1-800-407-0256 for further details. EXCHANGE PRIVILEGES There are no exchange privileges for Institutional Shares purchased directly from the fund through its sub-transfer agent. 15 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FUND RESERVES CERTAIN RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING: - To automatically redeem your shares upon 60 days written notice if the value of your investment in the fund falls below the stated minimum balance requirement for the fund or share class, as applicable. - To materially modify or terminate the exchange privilege upon 60 days' written notice to shareholders. - To change or waive the fund's or share class' investment minimums. - To suspend the right to sell shares back to the fund, and delay sending proceeds, during times when trading on the NYSE is restricted or halted, or otherwise as permitted by the SEC. - To withdraw or suspend any part of the offering made by this prospectus. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSACTION POLICIES THE FUND IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS EACH DAY THAT THE NYSE IS OPEN. The fund calculates the share price for each of its share classes each business day as of the close of the NYSE (generally 4 p.m. Eastern time). The fund's share price is its net asset value per share, or NAV, which is the fund's net assets divided by the number of its shares outstanding. Orders to buy, sell or exchange shares that are received by the fund in good order on or prior to the close of the fund (generally 4 p.m. Eastern time) will be executed at the next share price calculated that day. When you place an order, please consult with your intermediary to determine when your order will be executed. Generally, you will receive the share price next calculated after the fund receives your order from your intermediary. However, some intermediaries, such as Schwab, may arrange with the fund for you to receive the share price next calculated after your intermediary has received your order. Some intermediaries may require that they receive orders prior to a specified cut-off time. In valuing its securities, the fund uses market quotes or official closing prices if they are readily available. In cases where quotes are not readily available, the fund may value securities based on fair values developed using methods approved by the fund's Board of Trustees. Shareholders of the fund should be aware that because foreign markets are often open on weekends and other days when the fund is closed, the value of the fund's portfolio may change on days when it is not possible to buy or sell shares of the fund. Schwab, the investment adviser and their affiliates may pay certain intermediaries or their third party administrators for performing shareholder, recordkeeping, administrative, accounting, transfer agency or other services for their customers. In addition, Schwab, the investment adviser and their affiliates may pay certain intermediaries for providing distribution, marketing, promotional or other related services. The payments described by this paragraph may be substantial but are paid by Schwab, the investment adviser and their affiliates, not by the fund or its shareholders. POLICY REGARDING SHORT-TERM OR EXCESSIVE TRADING. The fund is intended for long-term investment and not for short-term or excessive trading (collectively "market timing"). Market timing may adversely impact the fund's performance by disrupting the efficient management of the fund, increasing fund transaction costs and taxes, causing the fund to maintain higher cash balances, and diluting the value of the fund's shares. The fund's Board of Trustees has adopted policies and procedures that are designed to reduce the risk of market timing by fund shareholders. The fund seeks to deter market timing through several methods. These methods may include: trade activity monitoring; redemption fees; and fair value pricing. Although these methods are designed to discourage market timing, there can be no guarantee that the fund will be able to identify and restrict investors that 16 Investing in the fund engage in such activities. In addition, these methods (other than redemption fees) are inherently subjective and involve judgment in their application. The fund and its service providers seek to make these judgments and applications uniformly and in a manner that they believe is consistent with interests of the fund's long-term shareholders. The fund may amend these policies and procedures in response to changing regulatory requirements or to enhance the effectiveness of the program. The fund may also defer to an intermediary's frequent trading policies with respect to those shareholders who invest in the fund through such intermediary. The fund will defer to an intermediary's policies only after the fund determines that the intermediary's frequent trading policies adequately protect fund shareholders. Transactions by fund shareholders investing through such intermediaries will be subject to the restrictions of the intermediary's frequent trading policies, which may differ from those of the fund. Shareholders should consult with their intermediaries to determine the frequent trading restrictions that apply to their fund transactions. TRADE ACTIVITY MONITORING. The fund, through its service providers, maintains trade activity monitoring procedures with respect to the purchase, sale and exchange of fund shares. This process involves reviewing transactions that exceed certain monetary thresholds within specified time intervals. Trading activity identified by these factors, or from other information then available (such as the actual trading pattern or dollar amount of the transactions), will be evaluated to determine whether such activity is detrimental to the fund. If, as a result of this trade activity monitoring, the fund believes that a shareholder has engaged in market timing, it may, in its sole discretion, request the shareholder to stop such market timing activities or refuse to process purchases or exchanges in the shareholder's account. The fund specifically reserves the right to reject any purchase or exchange orders by any investor or group of investors indefinitely for any reason. Transactions placed in contravention of the fund's market timing policies are not necessarily deemed accepted by the fund and may be canceled or revoked by the fund on the next business day following receipt by the fund. Fund shares may be held through 401(k) and other group retirement plans and other omnibus arrangements maintained by other intermediaries. Omnibus accounts allow intermediaries to aggregate their customers' investments in one account and to purchase, redeem and exchange fund shares without the identity of a particular customer being known to the fund. A number of these financial intermediaries may not have the capability or may not be willing to apply the fund's market timing policies. As a result, the fund cannot assure that its policies will be enforced with regard to fund shares held through such omnibus arrangements. While the fund may monitor share turnover at the omnibus account level, the fund's ability to monitor and detect market timing by particular shareholders in 17 these omnibus accounts is limited, and, therefore, the fund may not be able to determine whether trading by these shareholders is contrary to the fund's market timing policies. REDEMPTION FEES. The fund may impose a short-term redemption fee on any fund shares that are redeemed or exchanged by a shareholder within a specified number of days, as detailed below, of the purchase date. The fund imposes the redemption fees in an effort to deter short-term trading, to facilitate efficient fund management, to minimize the impact on fund performance and to offset fund transaction costs and other expenses. The fund charges a redemption fee of 2.00% on shares sold or exchanged 30 days or less after purchasing them. These fees may be imposed to the extent the shares redeemed exceed the number of shares that have been held more than 30 days. The fund treats shares that have been held the longest as being redeemed first and shares that have been held the shortest as being redeemed last. Fund shares purchased with reinvested dividends are not subject to redemption fees. The fund retains the redemption fees for the benefit of the remaining shareholders. There is no redemption fee when you exchange between share classes of the same fund. As noted above, the fund's shares may be held in omnibus accounts by financial intermediaries. Currently, only certain intermediaries have the systems capability to collect the redemption fees on behalf of the fund. Even intermediaries that do have the capability may use criteria and methods for tracking, applying and calculating the fees that are different from those of the fund or may be unwilling to collect the fees. As such, the fund may not be able to collect redemption fees through these intermediaries. The fund notifies all financial intermediaries of its policy and will encourage all financial intermediaries to develop the capability to begin collecting the redemption fees from all of their customers that invest in the fund. The fund reserves the right to waive its redemption fee if the fund or its service providers believe that such waivers are consistent with the best interests of the fund and its long-term shareholders. For example, the redemption fees may not be assessed in the following non-exclusive list of transactions: redemptions by tax-advantaged retirement plans; redemptions by certain fee-based or wrap programs; redemptions pursuant to rebalancing programs or systematic withdrawal plans established with the fund or financial intermediaries; redemptions by charitable giving funds; redemptions by registered investment companies; and redemptions initiated by the fund. The fund also reserves the right to modify or eliminate the redemption fees or waivers at any time. FAIR VALUE PRICING. The Board of Trustees has adopted procedures to fair value the fund's securities when market prices are not "readily available" or are unreliable. For example, the fund may fair value a security when a security is de-listed or its trading is halted or suspended; when a security's primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; when a 18 Investing in the fund security's primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or when a security's value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the security's primary trading market. By fair valuing securities whose prices may have been affected by events occurring after the close of trading, the fund seeks to establish prices that investors might expect to realize upon the current sales of these securities. This methodology is designed to deter "arbitrage" market timers, who seek to exploit delays between the change in the value of the fund's portfolio holdings and the net asset value of the fund's shares, and seeks to ensure that the prices at which the fund's shares are purchased and redeemed are fair and do not result in dilution of shareholder interest or other harm to shareholders. The fund makes fair value determinations in good faith in accordance with the fund's valuation procedures. Due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, there can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to the security upon the sale of such security. PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS. A description of the fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund's portfolio securities is available in the fund's Statement of Additional Information. 19 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE ON QUALIFIED DIVIDEND INCOME AND DISTRIBUTIONS Dividends that are designated by the fund as qualified dividend income are eligible for a reduced maximum tax rate. Qualified dividend income is, in general, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain foreign corporations. The fund expects that a portion of the fund's ordinary income distributions will be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income subject to the reduced tax rates. If you are investing through a taxable account and purchase shares of the fund just before it declares a distribution, you may receive a portion of your investment back as a taxable distribution. This is because when the fund makes a distribution, the share price is reduced by the amount of the distribution. You can avoid "buying a dividend," as it is often called, by finding out if a distribution is imminent and waiting until afterwards to invest. Of course, you may decide that the opportunity to gain a few days of investment performance outweighs the tax consequences of buying a dividend. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES ANY INVESTMENT IN THE FUND TYPICALLY INVOLVES SEVERAL TAX CONSIDERATIONS. The information below is meant as a general summary for U.S. citizens and residents. Because each person's tax situation is different, you should consult your tax advisor about the tax implications of your investment in the fund. You also can visit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) web site at http://www.irs.gov. AS A SHAREHOLDER, YOU ARE ENTITLED TO YOUR SHARE OF THE DIVIDENDS AND GAINS YOUR FUND EARNS. The fund pays its dividends on the last business day of every month. Every year, the fund distributes to its shareholders substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains, if any. These distributions typically are paid in December to all shareholders of record. During the fourth quarter of the year, typically in early November, an estimate of the fund's year-end distribution, if any, may be made available on the fund's web site at http://www.schwab.com/schwabfunds. UNLESS YOU ARE INVESTING THROUGH AN IRA, 401(K) OR OTHER TAX-ADVANTAGED RETIREMENT ACCOUNT, YOUR FUND DISTRIBUTIONS GENERALLY HAVE TAX CONSEQUENCES. The fund's net investment income and short-term capital gains are distributed as dividends and will be taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Qualified dividend income is currently treated at the reduced maximum rates applicable to long-term capital gains. Other capital gain distributions are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held your shares in the fund. Absent further legislation, the reduced maximum rates on qualified dividend income and long-term capital gains will cease to apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010. Distributions generally are taxable in the tax year in which they are declared, whether you reinvest them or take them in cash. GENERALLY, ANY SALE OR EXCHANGE OF YOUR SHARES IS A TAXABLE EVENT. For tax purposes, an exchange of your shares for shares of another Schwab Fund is treated the same as a sale. An exchange between classes within the fund is not reported as a taxable sale. A sale may result in a capital gain or loss for you. The gain or loss generally will be treated as short term if you held the shares for 12 months or less, long term if you held the shares longer. Dividends derived from U.S. Government securities are generally exempt from state and local income taxes. However, some states may limit this benefit, and some agency-backed securities may not qualify for tax-exempt status. AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY YEAR, THE FUND PROVIDES SHAREHOLDERS WITH INFORMATION DETAILING THE TAX STATUS OF ANY DISTRIBUTIONS THE FUND PAID DURING THE PREVIOUS CALENDAR YEAR. Schwab customers also receive information on distributions and transactions in their monthly account statements. Shareholders with a Schwab account who sell shares typically will receive a report that calculates their gain or loss using the "average cost" single category method. This information is not reported to the IRS, and you still have the option of calculating gains or losses using any other methods permitted by the IRS. 20 Investing in the fund NOTES TO LEARN MORE This prospectus contains important information on the fund and should be read and kept for reference. You also can obtain more information from the following sources. ANNUAL AND SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS, which are mailed to current investors, contain more information about the fund. Annual reports also contain information from the fund's managers about strategies, recent market conditions and trends and their impact on fund performance. The STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (SAI) includes a more detailed discussion of investment policies and the risks associated with various investments. The SAI is incorporated by reference into the prospectus, making it legally part of the prospectus. For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the fund, call Schwab Funds at 1-800-435-4000. In addition, you may visit Schwab Funds' web site at http://www.schwab.com/schwabfunds for a free copy of a Prospectus, SAI or an annual or semi-annual report. The SAI, the fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the EDGAR Database on the SEC's web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102. You can also review and copy information about the fund, including the fund's SAI, at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room. SEC FILE NUMBER Schwab(R) Premier Income Fund 811-6200
REG38763FLD SCHWAB(R) PREMIER INCOME FUND PROSPECTUS September 19, 2007 [CHARLES SCHWAB LOGO] STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SCHWAB INVESTMENTS SCHWAB(R) PREMIER INCOME FUND -- SEPTEMBER 19, 2007 The Statement of Additional Information (SAI) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the fund's prospectus dated September 19, 2007 (as amended from time to time). To obtain a free copy of the prospectus, please contact Schwab Funds(R) at 1-800-435-4000, day or night. For TDD service call 1-800-345-2550, day or night. The prospectus and SAI also may be available on the Internet at: http://www.schwab.com/schwabfunds. The fund is a series of Schwab Investments (the Trust). The Trust, The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Capital Trust and Schwab Annuity Portfolios are collectively referred to as the "Schwab Funds". TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page ---- INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE, STRATEGY, SECURITIES, RISKS AND LIMITATIONS.............................................................. 2 MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND................................................... 40 CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES...................... 48 INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES................................... 48 BROKERAGE ALLOCATION AND OTHER PRACTICES................................. 53 DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST................................................. 56 PURCHASE, REDEMPTION, DELIVERY OF SHAREHOLDER DOCUMENTS AND PRICING OF SHARES.................................................... 57 TAXATION................................................................. 60 APPENDIX A - RATINGS OF INVESTMENT SECURITIES............................ 66 APPENDIX B - DESCRIPTION OF PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES.................................................... 70
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE, STRATEGY, SECURITIES, RISKS AND LIMITATIONS INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE The fund seeks high current income and may also seek capital appreciation. CHANGE OF INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE The fund's investment objective is not fundamental and therefore may be changed by the fund's board of trustees without shareholder approval. There is no guarantee that the fund will achieve its investment objective. INVESTMENTS, RISKS AND LIMITATIONS The following descriptions of investment securities, risks and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus and may be changed without shareholder approval unless otherwise noted. The fund will invest in securities or engage in techniques that are intended to help achieve its investment objective. AUCTION-RATE SECURITIES ("ARS") are long-term variable rate bonds whose interest rates reset at specific shorter frequencies through a Dutch auction process. A Dutch auction is a competitive bidding process used to determine rates on each auction date. Bids are submitted to the auction agent. The winning bid rate is the rate at which the auction "clears", meaning the lowest possible interest rate that equals the cumulative total of securities demanded (buyers) to the amount auctioned (sellers). New buyers wishing to purchase ARS may submit a bid at a specified rate on the day of the auction. Holders of the bonds will be notified of the indicative market rate. All accepted bids receive the same interest rate. Owners of ARS have the option to (i) hold: elect to hold an existing position regardless of what the new rate might be; (ii) Bid: submit a bid to hold an existing position at a specified rate; or (iii) Sell: request to sell an existing position regardless of the rate set at the auction. Interest rates are generally reset every 7 or 28 days for taxable issues and every 35 days for tax-exempt issues. Most ARS pay interest on the business day following the auction; however, some may have quarterly or semi-annual coupons and trade with accrued interest. ARS settle on the business day following the auction. ARS holders do not have the right to "put" their securities back to the issuer, but rather rely on the liquidity generated by the Dutch auction. Due to this lack of a dedicated liquidity facility, ARS are very credit sensitive. BANKERS' ACCEPTANCES or notes are credit instruments evidencing a bank's obligation to pay a draft drawn on it by a customer. These instruments reflect the obligation both of the bank and of the drawer to pay the full amount of the instrument upon maturity. The fund will invest only in bankers' acceptances of banks that have capital, surplus and undivided profits in excess of $100 million. BOND SUBSTITUTION is a strategy whereby the fund may, from time to time, substitute one type of investment-grade bond for another. This means that, as an example, the fund may have a higher weighting in corporate bonds and a lower weighting in U.S. Treasury securities than its index in order to increase income. This particular substitution - a corporate bond substitution - may increase the fund's 2 credit risk, although this may be mitigated through increased diversification in the corporate sector of the bond market. BORROWING may subject the fund to interest costs, which may exceed the interest received on the securities purchased with the borrowed funds. The fund normally may borrow at times to meet redemption requests rather than sell portfolio securities to raise the necessary cash. Borrowing can involve leveraging when securities are purchased with the borrowed money. To avoid this, the fund will earmark or segregate assets to cover such borrowings in accordance with positions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). The fund may borrow money from banks and make other investments or engage in other transactions permissible under the Investment Company Act of 1940, (the 1940 Act) which may be considered a borrowing (such as mortgage dollar rolls and reverse repurchase agreements). The fund may establish lines-of-credit (lines) with certain banks by which it may borrow funds for temporary or emergency purposes. A borrowing is presumed to be for temporary or emergency purposes if it is repaid by the fund within 60 days and is not extended or renewed. The fund intends to use the lines to meet large or unexpected redemptions that would otherwise force the fund to liquidate securities under circumstances which are unfavorable to the fund's remaining shareholders. The fund will pay a fee to the bank for using the lines. CAPITAL SECURITIES are certain subordinated bank securities. They are bank obligations that fall below senior unsecured debt and deposits in liquidation. A bank's capital comprises share capital reserves and a series of hybrid instruments also know as capital securities. These securities are used to augment equity Tier 1 and are usually in the form of subordinated debt. A capital security has to adhere to supervisory guidelines concerning its characteristics such as amount, maturity, subordination and deferral language in order to count as capital. Regulators across the world tend to look toward the Bank for International Settlements ("BIS") for guidance in setting the capital adequacy framework for banks. Regulators use these guidelines to place limits on the proportions and type of capital (including capital securities) allowed to make up the capital base. Capital adequacy requires not just a certain quantity of capital but certain types in relationship to the nature of a bank's assets. Capital securities may be denominated in U.S. or local currency. CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT or time deposits are issued against funds deposited in a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate. The fund will invest only in certificates of deposit of banks that have capital, surplus and undivided profits in excess of $100 million. COLLATERALIZED DEBT OBLIGATIONS. Collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs") are securitized interests in pools of non-mortgage assets. Such assets usually comprise loans or debt instruments. A CDO may be called a collateralized loan obligation (CLO) if it holds only loans. Multiple levels of securities are issued by the CDO, offering various maturity and credit risk characteristics which are characterized according to their degree of credit risk. Purchasers in CDOs are credited with their portion of the scheduled payments of interest and principal on the underlying assets plus all unscheduled prepayments of principal based on a predetermined priority schedule. Accordingly, the CDOs in the longer maturity series are less likely than other asset pass-throughs to be prepaid prior to their stated maturity. COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES include securities that reflect an interest in, and are secured by, mortgage loans on commercial real property. The market for commercial mortgage-backed securities developed more recently and in terms of total outstanding principal amount of issues is relatively small compared to the market for residential single-family MBS. Many of the risks of investing in commercial MBS reflect the risks of investing in the real estate securing the underlying mortgage loans. These risks reflect the effects of local and other economic conditions on real estate markets, the ability of tenants to 3 make loan payments, and the ability of a property to attract and retain tenants. Commercial MBS may be less liquid and exhibit greater price volatility than other types of mortgage- or asset-backed securities. COMMERCIAL PAPER consists of short-term, promissory notes issued by banks, corporations and other institutions to finance short-term credit needs. These securities generally are discounted but sometimes may be interest bearing. Commercial paper, which also may be unsecured, is subject to credit risk. CONCENTRATION means that substantial amounts of assets are invested in a particular industry or group of industries. For example, the automobile industry may have a greater exposure to a single factor, such as an increase in the price of oil, which may adversely affect the sale of automobiles and, as a result, the value of the industry's securities. The fund will not concentrate investments in a particular industry or group of industries. Based on the characteristics of mortgage-backed securities, the fund has determined that mortgage-backed securities issued by private lenders and not guaranteed by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities are not part of any industry for purposes of the fund's concentration policy. This means that the fund may invest more than 25% of its total assets in privately-issued mortgage-backed securities, which may cause the fund to be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments that affect privately-issued mortgage-backed securities. Such developments may include changes in interest rates, state or federal legislation affecting both commercial and residential mortgages and their issuers, and changes in the overall economy. For purposes of the fund's concentration policy, the fund will determine the industry classification of asset-backed securities based upon the investment adviser's evaluation of the risks associated with an investment in the underlying assets. For example, asset-backed securities whose underlying assets share similar economic characteristics because, for example, they are funded (or supported) primarily from a single or similar source or revenue stream will be classified in the same industry sector. In contrast, asset-backed securities whose underlying assets represent a diverse mix of industries, business sectors and/or revenue streams will be classified into distinct industries based on their underlying credit and liquidity structures. The fund will limit its investments in each identified industry to less than 25% of its total assets. CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS may be entered into for investment purposes. As the seller in a credit default swap contract, the fund would be required to pay the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation to the counterparty in the event of a default by a third party, such as a U.S. or foreign corporate issuer, on the debt obligation. In return, the fund would receive from the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that no event of default has occurred. If no default occurs, the fund would keep the stream of payments and would have no payment obligations. As the seller, the fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. The fund may also purchase credit default swap contracts in order to hedge against the risk of default of debt securities held in its portfolio, in which case the fund would function as the counterparty referenced in the preceding paragraph. This would involve the risk that the investment may expire worthless and would only generate income in the event of an actual default by the issuer of the underlying obligation (as opposed to a credit downgrade or other indication of financial instability). It would also involve credit risk - that the seller may fail to satisfy its payment obligations to the fund in the event of a default. CREDIT AND LIQUIDITY SUPPORTS may be employed by issuers or the fund to reduce the credit risk of their securities. Credit supports include letters of credit, insurance, total return and credit swap agreements and guarantees provided by foreign and domestic entities. Liquidity supports include puts, demand features, and lines of credit. Most of these arrangements move the credit risk of an investment from the issuer of the security to the support provider. Changes in the credit quality of a support provider could cause losses to the fund. 4 DEBT SECURITIES are obligations issued by domestic and foreign entities, including governments and corporations, in order to raise money. They are basically "IOUs," but are commonly referred to as bonds or money market securities. These securities normally require the issuer to pay a fixed, variable or floating rate of interest on the amount of money borrowed (the "principal") until it is paid back upon maturity. Debt securities experience price changes when interest rates change. For example, when interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities generally rise. Also, issuers tend to pre-pay their outstanding debts and issue new ones paying lower interest rates. This is especially true for bonds with sinking fund provisions, which commit the issuer to set aside a certain amount of money to cover timely repayment of principal and typically allow the issuer to annually repurchase certain of its outstanding bonds from the open market or at a pre-set call price. Conversely, in a rising interest rate environment, prepayment on outstanding debt securities generally will not occur. This is known as extension risk and may cause the value of debt securities to depreciate as a result of the higher market interest rates. Typically, longer-maturity securities react to interest rate changes more severely than shorter-term securities (all things being equal), but generally offer greater rates of interest. Debt securities also are subject to the risk that the issuers will not make timely interest and/or principal payments or fail to make them at all. This is called credit risk. Corporate debt securities (bonds) tend to have higher credit risk generally than U.S. government debt securities. Debt securities also may be subject to price volatility due to market perception of future interest rates, the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (market risk). Investment-grade debt securities are considered medium- or/and high-quality securities, although some still possess varying degrees of speculative characteristics and risks. Debt securities rated below investment-grade are riskier, but may offer higher yields. These securities are sometimes referred to as high yield securities or "junk bonds." Corporate bonds are debt securities issued by corporations. Although a higher return is expected from corporate bonds, these securities, while subject to the same general risks as U.S. government securities, are subject to greater credit risk than U.S. government securities. Their prices may be affected by the perceived credit quality of their issuer. See the Appendix A for a full description of the various ratings assigned to debt securities by various nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs). DELAYED-DELIVERY AND FORWARD COMMITMENT TRANSACTIONS involve purchasing and selling securities on a delayed-delivery or forward basis. A delayed delivery agreement is a contract for the purchase or sale of one or more securities to be delivered on an agreed future settlement date. A forward commitment agreement is a contract for the purchase or sale of one or more securities at a specified price, with delivery and cash settlement on an agreed specified future date. When purchasing securities on a delayed-delivery or forward basis, the fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risk of price and yield fluctuations. Typically, no interest will accrue to the fund until the security is delivered. The fund will earmark or segregate appropriate liquid assets to cover its delayed-delivery purchase obligations. When the fund sells a security on a delayed-delivery or forward basis, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to that security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, the fund could suffer losses. DELAYED FUNDING LOANS AND REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITIES. The fund may enter into, or acquire participations in, delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities. Delayed funding loans and 5 revolving credit facilities are borrowing arrangements in which the lender agrees to make loans up to a maximum amount upon demand by the borrower during a specified term. A revolving credit facility differs from a delayed funding loan in that as the borrower repays the loan, an amount equal to the repayment may be borrowed again during the term of the revolving credit facility. Delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities usually provide for floating or variable rates of interest. These commitments may have the effect of requiring the fund to increase its investment in a company at a time when it might not otherwise decide to do so (including at a time when the company's financial condition makes it unlikely that such amounts will be repaid). To the extent that the fund is committed to advance additional funds, the fund will earmark or segregate appropriate liquid assets to cover such commitments. The fund may invest in delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities with credit quality comparable to that of issuers of its securities investments. Delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities may be subject to restrictions on transfer, and only limited opportunities may exist to resell such instruments. As a result, the fund may be unable to sell such investments at an opportune time or may have to resell them at less than fair market value. The fund currently intends to treat delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities for which there is no readily available market as illiquid for purposes of the fund's limitation on illiquid investments. For a further discussion of the risks involved in investing in Loan Participations and other forms of direct indebtedness see "Loan Participations." Participation interests in revolving credit facilities will be subject to the limitations discussed in "Loan Participations." Delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities are considered to be debt obligations for purposes of the fund's investment restriction relating to the lending of funds or assets by the fund. DEMAND FEATURES, which may include guarantees, are used to shorten a security's effective maturity and/or enhance its creditworthiness. If a demand feature provider were to refuse to permit the feature's exercise or otherwise terminate its obligations with respect to such feature, however, the security's effective maturity may be lengthened substantially, and/or its credit quality may be adversely impacted. In either event, the fund may experience an increase in share price volatility. This also could lengthen the fund's overall average effective maturity. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS include American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as well as other "hybrid" forms of ADRs, including European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer. Depositary receipts may be sponsored or unsponsored. These certificates are issued by depository banks and generally trade on an established market in the United States or elsewhere. The underlying shares are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depository bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. ADRs are alternatives to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies. However, ADRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers may subject the fund to investment risks that differ in some respects from those related to investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Such risks include future adverse political and economic developments, possible imposition of withholding taxes on income, possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of foreign deposits, possible establishment of exchange controls or taxation at the source or greater fluctuation in value due to changes in exchange rates. Foreign issuers of securities often engage in business practices different from those of domestic issuers of similar securities, and there may be less information publicly available about foreign issuers. In addition, foreign issuers are, generally speaking, subject to less government supervision and regulation and different accounting treatment than are those in the United States. 6 Although the two types of depositary receipt facilities (unsponsored or sponsored) are similar, there are differences regarding a holder's rights and obligations and the practices of market participants. A depository may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by (or acquiescence of) the underlying issuer; typically, however, the depository requests a letter of non-objection from the underlying issuer prior to establishing the facility. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all the costs of the facility. The depository usually charges fees upon the deposit and withdrawal of the underlying securities, the conversion of dividends into U.S. dollars or other currency, the disposition of non-cash distributions, and the performance of other services. The depository of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the underlying issuer or to pass through voting rights to depositary receipt holders with respect to the underlying securities. Sponsored depositary receipt facilities are created in generally the same manner as unsponsored facilities, except that sponsored depositary receipts are established jointly by a depository and the underlying issuer through a deposit agreement. The deposit agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of the underlying issuer, the depository, and the depositary receipt holders. With sponsored facilities, the underlying issuer typically bears some of the costs of the depositary receipts (such as dividend payment fees of the depository), although most sponsored depositary receipts holders may bear costs such as deposit and withdrawal fees. Depositories of most sponsored depositary receipts agree to distribute notices of shareholder meetings, voting instructions, and other shareholder communications and information to the depositary receipt holders at the underlying issuer's request. DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS are commonly defined to include securities or contracts whose values depend on (or "derive" from) the value of one or more other assets such as securities, currencies, or commodities. These "other assets" are commonly referred to as "underlying assets." A derivative instrument generally consists of, is based upon, or exhibits characteristics similar to options or forward contracts. Options and forward contracts are considered to be the basic "building blocks" of derivatives. For example, forward-based derivatives include forward contracts, as well as exchange-traded futures. Option-based derivatives include privately negotiated, over-the-counter (OTC) options (including caps, floors, collars, and options on forward and swap contracts) and exchange-traded options on futures. Diverse types of derivatives may be created by combining options or forward contracts in different ways, and applying these structures to a wide range of underlying assets. Risk management strategies include investment techniques designed to facilitate the sale of portfolio securities, manage the average duration of the portfolio or create or alter exposure to certain asset classes, such as equity, other debt or foreign securities. In addition to the derivative instruments and strategies described in this SAI, the investment adviser expects to discover additional derivative instruments and other hedging or risk management techniques. The investment adviser may utilize these new derivative instruments and techniques to the extent that they are consistent with the fund's investment objective and permitted by the fund's investment limitations, operating policies, and applicable regulatory authorities. DIVERSIFICATION involves investing in a wide range of securities and thereby spreading and reducing the risks of investment. The fund is a non-diversified mutual fund, which means that a relatively high percentage of assets of the fund may be invested in the obligations of a limited number of issuers. The value of shares of the fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than the shares of a diversified investment company would be. 7 DURATION was developed as a more precise alternative to the concept of "maturity." Traditionally, a debt obligation's maturity has been used as a proxy for the sensitivity of the security's price to changes in interest rates (which is the "interest rate risk" or "volatility" of the security). However, maturity measures only the time until a debt obligation provides its final payment, taking no account of the pattern of the security's payments prior to maturity. In contrast, duration incorporates a bond's yield, coupon interest payments, final maturity, call and put features and prepayment exposure into one measure. Duration is the magnitude of the change in the price of a bond relative to a given change in market interest rates. Duration management is one of the fundamental tools used by the investment adviser. Duration is a measure of the expected life of a debt obligation on a present value basis. Duration takes the length of the time intervals between the present time and the time that the interest and principal payments are scheduled or, in the case of a callable bond, the time the principal payments are expected to be received, and weights them by the present values of the cash to be received at each future point in time. For debt obligations with interest payments occurring prior to the payment of principal, duration will usually be less than maturity. In general, all else being equal, the lower the stated or coupon rate of the interest of a fixed income security, the longer the duration of the security; conversely, the higher the stated or coupon rate of a fixed income security, the shorter the duration of the security. Holding long futures or call option positions will lengthen the duration of the fund's portfolio. Holding short futures or put options will shorten the duration of the fund's portfolio. A swap agreement on an asset or group of assets may affect the duration of the portfolio depending on the attributes of the swap. For example, if the swap agreement provides the fund with a floating rate of return in exchange for a fixed rate of return, the duration of the fund would be modified to reflect the duration attributes of a similar security that the fund is permitted to buy. There are some situations where even the standard duration calculation does not properly reflect the interest rate exposure of a security. For example, floating- and variable-rate securities often have final maturities of ten or more years; however, their interest rate exposure corresponds to the frequency of the coupon reset. Another example where the interest rate exposure is not properly captured by maturity is mortgage pass-through securities. The stated final maturity of such securities is generally 30 years, but current prepayment rates are more critical in determining the securities' interest rate exposure. Finally, the duration of the debt obligation may vary over time in response to changes in interest rates and other market factors. EMERGING OR DEVELOPING MARKETS exist in countries that are considered to be in the initial stages of industrialization. The risks of investing in these markets are similar to the risks of international investing in general, although the risks are greater in emerging and developing markets. Countries with emerging or developing securities markets tend to have economic structures that are less stable than countries with developed securities markets. This is because their economies may be based on only a few industries and their securities markets may trade a small number of securities. Prices on these exchanges tend to be volatile, and securities in these countries historically have offered greater potential for gain (as well as loss) than securities of companies located in developed countries. EQUITY SECURITIES represent ownership interests in a company, and are commonly called "stocks." Equity securities historically have outperformed most other securities, although their prices can fluctuate based on changes in a company's financial condition, market conditions and political, economic or even company-specific news. When a stock's price declines, its market value is lowered even though the intrinsic value of the company may not have changed. Sometimes factors, such as economic conditions or political events, affect the value of stocks of companies of the same or similar industry or group of industries, and may affect the entire stock market. 8 Types of equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, warrants, rights, ADRs, EDRs, and certain interests in real estate investment trusts. For more information on real estate investment trusts, please see the section entitled "Real Estate Investments Trusts"). Common stocks, which are probably the most recognized type of equity security, represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer and usually entitle the owner to voting rights in the election of the corporation's directors and any other matters submitted to the corporation's shareholders for voting, as well as to receive dividends on such stock. The market value of common stock can fluctuate widely, as it reflects increases and decreases in an issuer's earnings. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of bond owners, other debt holders and owners of preferred stock take precedence over the claims of common stock owners. Preferred stocks represent an equity or ownership interest in an issuer but do not ordinarily carry voting rights, though they may carry limited voting rights. Preferred stocks normally have preference over the corporation's assets and earnings, however. For example, preferred stocks have preference over common stock in the payment of dividends. Preferred stocks normally pay dividends at a specified rate. However, preferred stock may be purchased where the issuer has omitted, or is in danger of omitting, payment of its dividend. Such investments would be made primarily for their capital appreciation potential. In the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of bond owners take precedence over the claims of preferred and common stock owners. Certain classes of preferred stock are convertible into shares of common stock of the issuer. By holding convertible preferred stock, the fund can receive a steady stream of dividends and still have the option to convert the preferred stock to common stock. Preferred stock is subject to many of the same risks as common stock and debt securities. Convertible securities are typically preferred stocks or bonds that are exchangeable for a specific number of another form of security (usually the issuer's common stock) at a specified price or ratio. A convertible security generally entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on bonds or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. A corporation may issue a convertible security that is subject to redemption after a specified date, and usually under certain circumstances. A holder of a convertible security that is called for redemption would be required to tender it for redemption to the issuer, convert it to the underlying common stock or sell it to a third party. The convertible structure allows the holder of the convertible bond to participate in share price movements in the company's common stock. The actual return on a convertible bond may exceed its stated yield if the company's common stock appreciates in value and the option to convert to common stocks becomes more valuable. Convertible securities typically pay a lower interest rate than nonconvertible bonds of the same quality and maturity because of the convertible feature. Convertible securities are also rated below investment grade ("high yield") or are not rated, and are subject to credit risk. Prior to conversion, convertible securities have characteristics and risks similar to nonconvertible debt and equity securities. In addition, convertible securities are often concentrated in economic sectors, which, like the stock market in general, may experience unpredictable declines in value, as well as periods of poor performance, which may last for several years. There may be a small trading market for a particular convertible security at any given time, which may adversely impact market price and the fund's ability to liquidate a particular security or respond to an economic event, including deterioration of an issuer's creditworthiness. Convertible preferred stocks are nonvoting equity securities that pay a fixed dividend. These securities have a convertible feature similar to convertible bonds, but do not have a maturity date. Due to their 9 fixed income features, convertible securities provide higher income potential than the issuer's common stock, but typically are more sensitive to interest rate changes than the underlying common stock. In the event of a company's liquidation, bondholders have claims on company assets senior to those of shareholders; preferred shareholders have claims senior to those of common shareholders. Convertible securities typically trade at prices above their conversion value, which is the current market value of the common stock received upon conversion, because of their higher yield potential than the underlying common stock. The difference between the conversion value and the price of a convertible security will vary depending on the value of the underlying common stock and interest rates. When the underlying value of the common stocks declines, the price of the issuer's convertible securities will tend not to fall as much because the convertible security's income potential will act as a price support. While the value of a convertible security also tends to rise when the underlying common stock value rises, it will not rise as much because their conversion value is more narrow. The value of convertible securities also is affected by changes in interest rates. For example, when interest rates fall, the value of convertible securities may rise because of their fixed income component. Warrants are types of securities usually issued with bonds and preferred stock that entitle the holder to purchase a proportionate amount of common stock at a specified price for a specific period of time. The prices of warrants do not necessarily move parallel to the prices of the underlying common stock. Warrants have no voting rights, receive no dividends and have no rights with respect to the assets of the issuer. If a warrant is not exercised within the specified time period, it will become worthless and the fund will lose the purchase price it paid for the warrant and the right to purchase the underlying security. Rights are types of securities that are issued by a company to current shareholders allowing them to purchase additional shares, usually at a discount to market price. Shareholders who do not exercise these rights are usually diluted by the offering. Rights are transferable, allowing the holder to sell them on the open market to others who may wish to exercise them. Initial Public Offering. The fund may purchase shares issued as part of, or a short period after, a company's initial public offering ("IPOs"), and may at times dispose of those shares shortly after their acquisition. The fund's purchase of shares issued in IPOs exposes it to the risks associated with companies that have little operating history as public companies, as well as to the risks inherent in those sectors of the market where these new issuers operate. The market for IPO issuers has been volatile, and share prices of newly-public companies have fluctuated significantly over short periods of time. Master Limited Partnerships ("MLPs") MLPs are limited partnerships in which the common units are publicly traded. MLP common units are freely traded on a securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market and are generally registered with the SEC. MLPs often own several properties or businesses (or own interests) that are related to real estate development and oil and gas industries, but they also may finance motion pictures, research and development and other projects. MLPs generally have two classes of owners, the general partner and limited partners. The general partner is typically owned by a major energy company, an investment fund, the direct management of the MLP or is an entity owned by one or more of such parties. The general partner may be structured as a private or publicly traded corporation or other entity. The general partner typically controls the operations and management of the MLP through an up to 2% equity interest in the MLP plus, in many cases, ownership of common units and subordinated units. Limited partners own the remainder of the partnership, through ownership of common units, and have a limited role, if any, in the partnership's operations and management. MLPs are typically structured such that common units and general partner interests have first priority to receive quarterly cash distributions up to an established minimum amount ("minimum quarterly distributions"). Common and general partner interests also accrue arrearages in distributions to the extent 10 the minimum quarterly distribution is not paid. Once common and general partner interests have been paid, subordinated units receive distributions of up to the minimum quarterly distribution; however, subordinated units do not accrue arrearages. Distributable cash in excess of the minimum quarterly distribution paid to both common and subordinated units is distributed to both common and subordinated units generally on a pro rata basis. The general partner is also eligible to receive incentive distributions if the general partner operates the business in a manner which results in distributions paid per common unit surpassing specified target levels. As the general partner increases cash distributions to the limited partners, the general partner receives an increasingly higher percentage of the incremental cash distributions. A common arrangement provides that the general partner can reach a tier where it receives 50% of every incremental dollar paid to common and subordinated unit holders. These incentive distributions are intended to encourage the general partner to streamline costs, increase capital expenditures and acquire assets in order to increase the partnership's cash flow and raise the quarterly cash distribution in order to reach higher tiers. Such results are intended to benefit all security holders of the MLP, however, such incentive distribution payments give rise to potential conflicts of interest between the common unit holders and the general partner. MLP common units represent a limited partnership interest in the MLP. Common units are listed and traded on U.S. securities exchanges or over-the-counter, with their value fluctuating predominantly based on prevailing market conditions and the success of the MLP. The fund may purchase common units in market transactions as well as directly from the MLP or other parties in private placements. Unlike owners of common stock of a corporation, owners of common units have limited voting rights and have no ability to annually elect directors. MLPs generally distribute all available cash flow (cash flow from operations less maintenance capital expenditures) in the form of quarterly distributions. Common units along with general partner units, have first priority to receive quarterly cash distributions up to the minimum quarterly distribution and have arrearage rights. In the event of liquidation, common units have preference over subordinated units, but not debt or preferred units, to the remaining assets of the MLP. MLP subordinated units are typically issued by MLPs to their original sponsors, such as their founders, corporate general partners of MLPs, entities that sell assets to the MLP, and investors. Subordinated units may be purchased directly from these persons as well as newly-issued subordinated units from MLPs themselves. Subordinated units have similar voting rights as common units and are generally not publicly traded. Once the minimum quarterly distribution on the common units, including any arrearages, has been paid, subordinated units receive cash distributions up to the minimum quarterly distribution prior to any incentive payments to the MLP's general partner. Unlike common units, subordinated units do not have arrearage rights. In the event of liquidation, common units and general partner interests have priority over subordinated units. Subordinated units are typically converted into common units on a one-to-one basis after certain time periods and/or performance targets have been satisfied. The purchase or sale price of subordinated units is generally tied to the common unit price less a discount. The size of the discount varies depending on the likelihood of conversion, the length of time remaining to conversion, the size of the block purchased relative to trading volumes, and other factors, including smaller capitalization partnerships or companies potentially having limited product lines, markets or financial resources, lacking management depth or experience, and being more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic development than larger more established companies. General partner interests of MLPs are typically retained by an MLP's original sponsors, such as its founders, corporate partners, entities that sell assets to the MLP and investors. A holder of general partner interests can be liable under certain circumstances for amounts greater than the amount of the holder's investment in the general partner interest. General partner interests often confer direct board participation rights and in many cases, operating control, over the MLP. These interests themselves are not publicly traded, although they may be owned by publicly traded entities. General partner interests receive cash distributions, typically 2% of the MLP's aggregate cash distributions, which are contractually defined in 11 the partnership agreement. In addition, holders of general partner interests typically hold incentive distribution rights, which provide them with a larger share of the aggregate MLP cash distributions as the distributions to limited partner unit holders are increased to prescribed levels. General partner interests generally cannot be converted into common units. The general partner interest can be redeemed by the MLP if the MLP unitholders choose to remove the general partner, typically with a supermajority vote by limited partner unitholders. Additional risks involved with investing in a MLP are risks associated with the specific industry or industries in which the partnership invests, such as the risks of investing in real estate, or oil and gas industries. Certain MLPs are dependent on their parent companies or sponsors for a majority of their revenues. Any failure by a MLP's parents or sponsors to satisfy their payments or obligations would impact the MLP's revenues and cash flows and ability to make distributions. EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS ("ETFs") such as Standard and Poor's Depositary Receipts ("SPDRs") Trust, are investment companies that typically are registered under the 1940 Act as open-end funds or unit investment trusts ("UITs"). ETFs are actively traded on national securities exchanges and are generally based on specific domestic and foreign market indices. Shares of an ETF may be bought and sold through the day at market prices, which may be higher or lower than the shares' net asset value. An "index-based ETF" seeks to track the performance of an index holding in its portfolio either the contents of the index or a representative sample of the securities in the index. Because ETFs are based on an underlying basket of stocks or an index, they are subject to the same market fluctuations as these types of securities in volatile market swings. ETFs, like mutual funds, have expenses associated with their operation, including advisory fees. When the fund invests in an ETF, in addition to directly bearing expenses associated with its own operations, it will bear a pro rata portion of the ETF's expenses. As with any exchange listed security, ETF shares purchased in the secondary market are subject to customary brokerage shares. Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC)" to iShares and procedures approved by the fund's Board of Trustees, the fund may invest in iShares not to exceed 25% of the fund's total assets, provided that the fund has described exchange-traded fund investments in its prospectus and otherwise complies with the conditions of the exemptive order and other applicable investment limitations. EVENT-LINKED BONDS are fixed income securities for which the return of principal and payment of interest is contingent on the non-occurrence of a specific "trigger" event, such as a hurricane, earthquake, or other physical or weather-related phenomenon. Some event-linked bonds are commonly referred to as "catastrophe bonds." If a trigger event occurs, the fund may lose a portion or all of its principal invested in the bond. Event-linked bonds often provide for an extension of maturity to process and audit loss claims where a trigger event has, or possibly has, occurred. An extension of maturity may increase volatility. Event-linked bonds may also expose the fund to certain unanticipated risks including credit risk, adverse regulatory or jurisdictional interpretations, and adverse tax consequences. Event-linked bonds may also be subject to liquidity risk. FIXED TIME DEPOSITS are bank obligations payable at a stated maturity date and bearing interest at a fixed rate. Fixed time deposits may be withdrawn on demand by the investor, but may be subject to early withdrawal penalties, which vary depending upon market conditions and the remaining maturity of the obligation. There are no contractual restrictions on the right to transfer a beneficial interest in a fixed time deposit to a third party, although there is no market for such deposits. The fund will not invest in fixed time deposits, which (1) are not subject to prepayment or (2) provide for withdrawal penalties upon prepayment (other than overnight deposits) if, in the aggregate, more than 15% of its net assets would be 12 invested in such deposits, repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days and other illiquid assets. FIXED RATE CAPITAL SECURITIES (FRCSs) are hybrid securities that combine the features of both corporate bonds and preferred stock. FRCSs pay dividends monthly or quarterly. FRCSs are listed on major exchanges and, also, trade on the OTC markets. FRCSs are generally issued by large corporations and are rated by NRSOs. FRCSs bear the creditworthiness of the corporate issuer, generally have a stated maturity (20 to 49 years), and, unlike preferred stock, are fully taxable. There are currently three types of FRCSs offered in the marketplace: direct subordinate FRCSs which are offered directly by a corporation and zero coupon partnership preferred and trust preferred FRCS which are issued indirectly by a corporation through a conduit financing vehicle. FRCSs generally rank senior to common stock and preferred stock in a corporation's capital structure, but have a lower security claim than the issuer's corporate bonds. FRCSs generally offer higher yields than corporate bonds or agency securities, but they carry more risks than the higher lien debt. In addition to risks commonly associated with other fixed income securities, FRCSs are subject to certain additional risks. Many FRCSs include a "special event" redemption option, allowing the issuer to redeem the securities at the liquidation value if a tax law change disallows the deductibility of payments by the issuer's parent company, or subjects the issue to taxation separate from the parent company. FRCSs permit the deferral of payments (without declaring default), if the issuer experiences financial difficulties. Payments may be suspended for some stipulated period, usually up to five years. If the issuer defers payments, the deferred income continues to accrue for tax purposes, even though the investor does not receive cash payments. Such deferrals can only occur if the parent company stops all other stock dividend payments on both common and preferred stock classes. The treatment of investment income from trust and debt securities for federal tax purposes is uncertain and may vary depending on whether the possibility of the issuer deferring payments is, or is not, considered a remote contingency. FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS may occur in order to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign exchange rates in the purchase and sale of securities. The fund may invest in foreign currency-denominated securities, purchase and sell foreign currency options and foreign currency futures contracts and related options and may engage in foreign currency transactions either on a spot (cash) basis at the rate prevailing in the currency exchange market at the time or through forward currency contracts ("forwards") with terms generally of less than one year. The fund may also use foreign currency options and foreign currency forward contracts to increase exposure to a foreign currency or to shift exposure to foreign currency fluctuations from one country to another. The fund will earmark or segregate assets for any open positions in forwards used for non-hedging purposes and mark to market daily as may be required under the federal securities laws. A forward involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts may be bought or sold to protect the fund against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar or to increase exposure to a particular foreign currency. Many foreign securities markets do not settle trades within a time frame that would be considered customary in the U.S. stock market. Therefore, the fund may engage in forward foreign currency exchange contracts in order to secure exchange rates for fund securities purchased or sold, but awaiting settlement. These transactions do not seek to eliminate any fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities involved. Instead, the transactions simply establish a rate of exchange that can be expected when the fund settles its securities transactions in the future. Forwards involve certain risks. For example, if the counterparties to the contracts are unable to meet the terms of the contracts or if the value of the foreign currency changes unfavorably, the fund could sustain a loss. 13 The fund may also engage in forward foreign currency exchange contracts to protect the value of specific portfolio positions, which is called "position hedging." When engaging in position hedging, the fund may enter into forward foreign currency exchange transactions to protect against a decline in the values of the foreign currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated (or against an increase in the value of currency for securities the fund expects to purchase). Buying and selling foreign currency exchange contracts involves costs and may result in losses. The ability of the fund to engage in these transactions may be limited by tax considerations. Although these techniques tend to minimize the risk of loss due to declines in the value of the hedged currency, they tend to limit any potential gain that might result from an increase in the value of such currency. Transactions in these contracts involve certain other risks. Unanticipated fluctuations in currency prices may result in a poorer overall performance for the fund than if it had not engaged in any such transactions. Moreover, there may be imperfect correlation between the fund's holdings of securities denominated in a particular currency and forward contracts into which the fund enters. Such imperfect correlation may cause the fund to sustain losses, which will prevent it from achieving a complete hedge or expose it to risk of foreign exchange loss. Suitable hedging transactions may not be available in all circumstances and there can be no assurance that the fund will engage in such transactions at any given time or from time to time. Also, such transactions may not be successful and may eliminate any chance for the fund to benefit from favorable fluctuations in relevant foreign currencies. Forwards will be used primarily to adjust the foreign exchange exposure of the fund with a view to protecting the outlook, and the fund might be expected to enter into such contracts under the following circumstances: Lock In: When the investment adviser desires to lock in the U.S. dollar price on the purchase or sale of a security denominated in a foreign currency. Cross Hedge: If a particular currency is expected to decrease against another currency. The fund may sell the currency expected to decrease and purchase a currency which is expected to increase against the currency sold in an amount approximately equal to some or all of the fund's portfolio holdings denominated in the currency sold. Direct Hedge: If the investment adviser wants to eliminate substantially all of the risk of owning a particular currency, and/or if the investment adviser thinks that the fund can benefit from price appreciation in a given country's bonds but does not want to hold the currency, it may employ a direct hedge back into the U.S. dollar. In either case, the fund would enter into a forward contract to sell the currency in which a portfolio security is denominated and purchase U.S. dollars at an exchange rate established at the time it initiated the contract. The cost of the direct hedge transaction may offset most, if not all, of the yield advantage offered by the foreign security, but the fund would benefit from an increase in value of the bond. Proxy Hedge: The investment adviser might choose to use a proxy hedge, which may be less costly than a direct hedge. In this case, the fund, having purchased a security, will sell a currency whose value is believed to be closely linked to the currency in which the security is denominated. Interest rates prevailing in the country whose currency was sold would be expected to be closer to those in the U.S. and lower than those of securities denominated in the currency of the original holding. This type of hedging entails greater risk than a direct hedge because it is dependent on a stable relationship between the two currencies paired as proxies and the relationships can be very unstable at times. 14 Costs of Hedging: When the fund purchases a foreign bond with a higher interest rate than is available on U.S. bonds of a similar maturity, the additional yield on the foreign bond could be substantially reduced or lost if the fund were to enter into a direct hedge by selling the foreign currency and purchasing the U.S. dollar. This is what is known as the "cost" of hedging. Proxy hedging attempts to reduce this cost through an indirect hedge back to the U.S. dollar. It is important to note that hedging costs are treated as capital transactions and are not, therefore, deducted from the fund's dividend distribution and are not reflected in its yield. Instead such costs will, over time, be reflected in the fund's net asset value per share. Tax consequences of hedging under applicable tax law, may require the fund to limit its gain from hedging in foreign currency forwards, futures, and options. Although the fund is expected to comply with such limits, the extent to which these limits apply is subject to tax regulations as yet unissued. Hedging may also result in the application of the mark-to-market and straddle provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Those provisions could result in an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by the fund and could affect whether dividends paid by the fund is classified as capital gains or ordinary income. FOREIGN SECURITIES involve additional risks, including foreign currency exchange rate risks, because they are issued by foreign entities, including foreign governments, banks, corporations or because they are traded principally overseas. Foreign securities in which the fund may invest include foreign entities that are not subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. corporations. In addition, there may be less publicly available information about foreign entities. Foreign economic, political and legal developments, as well as fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates and withholding taxes, could have more dramatic effects on the value of foreign securities. For example, conditions within and around foreign countries, such as the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation, political or social instability, diplomatic developments, change of government or war could affect the value of foreign investments. Moreover, individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position. Foreign securities typically have less volume and are generally less liquid and more volatile than securities of U.S. companies. Fixed commissions on foreign securities exchanges are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges, although the fund will endeavor to achieve the most favorable overall results on portfolio transactions. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges, brokers, dealers and listed companies than in the United States, thus increasing the risk of delayed settlements of portfolio transactions or loss of certificates for portfolio securities. There may be difficulties in obtaining or enforcing judgments against foreign issuers as well. These factors and others may increase the risks with respect to the liquidity of the fund, and its ability to meet a large number of shareholder redemption requests. Foreign markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures and, in certain markets, there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Such delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when a portion of the assets of the fund is uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Losses to the fund arising out of the inability to fulfill a contract to sell such securities also could result in potential liability for the fund. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers may be made and held in foreign currencies. In addition, the fund may hold cash in foreign currencies. These investments may be affected favorably or 15 unfavorably by changes in currency rates and in exchange control regulations, and may cause the fund to incur costs in connection with conversions between various currencies. The rate of exchange between the U.S. dollar and other currencies is determined by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange market as well as by political and economic factors. Changes in the foreign currency exchange rates also may affect the value of dividends and interest earned, gains and losses realized on the sale of securities, and net investment income and gains, if any, to be distributed to shareholders by the fund. FORWARD CONTRACTS are sales contracts between a buyer (holding the "long" position) and the seller (holding the "short" position) for an asset with delivery deferred to a future date. The buyer agrees to pay a fixed price at the agreed future date and the seller agrees to deliver the asset. The seller hopes that the market price on the delivery date is less than the agreed upon price, while the buyer hopes for the contrary. The change in value of a forward-based derivative generally is roughly proportional to the change in value of the underlying asset. FUTURES CONTRACTS are securities that represent an agreement between two parties that obligates one party to buy and the other party to sell specific securities at an agreed-upon price on a stipulated future date. In the case of futures contracts relating to an index or otherwise not calling for physical delivery at the close of the transaction, the parties usually agree to deliver the final cash settlement price of the contract. The fund may purchase and sell futures contracts based on securities, securities indices and foreign currencies, interest rates or any other futures contracts traded on U.S. exchanges or boards of trade that the Commodities Future Trading Commission (the "CFTC") licenses and regulates on foreign exchanges. Consistent with CFTC regulations, the fund has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" under the Commodity Exchange Act and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act. The fund must maintain a small portion of its assets in cash to process shareholder transactions in and out of the fund to pay its expenses. In order to reduce the effect this otherwise uninvested cash would have on its performance the fund may purchase futures contracts. Such transactions allow the fund's cash balance to produce a return similar to that of the underlying security or index on which the futures contract is based. Also, the fund may purchase or sell futures contracts on a specified foreign currency to "fix" the price in U.S. dollars of the foreign security it has acquired or sold or expects to acquire or sell. The fund may enter into futures contracts for these or other reasons. When buying or selling futures contracts, the fund must place a deposit with its broker equal to a fraction of the contract amount. This amount is known as "initial margin" and must be in the form of liquid debt instruments, including cash, cash-equivalents and U.S. government securities. Subsequent payments to and from the broker, known as "variation margin" may be made daily, if necessary, as the value of the futures contracts fluctuate. This process is known as "marking-to-market." The margin amount will be returned to the fund upon termination of the futures contracts assuming all contractual obligations are satisfied. Because margin requirements are normally only a fraction of the amount of the futures contracts in a given transaction, futures trading can involve a great deal of leverage. In order to avoid this, the fund will earmark or segregate assets for any outstanding futures contracts as may be required by the federal securities laws. While the fund may purchase and sell futures contracts in order to simulate full investment, there are risks associated with these transactions. Adverse market movements could cause the fund to experience substantial losses when buying and selling futures contracts. Of course, barring significant market distortions, similar results would have been expected if the fund had instead transacted in the underlying securities directly. There also is the risk of losing any margin payments held by a broker in the event of 16 its bankruptcy. Additionally, the fund incurs transaction costs (i.e. brokerage fees) when engaging in futures trading. When interest rates are rising or securities prices are falling, the fund may seek, through the sale of futures contracts, to offset a decline in the value of its current portfolio securities. When rates are falling or prices are rising, the fund, through the purchase of futures contracts, may attempt to secure better rates or prices than might later be available in the market when they effect anticipated purchases. Similarly, the fund may sell futures contracts on a specified currency to protect against a decline in the value of that currency and its portfolio securities that are denominated in that currency. The fund may purchase futures contracts on a foreign currency to fix the price in U.S. dollars of a security denominated in that currency that the fund has acquired or expects to acquire. Futures contracts normally require actual delivery or acquisition of an underlying security or cash value of an index on the expiration date of the contract. In most cases, however, the contractual obligation is fulfilled before the date of the contract by buying or selling, as the case may be, identical futures contracts. Such offsetting transactions terminate the original contracts and cancel the obligation to take or make delivery of the underlying securities or cash. There may not always be a liquid secondary market at the time the fund seeks to close out a futures position. If the fund is unable to close out its position and prices move adversely, the fund would have to continue to make daily cash payments to maintain its margin requirements. If the fund had insufficient cash to meet these requirements it may have to sell portfolio securities at a disadvantageous time or incur extra costs by borrowing the cash. Also, the fund may be required to make or take delivery and incur extra transaction costs buying or selling the underlying securities. The fund would seek to reduce the risks associated with futures transactions by buying and selling futures contracts that are traded on national exchanges or for which there appears to be a liquid secondary market. HIGH YIELD SECURITIES, also called lower quality bonds ("junk bonds"), are frequently issued by companies without long track records of sales and earnings, or by those of questionable credit strength, and are more speculative and volatile (though typically higher yielding) than investment grade bonds. Adverse economic developments could disrupt the market for high yield securities, and severely affect the ability of issuers, especially highly-leveraged issuers, to service their debt obligations or to repay their obligations upon maturity. Also, the secondary market for high yield securities at times may not be as liquid as the secondary market for higher-quality debt securities. As a result, the investment adviser could find it difficult to sell these securities or experience difficulty in valuing certain high yield securities at certain times. Prices realized upon the sale of such lower rated securities, under these circumstances, may be less than the prices at which the fund purchased them. Thus, high yield securities are more likely to react to developments affecting interest rates and market and credit risk than are more highly rated securities, which primarily react to movements in the general level of interest rates. When economic conditions appear to be deteriorating, medium- to lower-quality debt securities may decline in value more than higher-quality debt securities due to heightened concern over credit quality, regardless of prevailing interest rates. Prices for high yield securities also could be affected by legislative and regulatory developments. These laws could adversely affect the fund's net asset value and investment practices, the secondary market value for high yield securities, the financial condition of issuers of these securities and the value of outstanding high yield securities. HYBRID INSTRUMENTS are a type of potentially high-risk derivative that combines a traditional stock, bond, or commodity with an option or forward contract. Generally, the principal amount, amount payable upon maturity or redemption, or interest rate of a hybrid is tied (positively or negatively) to the price of some 17 commodity, currency or securities index or another interest rate or some other economic factor (each a "benchmark"). The interest rate or (unlike most fixed income securities) the principal amount payable at maturity of a hybrid security may be increased or decreased, depending on changes in the value of the benchmark. An example of a hybrid could be a bond issued by an oil company that pays a small base level of interest with additional interest that accrues in correlation to the extent to which oil prices exceed a certain predetermined level. Such a hybrid instrument would be a combination of a bond and a call option on oil. Hybrids can be used as an efficient means of pursuing a variety of investment goals, including currency hedging, duration management, and increased total return. Hybrids may not bear interest or pay dividends. The value of a hybrid or its interest rate may be a multiple of a benchmark and, as a result, may be leveraged and move (up or down) more steeply and rapidly than the benchmark. These benchmarks may be sensitive to economic and political events, such as commodity shortages and currency devaluations, which cannot be readily foreseen by the purchaser of a hybrid. Under certain conditions, the redemption value of a hybrid could be zero. Thus, an investment in a hybrid may entail significant market risks that are not associated with a similar investment in a traditional, U.S. dollar-denominated bond that has a fixed principal amount and pays a fixed rate or floating rate of interest. The purchase of hybrids also exposes the fund to the credit risk of the issuer of the hybrids. These risks may cause significant fluctuations in the net asset value of the fund. The fund will not invest more than 5% of its total assets in hybrid instruments. Certain hybrid instruments may provide exposure to the commodities markets. These are derivative securities with one or more commodity-linked components that have payment features similar to commodity futures contracts, commodity options, or similar instruments. Commodity-linked hybrid instruments may be either equity or debt securities, and are considered hybrid instruments because they have both security and commodity-like characteristics. A portion of the value of these instruments may be derived from the value of a commodity, futures contract, index or other economic variable. The fund will only invest in commodity-linked hybrid instruments that qualify under applicable rules of the CFTC for an exemption from the provisions of the CEA. Certain issuers of structured products such as hybrid instruments may be deemed to be investment companies as defined in the 1940 Act. As a result, the fund's investments in these products may be subject to limits applicable to investments in investment companies and may be subject to restrictions contained in the 1940 Act. ILLIQUID SECURITIES generally are any securities that cannot be disposed of promptly and in the ordinary course of business at approximately the amount at which the fund has valued the instruments. The liquidity of the fund's investments is monitored under the supervision and direction of the Board of Trustees. Investments currently not considered liquid include repurchase agreements not maturing within seven days and certain restricted securities. INDEX PARTICIPATIONS and index participation contracts provide the equivalent of a position in the securities comprising an index, with each security's representation equaling its index weighting. Moreover, their holders are entitled to payments equal to the dividends paid by the underlying index securities. Generally, the value of an index participation or index participation contract will rise and fall along with the value of the related index. The fund will invest in index participation contracts only if a liquid market for them appears to exist. INFLATION PROTECTED SECURITIES are fixed income securities whose value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation. Two structures are common. The U.S. Treasury and some other issuers utilize a 18 structure that accrues inflation into the principal value of the bond. Most other issuers pay out the Consumer Price Index ("CPI") accruals as part of a semiannual coupon. Inflation protected securities issued by the U.S. Treasury have maturities of approximately five, ten or thirty years, although it is possible that securities with other maturities will be issued in the future. The U.S. Treasury securities pay interest on a semi-annual basis equal to a fixed percentage of the inflation adjusted principal amount. If the periodic adjustment rate measuring inflation falls, the principal value of inflation protected bonds will be adjusted downward, and consequently the interest payable on these securities (calculated with respect to a smaller principal amount) will be reduced. Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury in the case of U.S. Treasury inflation indexed bonds, even during a period of deflation. However, the current market value of the bonds is not guaranteed and will fluctuate. The fund may also invest in other inflation related bonds which may or may not provide a similar guarantee. If a guarantee of principal is not provided, the adjusted principal value of the bond to be repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal amount and, therefore, is subject to credit risk. The value of inflation indexed bonds is expected to change in response to changes in real interest rates. Real interest rates in turn are tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. Therefore, if the rate of inflation rises at a faster rate than nominal interest rates, real interest rates might decline, leading to an increase in value of inflation indexed bonds. In contrast, if nominal interest rates increase at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates might rise, leading to a decrease in value of inflation indexed bonds. While these securities are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to a decline in value. If interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation (for example, due to changes in currency exchange rates), investors in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the bond's inflation measure. The periodic adjustment of U.S. inflation indexed bonds is tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers ("CPI-U"), which is calculated monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI-U is a measurement of changes in the cost of living, made up of components such as housing, food, transportation and energy. Inflation indexed bonds issued by a foreign government are generally adjusted to reflect a comparable inflation index calculated by that government. There can be no assurance that the CPI-U or any foreign inflation index will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the rate of inflation in a foreign country will be correlated to the rate of inflation in the United States. Any increase in principal for an inflation protected security resulting from inflation adjustments is considered by the IRS to be taxable income in the year it occurs. The fund's distributions to shareholders include interest income and the income attributable to principal adjustments, both of which will be taxable to shareholders. The tax treatment of the income attributable to principal adjustments may result in the situation where the fund needs to make its required annual distributions to shareholders in amounts that exceed the cash received. As a result, the fund may need to liquidate certain investments when it is not advantageous to do so. Also, if the principal value of an inflation protected security is adjusted downward due to deflation, amounts previously distributed in the taxable year may be characterized in some circumstances as a return of capital. INTERFUND BORROWING AND LENDING transactions may be entered into by all funds and portfolios in the Schwab Funds(R). All loans are for temporary or emergency purposes and the interest rates to be charged 19 will be the average of the overnight repurchase agreement rate and the short-term bank loan rate. All loans are subject to numerous conditions designed to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all participating funds/portfolios. The interfund lending facility is subject to the oversight and periodic review of the Board of Trustees of the Schwab Funds. INTERNATIONAL BONDS are certain obligations or securities of foreign issuers, including Eurodollar Bonds, which are U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued by foreign issuers payable in Eurodollars (U.S. dollars held in banks located outside the United States, primarily Europe), Yankee Bonds, which are U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued in the U.S. by foreign banks and corporations, and EuroBonds, which are bonds denominated in U.S. dollars and usually issued by large underwriting groups composed of banks and issuing houses from many countries. Investments in securities issued by foreign issuers, including American Depositary Receipts and securities purchased on foreign securities exchanges, may subject the fund to additional investment risks, such as adverse political and economic developments, possible seizure, nationalization or expropriation of foreign investments, less stringent disclosure requirements, non-U.S. withholding taxes and the adoption of other foreign governmental restrictions. Additional risks include less publicly available information, the risk that companies may not be subject to the accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements of U.S. companies, the risk that foreign securities markets may have less volume and therefore may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than U.S. securities, and the risk that custodian and transaction costs may be higher. Foreign issuers of securities or obligations are often subject to accounting requirements and engage in business practices different from those respecting domestic issuers of similar securities or obligations. Foreign branches of U.S. banks and foreign banks may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks. LOAN INTERESTS, and other direct debt instruments or interests therein, may be acquired by the fund. A loan interest is typically originated, negotiated, and structured by a U.S. or foreign commercial bank, insurance company, finance company, or other financial institution ("Agent") for a lending syndicate of financial institutions. The Agent typically administers and enforces the loan on behalf of the other lenders in the syndicate. In addition, an institution typically but not always the Agent ("Collateral Bank"), holds collateral (if any) on behalf of the lenders. When a Collateral Bank holds collateral, such collateral typically consists of one or more of the following asset types: inventory, accounts receivable, property, plant and equipment, intangibles, common stock of subsidiaries or other investments. These loan interests may take the form of participation interests in, assignments of or novations of a loan during its second distribution, or direct interests during a primary distribution. Such loan interests may be acquired from U.S. or foreign banks, insurance companies, finance companies, or other financial institutions who have made loans or are members of a lending syndicate or from other holders of loan interests. The fund may also acquire loan interests under which the fund derives its rights directly from the borrower. Such loan interests are separately enforceable by the fund against the borrower and all payments of interest and principal are typically made directly to the fund from the borrower. In the event that the fund and other lenders become entitled to take possession of shared collateral, it is anticipated that such collateral would be held in the custody of the Collateral Bank for their mutual benefit. The fund may not act as an Agent, a Collateral Bank, a guarantor or sole negotiator or structurer with respect to a loan. The investment adviser will analyze and evaluate the financial condition of the borrower in connection with the acquisition of any Loan Interest. Credit ratings are typically assigned to Loan Interests in the same manner as with other fixed income debt securities, and the investment adviser analyzes and evaluates these ratings, if any, in deciding whether to purchase a Loan Interest. The investment adviser also analyzes and evaluates the financial condition of the Agent and, in the case of Loan Interests in 20 which the fund does not have privity with the borrower, those institutions from or through whom the fund derives its rights in a loan ("Intermediate Participants"). In a typical loan, the Agent administers the terms of the loan agreement. In such cases, the Agent is normally responsible for the collection of principal and interest payments from the borrower and the apportionment of these payments to the credit of all the institutions which are parties to the loan agreement. The fund will generally rely upon the Agent or Intermediate Participant to receive and forward to the fund its portion of the principal and interest payments on the loan. Furthermore, unless under the terms of a participation agreement the fund has direct recourse against the borrower, the fund will rely on the Agent and the other members of the lending syndicate to use appropriate credit remedies against the borrower. The Agent is typically responsible for monitoring compliance with covenants contained in the loan agreement based upon reports prepared by the borrower. The seller of the Loan Interest usually does, but is often not obligated to, notify holders of Loan Interests of any failures of compliance. The Agent may monitor the value of the collateral and, if the value of the collateral declines, may accelerate the loan, may give the borrower an opportunity to provide additional collateral or may seek other protection for the benefit of the participants in the loan. The Agent is compensated by the borrower for providing these services under a loan agreement, and such compensation may include special fees paid upon structuring and funding the loan and other fees paid on a continuing basis. With respect to Loan Interests for which the Agent does not perform such administrative and enforcement functions, the fund will perform such tasks on its own behalf, although a Collateral Bank will typically hold any collateral on behalf of the fund and the other holders pursuant to the applicable loan agreement. A financial institution's appointment as Agent may usually be terminated in the event that it fails to observe the requisite standard of care or becomes insolvent, enters Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") receivership, or, if not FDIC insured, enters into bankruptcy proceedings. A successor agent generally would be appointed to replace the terminated Agent, and assets held by the Agent under the loan agreement should remain available to holders of Loan Interests. However, if assets held by the Agent for the benefit of the fund were determined to be subject to the claims of the Agent's general creditors, the fund might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on a Loan Interest, or suffer a loss of principal and/or interest. In situations involving Intermediate Participants, similar risks may arise. Purchasers of Loan Interests depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of principal and interest. If the fund does not receive a scheduled interest or principal payment on such indebtedness, the fund's share price and yield could be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured offer the fund more protections than an unsecured loan in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral can be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks, and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of developing countries also will involve a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due. The Loan Interests market is in a developing phase with increased participation among several investor types. The dealer community has become increasingly involved in this secondary market. If, however, a particular Loan Interest is deemed to be illiquid, it would be valued using procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. In such a situation, there is no guarantee that the fund will be able to sell such Loan Interests, which could lead to a decline in the value of the Loan Interests and the value of the fund's shares. 21 LOAN PARTICIPATIONS. The fund may purchase participations in commercial loans. Such indebtedness may be secured or unsecured. Loan participations typically represent direct participation in a loan to a corporate borrower, and generally are offered by banks or other financial institutions or lending syndicates. The fund may participate in such syndications, or can buy part of a loan, becoming a part lender. When purchasing loan participations, the fund assumes the credit risk associated with the corporate borrower and may assume the credit risk associated with an interposed bank or other financial intermediary. The participation interests in which the fund intends to invest may not be rated by any nationally recognized rating service. A loan is often administered by an agent bank acting as agent for all holders. The agent bank administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. In addition, the agent bank is normally responsible for the collection of principal and interest payments from the corporate borrower and the apportionment of these payments to the credit of all institutions which are parties to the loan agreement. Unless, under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness, the fund has direct recourse against the corporate borrower, the fund may have to rely on the agent bank or other financial intermediary to apply appropriate credit remedies against a corporate borrower. A financial institution's employment as agent bank might be terminated in the event that it fails to observe a requisite standard of care or becomes insolvent. A successor agent bank would generally be appointed to replace the terminated agent bank, and assets held by the agent bank under the loan agreement should remain available to holders of such indebtedness. However, if assets held by the agent bank for the benefit of the fund were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent bank's general creditors, the fund might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on a loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal and/or interest. In situations involving other interposed financial institutions (e.g., an insurance company or governmental agency) similar risks may arise. Purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the corporate borrower for payment of principal and interest. If the fund does not receive scheduled interest or principal payments on such indebtedness, the fund's share price and yield could be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured offer the fund more protection than an unsecured loan in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the corporate borrower's obligation, or that the collateral can be liquidated. The fund may invest in loan participations with credit quality comparable to that of issuers of its securities investments. Indebtedness of companies whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks, and may be highly speculative. Some companies may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Consequently, when investing in indebtedness of companies with poor credit, the fund bears a substantial risk of losing the entire amount invested. The fund limits the amount of its total assets that it will invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry. For purposes of these limits, the fund generally will treat the corporate borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as a financial intermediary between the fund and the corporate borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the corporate borrower, SEC interpretations require the fund to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the corporate borrower as "issuers" for the purposes of determining whether the fund has invested more than 5% of its assets in a single issuer. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict the fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries. 22 Loans and other types of direct indebtedness may not be readily marketable and may be subject to restrictions on resale. In some cases, negotiations involved in disposing of indebtedness may require weeks to complete. Consequently, some indebtedness may be difficult or impossible to dispose of readily at what the investment adviser believes to be a fair price. In addition, valuation of illiquid indebtedness involves a greater degree of judgment in determining the fund's net asset value than if that value were based on available market quotations, and could result in significant variations in the fund's daily share price. At the same time, some loan interests are traded among certain financial institutions and accordingly may be deemed liquid. As the market for different types of indebtedness develops, the liquidity of these instruments is expected to improve. In addition, the fund currently intends to treat indebtedness for which there is no readily available market as illiquid for purposes of the fund's limitation on illiquid investments. Investments in loan participations are considered to be debt obligations for purposes of the fund's investment restriction relating to the lending of funds or assets by the fund. Investments in loans through a direct assignment of the financial institution's interests with respect to the loan may involve additional risks to the fund. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the fund could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, the fund could be held liable as co-lender. It is unclear whether loans and other forms of direct indebtedness offer securities law protections against fraud and misrepresentation. In the absence of definitive regulatory guidance, the fund relies on the investment adviser's research in an attempt to avoid situations where fraud or misrepresentation could adversely affect the fund. MATURITY OF INVESTMENTS will generally be determined using the portfolio securities' final maturity dates. However for certain securities, maturity will be determined using the security's effective maturity date. The effective maturity date for a security subject to a put or demand feature is the demand date, unless the security is a variable- or floating-rate security. If it is a variable-rate security, its effective maturity date is the earlier of its demand date or next interest rate change date. For variable-rate securities not subject to a put or demand feature and floating-rate securities, the effective maturity date is the next interest rate change date. The effective maturity of mortgage-backed and certain other asset-backed securities is determined on an "expected life" basis by the investment adviser. For an interest rate swap agreement, its effective maturity would be equal to the difference in the effective maturity of the interest rates "swapped." Securities being hedged with futures contracts may be deemed to have a longer maturity, in the case of purchases of future contracts, and a shorter maturity, in the case of sales of futures contracts, than they would otherwise be deemed to have. In addition, a security that is subject to redemption at the option of the issuer on a particular date ("call date"), which is prior to, or in lieu of, the security's stated maturity, may be deemed to mature on the call date rather than on its stated maturity date. The call date of a security will be used to calculate average portfolio maturity when the investment adviser reasonably anticipates, based upon information available to it, that the issuer will exercise its right to redeem the security. The average portfolio maturity of the fund is dollar-weighted based upon the market value of the fund's securities at the time of the calculation. The fund may invest in securities with final or effective maturities of any length. MONEY MARKET SECURITIES are high-quality, short-term debt securities that may be issued by entities such as the U.S. government, corporations and financial institutions (like banks). Money market securities include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, banker's acceptances, notes and time deposits. Money market securities pay fixed, variable or floating rates of interest and are generally subject to credit and interest rate risks. The maturity date or price of and financial assets collateralizing a security may be structured in order to make it qualify as or act like a money market security. These securities may be 23 subject to greater credit and interest rate risks than other money market securities because of their structure. Money market securities may be issued with puts or these can be sold separately. MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES ("MBS") and other Asset-Backed Securities may be purchased by the fund. MBS represent participations in mortgage loans, and include pass-through securities, collateralized mortgage obligations and stripped mortgage-backed securities. MBS may be issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA or Ginnie Mae) and the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC or Freddie Mac). The National Housing Act authorized GNMA to guarantee the timely payment of principal and interest on securities backed by a pool of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration ("FHA") or guaranteed by the Veterans Administration ("VA"). The GNMA guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. The GNMA is also empowered to borrow without limitation from the U.S. Treasury if necessary to make any payments required under its guarantee. GNMA are mortgage securities which evidence an undivided interest in a pool or pools of mortgages. GNMA Certificates that the fund may purchase are the "modified pass-through" type, which entitle the holder to receive timely payment of all interest and principal payments due on the mortgage pool, net of fees paid to the "issuer" and GNMA, regardless of whether or not the mortgagor actually makes the payment. The average life of a GNMA Certificate is likely to be substantially shorter than the original maturity of the mortgages underlying the securities. Prepayments of principal by mortgagors and mortgage foreclosures will usually result in the return of the greater part of principal investment long before the maturity of the mortgages in the pool. Foreclosures impose no risk to principal investment because of the GNMA guarantee, except to the extent that the fund has purchased the certificates above par in the secondary market. FHLMC was created in 1970 to promote development of a nationwide secondary market in conventional residential mortgages. The FHLMC issues two types of mortgage pass-through securities ("FHLMC Certificates"): mortgage participation certificates ("PCs") and guaranteed mortgage certificates ("GMCs"). PCs resemble GNMA Certificates in that each PC represents a pro rata share of all interest and principal payments made and owed on the underlying pool. The FHLMC guarantees timely monthly payment of interest on PCs and the ultimate payment of principal, but its issues are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. GMCs also represent a pro rata interest in a pool of mortgages. However, these instruments pay interest semi-annually and return principal once a year in guaranteed minimum payments. The expected average life of these securities is approximately 10 years. The FHLMC guarantee is not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. FNMA was established in 1938 to create a secondary market in mortgages the FHA insures. FNMA issues guaranteed mortgage pass-through certificates ("FNMA Certificates"). FNMA Certificates resemble GNMA Certificates in that each FNMA Certificate represents a pro rata share of all interest and principal payments made and owed on the underlying pool. FNMA guarantees timely payment of interest and principal on FNMA Certificates. The FNMA guarantee is not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. MBS may also be issued by private issuers, generally originators and investors in mortgage loans, including savings associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, and special purpose entities (collectively, "private lenders"). MBS are based on different types of mortgages including those on commercial real estate and residential property. MBS issued by private lenders may be supported by 24 pools of mortgage loans or other MBS that are guaranteed, directly or indirectly, by the U.S. government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities, or they may be issued without any governmental guarantee of the underlying mortgage assets but with some form of credit enhancement. Asset-backed Securities ("ABS") have structural characteristics similar to MBS. ABS represent direct or indirect participation in assets such as automobile loans, credit card receivables, trade receivables, home equity loans (which sometimes are categorized as MBS) or other financial assets. Therefore, repayment depends largely on the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities. The credit quality of most ABS depends primarily on the credit quality of the assets underlying such securities, how well the entity issuing the security is insulated from the credit risk of the originator or any other affiliated entities, and the amount and quality of any credit enhancement of the securities. Payments or distributions of principal and interest on ABS may be supported by credit enhancements including letters of credit, an insurance guarantee, reserve funds and overcollateralization. Asset-backed securities also may be debt instruments, which are also known as collateralized obligations and are generally issued as the debt of a special purpose entity, such as a trust, organized solely for the purpose of owning such assets and issuing debt obligations. Collateralized Mortgage Obligations ("CMO") are a hybrid between mortgage-backed bonds and mortgage pass-through securities. Similar to a bond, interest and prepaid principal is paid, in most cases, on a monthly basis. CMOs may be collateralized by whole mortgage loans, but are more typically collateralized by portfolios of mortgage pass-through securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and their income streams. CMOs are structured into multiple classes, each bearing a different stated maturity. Actual maturity and average life will depend upon the prepayment experience of the collateral. CMOs provide for a modified form of call protection through a de facto breakdown of the underlying pool of mortgages according to how quickly the loans are repaid. Monthly payment of principal received from the pool of underlying mortgages, including prepayments, is first returned to investors holding the shortest maturity class. Investors holding the longer maturity classes receive principal only after the first class has been retired. An investor is partially guarded against a sooner than desired return of principal because of the sequential payments. In a typical CMO transaction, a corporation ("issuer") issues multiple series (e.g., A, B, C, Z) of CMO bonds ("Bonds"). Proceeds of the Bond offering are used to purchase mortgages or mortgage pass-through certificates ("Collateral"). The Collateral is pledged to a third party trustee as security for the Bonds. Principal and interest payments from the Collateral are used to pay principal on the Bonds in the order A, B, C, Z. The Series A, B, and C Bonds all bear current interest. Interest on the Series Z Bond is accrued and added to principal and a like amount is paid as principal on the Series A, B, or C Bond currently being paid off. When the Series A, B, and C Bonds are paid in full, interest and principal on the Series Z Bond begins to be paid currently. With some CMOs, the issuer serves as a conduit to allow loan originators (primarily builders or savings and loan associations) to borrow against their loan portfolios. The rate of principal payment on MBS and ABS generally depends on the rate of principal payments received on the underlying assets which in turn may be affected by a variety of economic and other factors. As a result, the price and yield on any MBS or ABS is difficult to predict with precision and price and yield to maturity may be more or less than the anticipated yield to maturity. If the fund purchases these securities at a premium, a prepayment rate that is faster than expected will reduce yield to maturity, while a prepayment rate that is slower than expected will have the opposite effect of increasing the yield to maturity. Conversely, if the fund purchases these securities at a discount, a prepayment rate that is faster than expected will increase yield to maturity, while a prepayment rate that is slower than expected will reduce yield to maturity. Amounts available for reinvestment by the fund are likely to be 25 greater during a period of declining interest rates and, as a result, are likely to be reinvested at lower interest rates than during a period of rising interest rates. While many MBS and ABS are issued with only one class of security, many are issued in more than one class, each with different payment terms. Multiple class MBS and ABS are issued as a method of providing credit support, typically through creation of one or more classes whose right to payments on the security is made subordinate to the right to such payments of the remaining class or classes. In addition, multiple classes may permit the issuance of securities with payment terms, interest rates, or other characteristics differing both from those of each other and from those of the underlying assets. Examples include stripped securities, which are MBS and ABS entitling the holder to disproportionate interest or principal compared with the assets backing the security, and securities with classes having characteristics different from the assets backing the securities, such as a security with floating interest rates with assets backing the securities having fixed interest rates. The market value of such securities and CMO's generally is more or less sensitive to changes in prepayment and interest rates than is the case with traditional MBS and ABS, and in some cases such market value may be extremely volatile. CMO Residuals are mortgage securities issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, homebuilders, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose entities of the foregoing. The cash flow generated by the mortgage assets underlying a series of CMOs is applied first to make required payments of principal and interest on the CMOs and second to pay the related administrative expenses of the issuer. The residual in a CMO structure generally represents the interest in any excess cash flow remaining after making the foregoing payments. Each payment of such excess cash flow to a holder of the related CMO residual represents income and/or a return of capital. The amount of residual cash flow resulting from a CMO will depend on, among other things, the characteristics of the mortgage assets, the coupon rate of each class of CMO, prevailing interest rates, the amount of administrative expenses and the prepayment experience on the mortgage assets. In particular, the yield to maturity on CMO residuals is extremely sensitive to prepayments on the related underlying mortgage assets, in the same manner as an interest-only ("IO") class of stripped mortgage-backed securities. See "Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities." In addition, if a series of a CMO includes a class that bears interest at an adjustable rate, the yield to maturity on the related CMO residual will also be extremely sensitive to changes in the level of the index upon which interest rate adjustments are based. As described below with respect to stripped mortgage-backed securities, in certain circumstances the fund may fail to recoup fully its initial investment in a CMO residual. CMO residuals are generally purchased and sold by institutional investors through several investment banking firms acting as brokers or dealers. The CMO residual market has only very recently developed and CMO residuals currently may not have the liquidity of other more established securities trading in other markets. Transactions in CMO residuals are generally completed only after careful review of the characteristics of the securities in question. In addition, CMO residuals may or, pursuant to an exemption therefrom, may not have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"). CMO residuals, whether or not registered under the 1933 Act, may be subject to certain restrictions on transferability, and may be deemed "illiquid" and subject to the fund's limitations on investment in illiquid securities. Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities "SMBS" are derivative multi-class mortgage securities. SMBS may be issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government, or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose entities of the foregoing. 26 SMBS are usually structured with two classes that receive different proportions of the interest and principal distributions on a pool of mortgage assets. A common type of SMBS will have one class receiving some of the interest and most of the principal from the mortgage assets, while the other class will receive most of the interest and the remainder of the principal. In the most extreme case, one class will receive all of the interest (the "IO" class), while the other class will receive all of the principal (the principal-only or "PO" class). The yield to maturity on an IO class is extremely sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the related underlying mortgage assets, and a rapid rate of principal payments may have a material adverse effect on the fund's yield to maturity from these securities. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the fund may fail to recoup some or all of its initial investment in these securities even if the security is in one of the highest rating categories. Under certain circumstances these securities may be deemed "illiquid" and subject to the fund's limitations on investment in illiquid securities. MUNICIPAL LEASES are obligations issued to finance the construction or acquisition of equipment or facilities. These obligations may take the form of a lease, an installment purchase contract, a conditional sales contract or a participation interest in any of these obligations. Municipal leases may be considered illiquid investments. Additionally, municipal leases are subject to "nonappropriation risk," which is the risk that the municipality may terminate the lease because funds have not been allocated to make the necessary lease payments. The lessor would then be entitled to repossess the property, but the value of the property may be less to private sector entities than it would be to the municipality. MUNICIPAL SECURITIES are debt securities issued by municipal issuers. Municipal issuers include states, counties, municipalities, authorities and other subdivisions, or the territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia, including their subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities and corporations. These securities may be issued to obtain money for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities such as airports, bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation, public utilities, schools, streets, and water and sewer works. Other public purposes include refunding outstanding obligations, obtaining funds for general operating expenses and obtaining funds to loan to other public institutions and facilities. Municipal securities also may be issued to finance various private activities, including certain types of private activity bonds ("industrial development bonds" under prior law). These securities may be issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds to provide certain privately owned or operated facilities. Municipal securities may be owned directly or through participation interests, and include general obligation or revenue securities, tax-exempt commercial paper, notes and leases. Municipal securities generally are classified as "general obligation" or "revenue" and may be purchased directly or through participation interests. General obligation securities typically are secured by the issuer's pledge of its full faith and credit and most often its taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Revenue securities typically are payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special tax or other specific revenue source. Private activity bonds and industrial development bonds are, in most cases, revenue bonds and generally do not constitute the pledge of the credit of the issuer of such bonds. The credit quality of private activity bonds is frequently related to the credit standing of private corporations or other entities. In addition to bonds, municipalities issue short-term securities such as tax anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, construction loan notes and tax-free commercial paper. Tax anticipation notes typically are sold to finance working capital needs of municipalities in anticipation 27 of the receipt of property taxes on a future date. Bond anticipation notes are sold on an interim basis in anticipation of a municipality's issuance of a longer-term bond in the future. Revenue anticipation notes are issued in expectation of the receipt of other types of revenue, such as that available under the Federal Revenue Sharing Program. Construction loan notes are instruments insured by the Federal Housing Administration with permanent financing by Fannie Mae or Ginnie Mae at the end of the project construction period. Tax-free commercial paper is an unsecured promissory obligation issued or guaranteed by a municipal issuer. The fund may purchase other municipal securities similar to the foregoing that are or may become available, including securities issued to pre-refund other outstanding obligations of municipal issuers. The fund also may invest in moral obligation securities, which are normally issued by special purpose public authorities. If the issuer of a moral obligation security is unable to meet its obligation from current revenues, it may draw on a reserve fund. The state or municipality that created the entity has only a moral commitment, not a legal obligation, to restore the reserve fund. The value of municipal securities may be affected by uncertainties with respect to the rights of holders of municipal securities in the event of bankruptcy or the taxation of municipal securities as a result of legislation or litigation. For example, under federal law, certain issuers of municipal securities may be authorized in certain circumstances to initiate bankruptcy proceedings without prior notice to or the consent of creditors. Such action could result in material adverse changes in the rights of holders of the securities. In addition, litigation challenging the validity under the state constitutions of present systems of financing public education has been initiated or adjudicated in a number of states, and legislation has been introduced to effect changes in public school finances in some states. In other instances, there has been litigation challenging the issuance of pollution control revenue bonds or the validity of their issuance under state or federal law, which ultimately could affect the validity of those municipal securities or the tax-free nature of the interest thereon. Municipal securities pay fixed, variable or floating rates of interest, which may be exempt from federal income tax and, typically, personal income tax of a state or locality. The investment adviser relies on the opinion of the issuer's counsel, which is rendered at the time the security is issued, to determine whether the security is fit, with respect to its validity and tax status, to be purchased by the fund. NON-PUBLICLY TRADED SECURITIES AND PRIVATE PLACEMENTS are securities that are neither listed on a stock exchange nor traded over-the-counter, including privately placed securities. Such unlisted securities may involve a higher degree of business and financial risk that can result in substantial losses. As a result of the absence of a public trading market for these securities, they may be less liquid than publicly traded securities. Although these securities may be resold in privately negotiated transactions, the prices realized from these sales could be less than those originally paid by the fund or less than what may be considered the fair value of such securities. Furthermore, companies whose securities are not publicly traded may not be subject to the disclosure and other investor protection requirements which might be applicable if their securities were publicly traded. If such securities are required to be registered under the securities laws of one or more jurisdictions before being sold, the fund may be required to bear the expenses of registration. OPTIONS CONTRACTS generally provide the right to buy or sell a security, commodity, futures contract or foreign currency in exchange for an agreed upon price. If the right is not exercised after a specified period, the option expires and the option buyer forfeits the money paid to the option seller. 28 A call option gives the buyer the right to buy a specified number of shares of a security at a fixed price on or before a specified date in the future. For this right, the call option buyer pays the call option seller, commonly called the call option writer, a fee called a premium. Call option buyers are usually anticipating that the price of the underlying security will rise above the price fixed with the call writer, thereby allowing them to profit. If the price of the underlying security does not rise, the call option buyer's losses are limited to the premium paid to the call option writer. For call option writers, a rise in the price of the underlying security will be offset by the premium received from the call option buyer. If the call option writer does not own the underlying security, however, the losses that may ensue if the price rises could be potentially unlimited. If the call option writer owns the underlying security or commodity, this is called writing a covered call. All call option written by the fund will be covered, which means that the fund will own the underlying security or own a call option on the same underlying security with the same or lower strike price. A put option is the opposite of a call option. It gives the buyer the right to sell a specified number of shares of a security at a fixed price on or before a specified date in the future. Put option buyers are usually anticipating a decline in the price of the underlying security, and wish to offset those losses when selling the security at a later date. All put options the fund writes will be covered, which means that the fund will either earmark or segregate assets (e.g., cash, U.S. government securities or other liquid assets) with a value at least equal to the exercise price of the put option, or will otherwise "cover" its position as required by the 1940 Act (e.g., the fund will hold a put option on the same underlying security with the same or higher strike price). The purpose of writing such options is to generate additional income for the fund. However, in return for the option premium, the fund accepts the risk that it may be required to purchase the underlying securities at a price in excess of the securities' market value at the time of purchase. The fund may purchase and write put and call options on any securities in which it may invest or any securities index based on securities in which it may invest. The fund may purchase and write such options on securities that are listed on domestic or foreign securities exchanges or traded in the over-the-counter market. Like futures contracts, option contracts are rarely exercised. Option buyers usually sell the option before it expires. Option writers may terminate their obligations under a written call or put option by purchasing an option identical to the one it has written. Such purchases are referred to as "closing purchase transactions." The fund may enter into closing sale transactions in order to realize gains or minimize losses on options it has purchased or written. An exchange-traded currency option position may be closed out only on an options exchange that provides a secondary market for an option of the same series. Although the fund generally will purchase or write only those options for which there appears to be an active secondary market, there is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option or at any particular time. If the fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to options it has written, it will not be able to sell the underlying securities or dispose of assets earmarked or held in a segregated account until the options expire or are exercised. Similarly, if the fund is unable to effect a closing sale transaction with respect to options it has purchased, it would have to exercise the options in order to realize any profit and will incur transaction costs upon the purchase or sale of underlying securities. Reasons for the absence of a liquid secondary market on an exchange include the following: (1) there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; (2) an exchange may impose restrictions on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; (3) trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options; (4) unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an exchange; (5) the facilities of an exchange or the Options Clearing Corporation (the "OCC") may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading volume; or (6) one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to 29 discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), although outstanding options on that exchange that had been issued by the OCC as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms. The ability to terminate over-the-counter options is more limited than with exchange-traded options and may involve the risk that broker-dealers participating in such transactions will not fulfill their obligations. Until such time as the staff of the SEC changes its position, the fund will treat purchased over-the-counter options and all assets used to cover written over-the-counter options as illiquid securities, except that with respect to options written with primary dealers in U.S. government securities pursuant to an agreement requiring a closing purchase transaction at a formula price, the amount of illiquid securities may be calculated with reference to a formula the staff of the SEC approves. Additional risks are involved with options trading because of the low margin deposits required and the extremely high degree of leverage that may be involved in options trading. There may be imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the securities held by the fund and the prices of the options, possible lack of liquid secondary markets, and the resulting inability to close such positions prior to their maturity dates. The fund may write or purchase an option only when the market value of that option, when aggregated with the market value of all other options transactions made on behalf of the fund, does not exceed 5% of its total assets. PROMISSORY NOTES are written agreements committing the maker or issuer to pay the payee a specified amount either on demand or at a fixed date in the future, with or without interest. These are sometimes called negotiable notes or instruments and are subject to credit risk. Bank notes are notes used to represent obligations issued by banks in large denominations. Puts are agreements that allow the buyer to sell a security at a specified price and time to the seller or "put provider." When the fund buys a security with a put feature, losses could occur if the put provider does not perform as agreed. If a put provider fails to honor its commitment upon the fund's attempt to exercise the put, the fund may have to treat the security's final maturity as its effective maturity. If that occurs, the security's price may be negatively impacted, and its sensitivity to interest rate changes may be increased, possibly contributing to increased share price volatility for the fund. This also could lengthen the fund's overall average effective maturity. Standby commitments are types of puts. QUALITY OF FIXED INCOME INVESTMENTS refers to the quality of the securities purchased by the fund. Investment-grade securities are rated by at least one NRSRO in one of the four highest rating categories (within which there may be sub-categories or gradations indicating relative standing) or have been determined to be of equivalent quality by the investment adviser pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITs) are pooled investment vehicles, which invest primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests and, in some cases, manage real estate. REITs are sometimes referred to as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or hybrid REITs. An equity REIT invests primarily in properties and generates income from rental and lease properties and, in some cases, from the management of real estate. Equity REITs also offer the potential for growth as a result of property appreciation and from the sale of appreciated property. Mortgage REITs invest primarily in real estate mortgages, which may secure construction, development or long-term loans, and derive income for the collection of interest payments. Hybrid REITS may combine the features of equity REITs and mortgage REITs. REITs are generally organized as corporations or business trusts, but are not taxed as a 30 corporation if they meet certain requirements of the Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). The fund may also invest in REIT-like structures adopted by foreign countries. Like any investment in real estate, a REIT's performance depends on many factors, such as its ability to find tenants for its properties, to renew leases, and to finance property purchases and renovations. In general, REITs may be affected by changes in underlying real estate values, which may have an exaggerated effect to the extent a REIT concentrates its investment in certain regions or property types. For example, rental income could decline because of extended vacancies, increased competition from nearby properties, tenants' failure to pay rent, or incompetent management. Property values could decrease because of overbuilding, environmental liabilities, uninsured damages caused by natural disasters, a general decline in the neighborhood, losses due to casualty or condemnation, increases in property taxes, or changes in zoning laws. Ultimately, a REIT's performance depends on the types of properties it owns and how well the REIT manages its properties. In general, during periods of rising interest rates, REITs may lose some of their appeal for investors who may be able to obtain higher yields from other income-producing investments, such as long term bonds. Higher interest rates also mean that financing for property purchases and improvements is more costly and difficult to obtain. During periods of declining interest rates, certain mortgage REITs may hold mortgages that mortgagors elect to prepay, which can reduce the yield on securities issued by mortgage REITs. Mortgage REITs may be affected by the ability of borrowers to repay debts to the REIT when due and equity REITs may be affected by the ability of tenants to pay rent. Like small-cap stocks in general, certain REITs have relatively small market capitalizations and their securities can be more volatile than--and at times will perform differently from--large-cap stocks. In addition, because small-cap stocks are typically less liquid than large-cap stocks, REIT stocks may sometimes experience greater share-price fluctuations than the stocks of larger companies. Further, REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills, have limited diversification, and are therefore subject to risks inherent in operating and financing a limited number of projects. By investing in REITs indirectly through the fund, a shareholder will bear indirectly a proportionate share of the REIT's expenses in addition to their proportionate share of a fund's expenses. Finally, REITs could possibly fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Code or to maintain their exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act. REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS are instruments under which a buyer acquires ownership of certain securities (usually U.S. government securities) from a seller who agrees to repurchase the securities at a mutually agreed-upon time and price, thereby determining the yield during the buyer's holding period. Any repurchase agreements the fund enters into will involve the fund as the buyer and banks or broker-dealers as sellers. The period of repurchase agreements is usually short - from overnight to one week, although the securities collateralizing a repurchase agreement may have longer maturity dates. Default by the seller might cause the fund to experience a loss or delay in the liquidation of the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. The fund also may incur disposition costs in liquidating the collateral. In the event of a bankruptcy or other default of a repurchase agreement's seller, the fund might incur expenses in enforcing its rights, and could experience losses, including a decline in the value of the underlying securities and loss of income. The fund will make payment under a repurchase agreement only upon physical delivery or evidence of book entry transfer of the collateral to the account of its custodian bank. RESTRICTED SECURITIES are securities that are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Restricted securities may be considered to be liquid if an institutional or other market exists for these securities. In making this determination, the fund, under the direction and supervision of the Board of Trustees, will take into account the following factors: (1) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (2) the number of dealers willing to purchase or sell the security and the number of potential purchasers; (3) dealer 31 undertakings to make a market in the security; and (4) the nature of the security and marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of transfer). To the extent the fund invests in restricted securities that are deemed liquid, the general level of illiquidity in the fund's portfolio may be increased if qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing these securities. REVERSE REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS, MORTGAGE DOLLAR ROLLS AND SALE-BUYBACKS may be used by the fund. The fund may engage in reverse repurchase agreements to facilitate portfolio liquidity, a practice common in the mutual fund industry, or for arbitrage transactions as discussed below. In a reverse repurchase agreement, the fund would sell a security and enter into an agreement to repurchase the security at a specified future date and price. The fund generally retains the right to interest and principal payments on the security. Because the fund receives cash upon entering into a reverse repurchase agreement, it may be considered a borrowing. When required by guidelines of the SEC, the fund will set aside permissible liquid assets earmarked or in a segregated account to secure its obligations to repurchase the security. The fund also may enter into mortgage dollar rolls, in which the fund would sell MBS for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contract to purchase substantially similar securities on a specified future date. While the fund would forego principal and interest paid on the MBS during the roll period, the fund would be compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the lower price for the future purchase as well as by any interest earned on the proceeds of the initial sale. The fund also could be compensated through the receipt of fee income equivalent to a lower forward price. At the time the fund would enter into a mortgage dollar roll, it would set aside permissible liquid assets earmarked or in a segregated account to secure its obligation for the forward commitment to buy MBS. Mortgage dollar roll transactions may be considered a borrowing by the fund. The mortgage dollar rolls and reverse repurchase agreements entered into by the fund may be used as arbitrage transactions in which the fund will maintain an offsetting position in short duration investment-grade debt obligations. Since the fund will receive interest on the securities or repurchase agreements in which it invests the transaction proceeds, such transactions may involve leverage. However, since such securities or repurchase agreements will be high quality and short duration, the investment adviser believes that such arbitrage transactions present lower risks to the fund than those associated with other types of leverage. There can be no assurance that the fund's use of the cash it receives from a mortgage dollar roll will provide a positive return. The fund also may effect simultaneous purchase and sale transactions that are known as "sale-buybacks." A sale-buyback is similar to a reverse repurchase agreement, except that in a sale-buyback, the counterparty who purchases the security is entitled to receive any principal or interest payments made on the underlying security pending settlement of the fund's repurchase of the underlying security. The fund's obligations under a sale-buyback typically would be offset by liquid assets equal in value to the amount of the fund's forward commitment to repurchase the subject security. SECURITIES LENDING of portfolio securities is a common practice in the securities industry. The fund may engage in security lending arrangements with the primary objective of increasing its income. For example, the fund may receive cash collateral and it may invest it in short-term, interest-bearing obligations, but will do so only to the extent that it will not lose the tax treatment available to mutual funds. Lending portfolio securities involves risks that the borrower may fail to return the securities or provide additional collateral. Also, voting rights with respect to the loaned securities may pass with the lending of the securities and efforts to call such securities promptly may be unsuccessful, especially for foreign securities. 32 The fund may loan portfolio securities to qualified broker-dealers or other institutional investors provided: (1) the loan is secured continuously by collateral consisting of U.S. government securities, letters of credit, cash or cash-equivalents or other appropriate instruments maintained on a daily marked-to-market basis in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned; (2) the fund may at any time call the loan and obtain the return of the securities loaned; (3) the fund will receive any interest or dividends paid on the loaned securities; and (4) an aggregate market value of securities loaned will not at any time exceed one-third of the total assets of the fund, including collateral received from the loan (at market value computed at the time of the loan). Although voting rights with respect to loaned securities pass to the borrower, the lender retains the right to recall a security (or terminate a loan) for the purpose of exercising the security's voting rights. Efforts to recall such securities promptly may be unsuccessful, especially for foreign securities or thinly traded securities such as small-cap stocks. In addition, because recalling a security may involve expenses to the fund, it is expected that the fund will do so only where the items being voted upon are, in the judgment of the investment adviser, either material to the economic value of the security or threaten to materially impact the issuer's corporate governance policies or structure. SECURITIES OF OTHER INVESTMENT COMPANIES and those issued by foreign investment companies may be purchased and sold by the fund. Mutual funds are registered investment companies, which may issue and redeem their shares on a continuous basis (open-end mutual funds) or may offer a fixed number of shares usually listed on an exchange (closed-end mutual funds). Mutual funds generally offer investors the advantages of diversification and professional investment management, by combining shareholders' money and investing it in various types of securities, such as stocks, bonds and money market securities. Mutual funds also make various investments and use certain techniques in order to enhance their performance. These may include entering into delayed-delivery and when-issued securities transactions or swap agreements; buying and selling futures contracts, illiquid and restricted securities and repurchase agreements and borrowing or lending money and/or portfolio securities. The risks of investing in mutual funds generally reflect the risks of the securities in which the mutual funds invest and the investment techniques they may employ. Also, mutual funds charge fees and incur operating expenses. If the fund decides to purchase securities of other investment companies, the fund intends to purchase shares of mutual funds in compliance with the requirements of federal law or any applicable exemptive relief received from the SEC. Except money market fund instruments, mutual fund investments for the fund are currently restricted under federal regulations, and therefore, the extent to which the fund may invest in another mutual fund may be limited. Funds in which the fund also may invest include unregistered or privately-placed funds, such as hedge funds and off-shore funds, and unit investment trusts. Hedge funds and off-shore funds are not registered with the SEC, and therefore are largely exempt from the regulatory requirements that apply to registered investment companies (mutual funds). As a result, these types of funds may have greater ability to make investments or use investment techniques that offer a higher degree of investment return, such as leveraging, which also may subject their fund assets to substantial risk to the investment principal. These funds, while not regulated by the SEC like mutual funds, may be indirectly supervised by the sources of their assets, which tend to be commercial and investment banks and other financial institutions. Investments in these funds also may be more difficult to sell, which could cause losses to the fund. For example, hedge funds typically require investors to keep their investment in a hedge fund for some period of time, such as one month or one year. This means investors would not be able to sell their shares of a hedge fund until such time had past. SHORT SALES may be used by the fund as part of its overall portfolio management strategies or to offset a potential decline in a value of a security. For example, the fund may use short sales may as a quantitative 33 technique to assemble a portfolio whose performance, average maturity and average duration is expected to track that of its index. This technique may provide a more effective hedge against interest rate risk than other types of hedging transactions, such as selling futures contracts. The fund may sell a security short only if the fund owns the security, or the right to obtain the security or equivalent securities, or covers such short sale with liquid assets as required by the current rules and interpretations of the SEC or its staff. When the fund makes a short sale, it may borrow the security sold short and deliver it to the broker-dealer through which it made the short sale as collateral for its obligation to deliver the security upon conclusion of the sale. The fund also may have to pay a fee to borrow particular securities and is often obligated to pay over any accrued interest and dividends on such borrowed securities. If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the fund replaces the borrowed security, the fund will incur a loss; conversely, if the price declines, the fund will realize a gain. Any gain will be decreased, and any loss increased, by the transaction costs described above. Selling securities short against the box involves selling a security that the fund owns or has the right to acquire, for the delivery at a specified date in the future. If the fund sells securities short against the box, it may protect unrealized gains, but will lose the opportunity to profit on such securities if the price rises. A short sale against the box is a taxable transaction to the funds with respect to the securities sold short. The successful use of short selling as a hedging strategy may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the security sold short and the securities being hedged. SINKING FUNDS may be established by bond issuers to set aside a certain amount of money to cover timely repayment of bondholders' principal raised through a bond issuance. By creating a sinking fund, the issuer is able to spread repayment of principal to numerous bondholders while reducing reliance on its then current cash flows. A sinking fund also may allow the issuer to annually repurchase certain of its outstanding bonds from the open market or repurchase certain of its bonds at a call price named in a bond's sinking fund provision. This call provision will allow bonds to be prepaid or called prior to a bond's maturity. The likelihood of this occurring is substantial during periods of falling interest rates. SPREAD TRANSACTIONS may be used for hedging or managing risk. The fund may purchase covered spread options from securities dealers. Such covered spread options are not presently exchange-listed or exchange-traded. The purchase of a spread option gives the fund the right to put, or sell, a security that it owns at a fixed dollar spread or fixed yield spread in relation to another security that the fund does not own, but which is used as a benchmark. The risk to the fund in purchasing covered spread options is the cost of the premium paid for the spread option and any transaction costs. In addition, there is no assurance that closing transactions will be available. The purchase of spread options will be used to protect the fund against adverse changes in prevailing credit quality spreads, i.e., the yield spread between high quality and lower quality securities. Such protection is only provided during the life of the spread option. STRIPPED SECURITIES are securities whose income and principal components are detached and sold separately. While risks associated with stripped securities are similar to other fixed income securities, stripped securities are typically subject to greater changes in value. U.S. Treasury securities that have been stripped by the Federal Reserve Bank are obligations of the U.S. Treasury. STRUCTURED NOTES are derivative debt securities, the interest rate or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. The terms of structured securities may provide that in certain circumstances no principal is due at maturity and therefore, may result in a loss of invested capital. Structured securities may be positively or negatively indexed, so that appreciation of the reference may produce an increase or a decrease in the interest rate or the value of the structured security at maturity may be calculated as a specified multiple of the change in the value of the reference; therefore, the value of such security may be 34 very volatile. Structured securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference. Structured securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. SWAP AGREEMENTS are privately negotiated over-the-counter derivative products in which two parties agree to exchange payment streams calculated in relation to a rate, index, instrument or certain securities (referred to as the "underlying") and a predetermined amount (referred to as the "notional amount"). The underlying for a swap may be an interest rate (fixed or floating), a currency exchange rate, a commodity price index, a security, group of securities or a securities index, a combination of any of these, or various other rates, assets or indices. Swap agreements generally do not involve the delivery of the underlying or principal, and a party's obligations generally are equal to only the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the swap agreement. Swap agreements can be structured to increase or decrease the fund's exposure to long or short term interest rates, corporate borrowing rates and other conditions, such as changing security prices and inflation rates. They also can be structured to increase or decrease the fund's exposure to specific issuers or specific sectors of the bond market such as mortgage securities. For example, if the fund agreed to pay a longer-term fixed rate in exchange for a shorter-term floating rate while holding longer-term fixed rate bonds, the swap would tend to decrease the fund's exposure to longer-term interest rates. Swap agreements tend to increase or decrease the overall volatility of the fund's investments and its share price and yield. Changes in interest rates, or other factors determining the amount of payments due to and from the fund, can be the most significant factors in the performance of a swap agreement. If a swap agreement calls for payments from the fund, the fund must be prepared to make such payments when they are due. In order to help minimize risks, the fund will earmark or segregate appropriate assets for any accrued but unpaid net amounts owed under the terms of a swap agreement entered into on a net basis. All other swap agreements will require the fund to earmark or segregate assets in the amount of the accrued amounts owed under the swap. The fund could sustain losses if a counterparty does not perform as agreed under the terms of the swap. The fund will enter into swap agreements with counterparties deemed creditworthy by the investment adviser. In addition, the fund may invest in swaptions, which are privately-negotiated option-based derivative products. Swaptions give the holder the right to enter into a swap. The fund may use a swaption in addition to or in lieu of a swap involving a similar rate or index. For purposes of applying the fund's investment policies and restrictions (as stated in the prospectuses and this SAI) swap agreements are generally valued by the fund at market value. In the case of a credit default swap sold by the fund (i.e., where the fund is selling credit default protection), however, the fund will generally value the swap at its notional amount. The manner in which certain securities or other instruments are valued by the fund for purposes of applying investment policies and restrictions may differ from the manner in which those investments are valued by other types of investors. TEMPORARY DEFENSIVE STRATEGIES are strategies the fund may take for temporary or defensive purposes. The investment strategies for the fund are those that the fund uses during normal circumstances. During unusual economic or market conditions or for temporary defensive or liquidity purposes, the fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash, money market instruments, repurchase agreements and other short term obligations that would not ordinarily be consistent with the fund's objectives. The fund will do so only if the investment adviser believes that the risk of loss outweighs the opportunity for capital gains or higher income. When the fund engages in such activities, it may not achieve its investment objective. 35 TRUST PREFERRED SECURITIES. The fund may purchase trust preferred securities which are preferred stocks issued by a special purpose trust subsidiary backed by subordinated debt of the corporate parent. These securities typically bear a market rate coupon comparable to interest rates available on debt of a similarly rated company. The securities are generally senior in claim to standard preferred stock but junior to other bondholders. Holders of the trust preferred securities have limited voting rights to control the activities of the trust and no voting rights with respect to the parent company. Trust preferred securities may have varying maturity dates, at times in excess of 30 years, or may have no specified maturity date with an onerous interest rate adjustment if not called on the first call date. Dividend payments of the trust preferred securities generally coincide with interest payments on the underlying subordinated debt. Trust preferred securities generally have a yield advantage over traditional preferred stocks, but unlike preferred stocks, distributions are treated as interest rather than dividends for federal income tax purposes. Trust preferred securities are subject to unique risks, which include the fact that dividend payments will only be paid if interest payments on the underlying obligations are made, which interest payments are dependent on the financial condition of the parent corporation and may be deferred for up to 20 consecutive quarters. There is also the risk that the underlying obligations, and thus the trust preferred securities, may be prepaid after a stated call date or as a result of certain tax or regulatory events, resulting in a lower yield to maturity. Trust preferred securities prices fluctuate for several reasons including changes in investors' perception of the financial condition of an issuer or the general condition of the market for trust preferred securities, or when political or economic events affecting the issuers occur. Trust preferred securities are also (a) sensitive to interest rate fluctuations, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase in a rising interest rate environment, and (b) subject to the risk that they may be called for redemption in a falling interest rate environment. U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES are issued by the U.S. Treasury or issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities. Not all U.S. government securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Some U.S. government securities, such as those issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Student Loan Marketing Association (SLMA or Sallie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), are supported by a line of credit the issuing entity has with the U.S. Treasury. Others are supported solely by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality such as obligations issued by the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation (FFCB). There can be no assurance that the U.S. government will provide financial support to U.S. government securities of its agencies and instrumentalities if it is not obligated to do so under law. That being said, U.S. government securities, including U.S. Treasury securities, are among the safest securities, however, not unlike other debt securities, they are still sensitive to interest rate changes, which will cause their prices to fluctuate. VARIABLE- AND FLOATING-RATE DEBT SECURITIES pay an interest rate, which is adjusted either periodically or at specific intervals or which floats continuously according to a formula or benchmark. Although these structures generally are intended to minimize the fluctuations in value that occur when interest rates rise and fall, some structures may be linked to a benchmark in such a way as to cause greater volatility to the security's value. Some variable-rate securities may be combined with a put or demand feature (variable-rate demand securities) that entitles the holder to the right to demand repayment in full or to resell at a specific price and/or time. While the demand feature is intended to reduce credit risks, it is not always unconditional, and may make the securities more difficult to sell quickly without losses. There are risks involved with these securities because there may be no active secondary market for a particular variable-rate demand 36 security purchased by the fund. In addition, the fund may exercise its demand rights only at certain times. The fund could also suffer losses in the event that the issuer defaults on its obligation. Synthetic variable or floating rate securities include tender option bond receipts. Tender option bond receipts are derived from fixed-rate municipal bonds that are placed in a trust from which two classes of trust receipts are issued. These receipts represent proportionate interest in the underlying bonds. Interest payments are made on the bonds based upon a predetermined rate. Under certain circumstances, the holder of a trust receipt also may participate in any gain or loss on the sale of such bonds. Tender option bond trust receipts generally are structured as private placements and, accordingly, may be deemed to be restricted securities for purposes of the fund's investment limitations. WRAP AGREEMENTS may be entered into by the fund with insurance companies, banks or other financial institutions (wrapper providers). A wrap agreement typically obligates the wrapper provider to maintain the value of the assets covered under the agreement (covered assets) up to a specified maximum dollar amount upon the occurrence of certain specified events. The value is pre-determined using the purchase price of the securities plus interest at a specified rate minus an adjustment for any defaulted securities. The specified interest rate may be adjusted periodically under the terms of the agreement. While the rate typically will reflect movements in the market rates of interest, it may at times be less or more than the actual rate of income earned on the covered assets. The rate also can be impacted by defaulted securities and by purchase and redemption levels in the fund. The fund also pays a fee under the agreement, which reduces the rate as well. Wrap agreements may be used as a risk management technique intended to help minimize fluctuations in the fund's NAV. However, the fund's NAV will typically fluctuate at least minimally, and may fluctuate more at times when interest rates are fluctuating. Additionally, wrap agreements do not protect against losses the fund may incur if the issuers of portfolio securities do not make timely payments of interest and/or principal. A wrap agreement provider also could default on its obligations under the agreement. Therefore, the fund will only invest in a wrap provider with an investment-grade credit rating. There is no active trading market for wrap agreements and none is expected to develop. Therefore, wrap agreements are considered illiquid investments. There is no guarantee that the fund will be able to purchase any wrap agreements or replace ones that defaulted. Wrap agreements are valued using procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. There are risks that the value of a wrap agreement may not be sufficient to minimize the fluctuations in the fund's NAV. All of these factors might result in a decline in the value of the fund's shares. ZERO-COUPON, STEP-COUPON, AND PAY-IN-KIND SECURITIES are debt securities that do not make regular cash interest payments. Zero-coupon and step-coupon securities are sold at a deep discount to their face value. Pay-in-kind securities pay interest through the issuance of additional securities. Because such securities do not pay current cash income, the price of these securities can be volatile when interest rates fluctuate. While these securities do not pay current cash income, federal income tax law requires the holders of zero-coupon, step-coupon, and pay-in-kind securities to include in income each year the portion of the original issue discount (or deemed discount) and other non-cash income on such securities accruing that year. In order to continue to qualify as a "regulated investment company" or "RIC" under the Internal Revenue Code and avoid a certain excise tax, the fund may be required to distribute a portion of such discount and income and may be required to dispose of other portfolio securities, which may occur in periods of adverse market prices, in order to generate cash to meet these distribution requirements. 37 INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS The following investment limitations are fundamental investment polices and restrictions and may be changed only by vote of a majority of the fund's outstanding voting shares. The fund may not: 1) Concentrate investments in a particular industry or group of industries, as concentration is defined under the 1940 Act, or the rules or regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules and regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time; and 2) (i) Purchase or sell commodities, commodities contracts or, real estate; (ii) lend or borrow, (iii) issue senior securities, (iv) underwrite securities or (v) pledge, mortgage or hypothecate any of its assets, except as permitted (or not prohibited) by the 1940 Act, the rules or regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time. The following descriptions of the 1940 Act may assist investors in understanding the above policies and restrictions. CONCENTRATION. The SEC has presently defined concentration as investing 25% or more of an investment company's net assets in an industry or group of industries, with certain exceptions. BORROWING. The 1940 Act presently allows the fund to borrow from any bank (including pledging, mortgaging or hypothecating assets) in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets (not including temporary borrowings not in excess of 5% of its total assets). LENDING. Under the 1940 Act, the fund may only make loans if expressly permitted by its investment policies. The fund's non-fundamental investment policy on lending is set forth below. UNDERWRITING. Under the 1940 Act, underwriting securities involves the fund purchasing securities directly from an issuer for the purpose of selling (distributing) them or participating in any such activity either directly or indirectly. Under the 1940 Act, a diversified fund may not make any commitment as underwriter, if immediately thereafter the amount of its outstanding underwriting commitments, plus the value of its investments in securities of issuers (other than investment companies) of which it owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities, exceeds 25% of the value of its total assets. The foregoing restrictions does not apply to non-diversified funds. REAL ESTATE. The 1940 Act does not directly restrict the fund's ability to invest in real estate, but does require every fund to have a fundamental investment policy governing such investments. The fund has adopted a fundamental policy that would permit direct investment in real estate. However, the fund has adopted a non-fundamental investment policy that prohibits it from investing directly in real estate. This non-fundamental policy may be changed only by vote of the fund's Board of Trustees. SENIOR SECURITIES. Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by the fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities, although it provides allowances for certain borrowings and certain other investments, such as short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments, with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligation. 38 The following are non-fundamental investment policies and restrictions and may be changed by the Board of Trustees. THE FUND MAY NOT: 1) Sell securities short unless it owns the security or the right to obtain the security or equivalent securities, or unless it covers such short sale as required by current SEC rules and interpretations (transactions in futures contracts, options and other derivative instruments are not considered selling securities short). 2) Purchase securities on margin, except such short-term credits as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of securities and provided that margin deposits in connection with futures contracts, options on futures or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin. 3) Borrow money except that the fund may (i) borrow money from banks or through an interfund lending facility, if any, only for temporary or emergency purposes (and not for leveraging) and (ii) engage in reverse repurchase agreements with any party; provided that (i) and (ii) in combination do not exceed 33 1/3% of its total assets (any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced to the extent necessary to comply with the limitation within three days (not including Sundays and holidays)). 4) Lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties (this restriction does not apply to purchases of debt securities or repurchase agreements). 5) Invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. 6) Purchase or sell commodities, commodity contracts or real estate; provided that the fund may (i) (a) invest in securities of companies that own or invest in real estate or are engaged in the real estate business, including REITs, REIT-like structures and securities secured by real estate or interests therein and (b) the fund may hold and sell real estate or mortgages acquired on real estate acquired through default, liquidation or other distributions of an interest in real estate as a result of the fund's ownership of such securities; (ii) purchase or sell commodities contracts on financial instruments, such as futures contracts, options on such contracts, equity index participations and index participation contracts, and (iii) purchase securities of companies that deal in precious metals or interests therein. SUBSEQUENT CHANGES IN NET ASSETS Policies and investment limitations that state a maximum percentage of assets that may be invested in a security or other asset, or that set forth a quality standard shall be measured immediately after and as a result of the fund's acquisition of such security or asset, unless otherwise noted. Except with respect to limitations on borrowing and futures and option contracts, any subsequent change in net assets or other circumstances does not require the fund to sell an investment if it could not then make the same investment. With respect to the limitation on illiquid securities, in the event that a subsequent change in net assets or other circumstances causes the fund to exceed its limitation, the fund will take steps to bring the aggregate amount of illiquid instruments back within the limitations as soon as reasonably practicable. 39 MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND The fund is overseen by a Board of Trustees. The trustees are responsible for protecting shareholder interests. The trustees regularly meet to review the investment activities, contractual arrangements and the investment performance of the fund. The Board of Trustees met 5 times during the most recent fiscal year. Certain trustees are "interested persons." A trustee is considered an interested person of the Trust under the 1940 Act if he or she is an officer, director, or an employee of Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. ("CSIM") or Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab"). A trustee also may be considered an interested person of the Trust under the 1940 Act if he or she owns stock of The Charles Schwab Corporation, a publicly traded company and the parent company of the fund's investment adviser and distributor. Each of the officers and/or trustees also serves in the same capacity as described for the Trust, for The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Capital Trust and Schwab Annuity Portfolios (collectively referred to herein as the "Family of Investment Companies"), which as of August 31, 2007, included 59 funds. The tables below provide information about the trustees and officers for the Trust, which includes funds in this SAI. The "Fund Complex" includes The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, Schwab Capital Trust, Schwab Annuity Portfolios, Laudus Trust and Laudus Variable Insurance Trust. As of August 31, 2007, the Fund Complex included 70 funds. The address of each individual listed below is 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94104.
NUMBER OF NAME, YEAR OF BIRTH, AND PORTFOLIOS IN POSITION(S) WITH THE TRUST; FUND COMPLEX (TERM OF OFFICE AND LENGTH PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS DURING OVERSEEN BY OF TIME SERVED(1)) THE PAST FIVE YEARS THE TRUSTEE OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS --------------------------- ------------------------------- ------------- ------------------------------- INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES Mariann Byerwalter Chairman of JDN Corporate 70 Board 1 - Director, Redwood 1960 Advisory LLC. Trust, Inc. Trustee (Trustee of Schwab Board 2 - Director, PMI Group, Investments since 2000.) Inc.
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NUMBER OF NAME, YEAR OF BIRTH, AND PORTFOLIOS IN POSITION(S) WITH THE TRUST; FUND COMPLEX (TERM OF OFFICE AND LENGTH PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS DURING OVERSEEN BY OF TIME SERVED(1)) THE PAST FIVE YEARS THE TRUSTEE OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS --------------------------- ------------------------------- ------------- ------------------------------- Donald F. Dorward Chief Executive Officer, 59 None. 1931 Dorward & Associates (corporate Trustee management, marketing and (Trustee of Schwab communications consulting Investments since 1989.) firm). From 1996-1999, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Grey Advertising. Prior to 1996, President and Chief Executive Officer, Allen & Dorward Advertising. William A. Hasler Dean Emeritus, Haas School of 70 Board 1 - Director, Mission West 1941 Business, University of Properties. Trustee California, Berkeley. Until (Trustee of Schwab February 2004, Co-Chief Board 2 - Director, TOUSA. Investments since 2000.) Executive Officer, Aphton Corp. (bio-pharmaceuticals). Prior Board 3 - Director, to August 1998, Dean of the Harris-Stratex Networks. Haas School of Business, University of California, Board 4 - Director, Genitope Berkeley (higher education). Corp. Board 5 - Director & Non-Executive Chairman, Solectron Corp. Board 6 - Director, Ditech Networks. Robert G. Holmes Chairman, Chief Executive 59 None. 1931 Officer and Director, Semloh Trustee Financial, Inc. (international (Trustee of Schwab financial services and Investments since 1989.) investment advisory firm).
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NUMBER OF NAME, YEAR OF BIRTH, AND PORTFOLIOS IN POSITION(S) WITH THE TRUST; FUND COMPLEX (TERM OF OFFICE AND LENGTH PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS DURING OVERSEEN BY OF TIME SERVED(1)) THE PAST FIVE YEARS THE TRUSTEE OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS --------------------------- ------------------------------- ------------- ------------------------------- Gerald B. Smith Chairman and Chief Executive 59 Board 1 - Board of Cooper 1950 Officer and founder of Smith Industries. Trustee Graham & Co. (investment (Trustee of Schwab advisors). Board 2 - Chairman of the Audit Investments since 2000.) Committee of Oneok Partners LP. Donald R. Stephens Managing Partner, D.R. Stephens 59 None. 1938 & Company (investments). Prior Trustee to 1996, Chairman and Chief (Trustee of Schwab Executive Officer of North Investments since 1989.) American Trust (real estate investment trust). Michael W. Wilsey Chairman and Chief Executive 59 None. 1943 Officer, Wilsey Bennett, Inc. Trustee (real estate investment and (Trustee of Schwab management, and other Investments since 1989.) investments). INTERESTED TRUSTEES
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NUMBER OF NAME, YEAR OF BIRTH, AND PORTFOLIOS IN POSITION(S) WITH THE TRUST; FUND COMPLEX (TERM OF OFFICE AND LENGTH PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS DURING OVERSEEN BY OF TIME SERVED(1)) THE PAST FIVE YEARS THE TRUSTEE OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS --------------------------- ------------------------------- ------------- ------------------------------- Charles R. Schwab(2) Chairman, Chief Executive 59 None. 1937 Officer and Director, The Chairman and Trustee Charles Schwab Corporation, (Chairman and Trustee of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; Schwab Investments since Chairman and Director, Charles 1989.) Schwab Investment Management, Inc., Charles Schwab Bank, N. A.; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Schwab (SIS) Holdings Inc. I, Schwab International Holdings, Inc.; Chief Executive Officer and Director, Schwab Holdings, Inc.; Through June 2007, Director, U.S. Trust Company, N. A., U.S. Trust Corporation, United States Trust Company of New York. Until May 2003, Co-Chief Executive Officer, The Charles Schwab Corporation. Randall W. Merk(2) Executive Vice President and 70 None. 1954 President, Investment Trustee Management Services, Charles (Trustee of Schwab Schwab & Co., Inc.; Director, Investments since 2005.) Charles Schwab Asset Management (Ireland) Limited and Charles Schwab Worldwide Funds PLC. From September 2002 to July 2004, Chief Executive Officer and President, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. and Executive Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Prior to September 2002, President and Chief Investment Officer, American Century
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NUMBER OF NAME, YEAR OF BIRTH, AND PORTFOLIOS IN POSITION(S) WITH THE TRUST; FUND COMPLEX (TERM OF OFFICE AND LENGTH PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS DURING OVERSEEN BY OF TIME SERVED(1)) THE PAST FIVE YEARS THE TRUSTEE OTHER DIRECTORSHIPS --------------------------- ------------------------------- ------------- ------------------------------- Investment Management, and Director, American Century Companies, Inc.
NAME, YEAR OF BIRTH, AND POSITION(S) WITH THE TRUST; (TERM OF OFFICE AND LENGTH OF TIME SERVED(3)) PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- OFFICERS Randall W. Merk(2) See above. 1954 President and Chief Executive Officer (Officer of Schwab Investments since 2007.) George Pereira Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Charles 1964 Schwab Investment Management, Inc.; Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer Laudus Trust and Laudus Variable Insurance Trust; Director, (Officer of Schwab Investments since 2004.) Charles Schwab Worldwide Fund, PLC and Charles Schwab Asset Management (Ireland) Limited. Through June 2007, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, Excelsior Funds Inc., Excelsior Tax-Exempt Funds, Inc., and Excelsior Funds Trust; Chief Financial Officer, Mutual Fund Division, UST Advisers, Inc. From December 1999 to November 2004, Sr. Vice President, Financial Reporting, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Koji E. Felton Senior Vice President, Chief Counsel and Corporate Secretary, 1961 Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.; Senior Vice Secretary and Chief Legal Officer President and Deputy General Counsel, Charles Schwab & Co., (Officer of Schwab Investments since 1998.) Inc. Until 2006, Chief Legal Officer, Laudus Trust and Laudus Variable Insurance Trust. Through June 2007, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, Excelsior Funds Inc., Excelsior Tax-Exempt Funds, Inc., and Excelsior Funds Trust.
44
NAME, YEAR OF BIRTH, AND POSITION(S) WITH THE TRUST; (TERM OF OFFICE AND LENGTH OF TIME SERVED(3)) PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Randall Fillmore Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, Charles 1960 Schwab Investment Management, Inc.; Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and AML Officer Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; Chief Compliance Officer, Laudus (Officer of Schwab Investments since 2002.) Trust and Laudus Variable Insurance Trust. Through June, 2007, Chief Compliance Officer, Excelsior Funds Inc., Excelsior Tax-Exempt Funds, Inc., and Excelsior Funds Trust. From 2002 to 2003, Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. Kimon P. Daifotis Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer - Fixed 1959 Income, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. Prior to Senior Vice President and Chief Investment 2004, Vice President and Sr. Portfolio Manager, Charles Schwab Officer - Fixed Income Investment Management, Inc. (Officer of Schwab Investments since 2004.) Jeffrey M. Mortimer Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer - Equities, 1963 Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.; Vice President and Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Chief Investment Officer, Laudus Trust and Laudus Variable Officer - Equities Insurance Trust. Prior to 2004, Vice President and Sr. (Officer of Schwab Investments since 2004.) Portfolio Manager, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. Catherine MacGregor Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Charles Schwab 1964 Investment Management, Inc., and Laudus Trust and Laudus Vice President Variable Insurance Trust. Since 2006, Chief Counsel, Laudus (Officer of Schwab Investments since 2005.) Trust and Laudus Variable Insurance Trust. Until July 2005, Senior Associate, Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP. Cathy Sabo Vice President, Compliance, Charles Schwab Investment, 1964 Management, Inc., and Laudus Trust and Laudus Variable Vice President Insurance Trust; until September 2004, Vice President, Client, (Officer of Schwab Investments since 2005.) Sales & Services Controls, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Michael Haydel Vice President, Asset Management Client Services, Charles 1972 Schwab & Co., Inc.; Vice President and AML Officer, Laudus Vice President Trust and Laudus Variable Insurance Trust. Until March 2004, (Officer of Schwab Investments since 2006.) Director, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
(1) Trustees remain in office until they resign, retire or are removed by shareholder vote. The Schwab Funds(R) retirement policy requires that independent trustees elected after January 1, 2000 retire at age 72 or after twenty years as a trustee, whichever comes first. Independent trustees elected prior to January 1, 2000 will retire on the following schedule: Messrs. Holmes and Dorward will retire on December 31, 2007, and Messrs. Stephens and Wilsey will retire on December 31, 2010. (2) Mr. Schwab and Mr. Merk are Interested Trustees because they are employees of Schwab and/or the adviser. In addition to their employment with the investment adviser and the distributor, Messrs. Schwab and Merk also own stock of The Charles Schwab Corporation. 45 (3) The President, Treasurer and Secretary hold office until their respective successors are chosen and qualified or until he or she sooner dies, resigns, is removed or becomes disqualified. Each other officer serves at the pleasure of the Board. TRUSTEE COMMITTEES The Board of Trustees has established certain committees and adopted Committee charters with respect to those committees, each as described below: - The Audit and Compliance Committee (formerly the Audit/Portfolio Compliance Committee) has oversight responsibility for the integrity of the Trust's financial reporting processes and compliance policies, procedures and processes, and for the Trust's overall system of internal controls. This Committee is comprised of at least four Independent Trustees. Currently, Messrs. Hasler, Holmes, Dorward and Ms. Byerwalter are members of this Committee. The charter directs that the Committee must meet four times annually, with additional meetings as the Committee deems appropriate. The Committee met 4 times during the most recent fiscal year. - The primary purpose of the Governance Committee is to review and make recommendations to the Board regarding Trust governance-related matters, including but not limited to Board compensation practices, retirement policies and term limits, Board self-evaluations, the effectiveness and allocation of assignments and functions by the Board, the composition of committees of the Board, and the training of Trustees. The Committee is also responsible for selecting and nominating candidates to serve as trustees. There are no specific procedures in place to consider nominees recommended by shareholders, but such nominees would be considered if such nominations were submitted in accordance with Rule 14a-8 of the 1934 Act in conjunction with a shareholder meeting to consider the election of Trustees. This Committee is comprised of at least three Independent Trustees. Currently, Messrs. Hasler, Holmes, Wilsey and Ms. Byerwalter are members of this Committee. The charter directs that the Committee meets at such times and with such frequency as is deemed necessary or appropriate by the Committee. The Committee met 4 times during the most recent fiscal year. - The primary purpose of the Investment Oversight Committee is to oversee the investment activities of the Trust. This Committee is comprised of at least three Independent Trustees. Currently, Messrs. Smith, Stephens and Wilsey are members of this Committee. The charter directs that the Committee meets at such times and with such frequency as is deemed necessary or appropriate by the Committee. The Committee met 4 times during the most recent fiscal year. - The primary purposes of the Marketing, Distribution and Shareholder Services Committee are to review matters relating to the marketing of the Trust's shares; to oversee the quality and cost of shareholder services provided to the Trust and its shareholders pursuant to the shareholder servicing and/or administrative service plans; and to oversee the Trust's distribution-related arrangements, including the distribution-related services provided to the Trust and its shareholders. This Committee is comprised of at least three Independent Trustees. Currently, Messrs. Dorward, Smith and Stephens are members of this Committee. The charter directs that the Committee meets at such times and with such frequency as is deemed necessary or appropriate by the Committee. The Committee met 4 times during the most recent fiscal year. 46 TRUSTEE COMPENSATION The following table provides trustee compensation for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2007. SCHWAB INVESTMENTS
PENSION OR ($) RETIREMENT TOTAL AGGREGATE BENEFITS ACCRUED COMPENSATION COMPENSATION AS PART OF FUND FROM FUND NAME OF TRUSTEE FROM THE TRUST EXPENSES COMPLEX(1) --------------- -------------- ---------------- ------------ INTERESTED TRUSTEES Charles R. Schwab $ 0 N/A $ 0 Randall W. Merk $ 0 N/A $ 0 INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES Mariann Byerwalter(2) $32,879 $6,814 $364,109 Donald F. Dorward $32,879 N/A $202,725 William A. Hasler(2) $32,879 $6,814 $366,479 Robert G. Holmes $32,879 N/A $202,725 Gerald B. Smith $32,879 N/A $202,725 Donald R. Stephens $32,879 N/A $202,725 Michael W. Wilsey $32,879 N/A $202,725
(1) The Fund Complex includes The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, Schwab Capital Trust, Schwab Annuity Portfolios, Laudus Trust and Laudus Variable Insurance Trust. As of August 31, 2007, the Fund Complex consisted of 70 funds. (2) Total compensation amounts include payments relating to the Excelsior Funds, formerly an affiliated Fund group included in the Fund Complex and on whose Board of Directors/Trustees Ms. Byerwalter and Mr. Hasler served on prior to July 1, 2007. Prior to July 1, 2007, the Fund Complex consisted of 99 funds, which included 27 Excelsior Funds. SECURITIES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH TRUSTEE The following table provides each Trustee's equity ownership of the fund and ownership of all registered investment companies overseen by each Trustee in the Family of Investment Companies as of December 31, 2006. As of December 31, 2006, the Family of Investment Companies included 57 funds. 47
DOLLAR RANGE AGGREGATE DOLLAR OF TRUSTEE RANGE OF TRUSTEE OWNERSHIP OF OWNERSHIP IN THE EQUITY SECURITIES FAMILY OF NAME OF TRUSTEE IN THE FUND INVESTMENT COMPANIES --------------- ----------------- -------------------- INTERESTED TRUSTEES Charles R. Schwab None Randall W. Merk None INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES Mariann Byerwalter None Donald F. Dorward None All William A. Hasler None Over $100,000 Robert G. Holmes None Gerald B. Smith None Donald R. Stephens None Michael W. Wilsey None
CODE OF ETHICS The fund, its investment adviser and Schwab have adopted a Code of Ethics (Code) as required under the 1940 Act. Subject to certain conditions or restrictions, the Code permits the trustees, directors, officers or advisory representatives of the fund or the investment adviser or the directors or officers of Schwab to buy or sell directly or indirectly securities for their own accounts. This includes securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. Securities transactions by some of these individuals may be subject to prior approval of the investment adviser's Chief Compliance Officer or alternate. Most securities transactions are subject to quarterly reporting and review requirements. CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES As of September 1, 2007, the officers and trustees of the fund, as a group, owned of record or beneficially less than 1% of the outstanding voting securities of any class of the fund. As of September 1, 2007, no persons or entities owned, of record or beneficially, more than 5% of the outstanding voting securities of any class of the fund. INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES INVESTMENT ADVISER Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM or the investment adviser), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation, 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco CA 94104, serves as the fund's investment adviser and administrator pursuant to an Investment Advisory and Administration Agreement (Advisory Agreement) between it and the Trust. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. 48 (Schwab), 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco CA 94104, is an affiliate of the investment adviser and is the Trust's distributor, shareholder services agent and transfer agent. Charles R. Schwab is the founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Director of The Charles Schwab Corporation. As a result of his ownership of and interests in The Charles Schwab Corporation, Mr. Schwab may be deemed to be a controlling person of the investment adviser and Schwab. ADVISORY AGREEMENT After an initial two year period, the continuation of the fund's Advisory Agreement must be specifically approved at least annually (1) by the vote of the trustees or by a vote of the shareholders of the fund, and (2) by the vote of a majority of the trustees who are not parties to the investment advisory agreement or "interested persons" of any party (the "Independent Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. Each year, the Board of Trustees calls and holds a meeting to decide whether to renew the Advisory Agreement between the Trust and CSIM with respect to existing funds in the Trust. In preparation for the meeting, the Board requests and reviews a wide variety of materials provided by the funds' investment adviser, as well as extensive data provided by third parties, and the Independent Trustees receive advice from counsel to the Independent Trustees. The annual fee, payable monthly, is 0.60% of the Funds' average daily net assets not in excess of $500 million, 0.55% of such net assets over $500 million but not in excess of $1 billion and 0.50% of such assets over $1 billion. Through 1/31/08, Schwab and the investment adviser have agreed to limit the net operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes and certain non-routine expenses) of each of the Investor Shares, Select Shares, and Institutional Shares to 0.00%. For the period 2/1/08 through 6/30/09, Schwab and the investment adviser have agreed to limit the annual operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes and certain non-routine expenses) of the Investor Shares, Select Shares(R) and Institutional Shares of the fund to 0.86%, 0.72% and 0.63%, respectively, of each share class' average daily net assets. The amount of the expense caps is determined in coordination with the Board of Trustees, and the expense cap is intended to limit the effects on shareholders of expenses incurred in the ordinary operation of the fund. The expense cap is not intended to cover all fund expenses, and the fund's expenses may exceed the expense cap. For example, the expense cap does not cover investment-related expenses, such as brokerage commissions, interest, taxes and the fees and expenses of pooled investment vehicles, such as REITs and other investment companies, that are held by the fund, nor does it cover extraordinary or non-routine expenses, such as shareholder meeting costs. DISTRIBUTOR Pursuant to a Distribution Agreement, Schwab is the principal underwriter for shares of the fund and is the Trust's agent for the purpose of the continuous offering of the fund's shares. The fund pays the cost of the prospectuses and shareholder reports to be prepared and delivered to existing shareholders. Schwab pays such costs when the described materials are used in connection with the offering of shares to prospective investors and for supplemental sales literature and advertising. Schwab receives no fee under the Distribution Agreement. SHAREHOLDER SERVICES AND TRANSFER AGENT 49 Schwab provides fund information to shareholders, including share price, reporting shareholder ownership and account activities and distributing the fund's prospectuses, financial reports and other informational literature about the funds. Schwab maintains the office space, equipment and personnel necessary to provide these services. Schwab also distributes and markets Schwab Funds(R) and provides other services. At its own expense, Schwab may engage third party entities, as appropriate, to perform some or all of these services. For the services performed as shareholder services agent under its contract with the fund, Schwab is entitled to receive an annual fee, payable monthly from each class of shares of the fund, in the amount of 0.20% of the Investor Shares' average daily net assets,0.05% of the Select Shares' average daily net assets and 0.05% of the Institutional Shares' average daily net assets. For the services performed as transfer agent under its contract with the fund, Schwab is entitled to receive an annual fee, payable monthly from each class of shares of the fund, in the amount of 0.05% of the Investor Shares' average daily net assets, 0.05% of the Select Shares' average daily net assets and 0.05% of the Institutional Shares' average daily net assets. CUSTODIAN AND FUND ACCOUNTANT State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as custodian and fund accountant for the fund. The custodian is responsible for the daily safekeeping of securities and cash held or sold by the fund. The accountant maintains the books and records related to the fund's transactions. INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM The fund's independent registered public accounting firm, Pricewaterhouse- Coopers LLP, audits and reports on the annual financial statements of each series of the Trust and reviews certain regulatory reports and each fund's federal income tax return. They also perform other professional accounting, auditing, tax and advisory services when the Trust engages them to do so. Their address is 3 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA 94111. LEGAL COUNSEL Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP serves as counsel to the Trust. PORTFOLIO MANAGER OTHER ACCOUNTS. In addition to the fund, the portfolio managers are responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The accounts listed below are not subject to a performance-based advisory fee. The information below is provided as of August 31, 2007. 50
REGISTERED INVESTMENT COMPANIES (THIS AMOUNT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FUND IN THIS STATEMENT OF OTHER POOLED INVESTMENT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION) VEHICLES OTHER ACCOUNTS ------------------------ ------------------------ ------------------------ NUMBER OF NUMBER OF NUMBER OF NAME ACCOUNTS TOTAL ASSETS ACCOUNTS TOTAL ASSETS ACCOUNTS TOTAL ASSETS ---- --------- ------------ --------- ------------ --------- ------------ Kimon Daifotis, CFA 36 $174 billion 0 0 118 $88 million Matthew Hastings, CFA 9 $14 billion 0 0 118 $88 million Steven Hung 9 $14 billion 0 0 118 $88 million Alfonso Portillo, Jr. 7 $14 billion 0 0 118 $88 million Andrew Tikofsky, PhD 9 $14 billion 0 0 118 $88 million
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. A portfolio manager's management of other managed accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with its management of the fund's investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other managed accounts, on the other. The other managed accounts include other mutual funds advised by CSIM (collectively, the "Other Managed Accounts"). The Other Managed Accounts might have similar investment objectives as the fund, track the same index the fund tracks or otherwise hold, purchase, or sell securities that are eligible to be held, purchased, or sold by the fund. While the Portfolio Managers' management of Other Managed Accounts may give rise to the potential conflicts of interest listed below, CSIM does not believe that the conflicts, if any, are material or, to the extent any such conflicts are material, CSIM believes it has adopted policies and procedures that are designed to manage those conflicts in an appropriate way. Knowledge of the Timing and Size of Fund Trades. A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the Portfolio Managers' day-to-day management of the fund. Because of their positions with the fund, the Portfolio Managers know the size, timing, and possible market impact of fund trades. It is theoretically possible that the Portfolio Managers could use this information to the advantage of the Other Managed Accounts they manage and to the possible detriment of the fund. However, CSIM has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to allocate investment opportunities on a fair and equitable basis over time. When it is determined to be in the best interest of both accounts, the Portfolio Managers may aggregate trade orders for the Other Managed Accounts with those of the fund. All aggregated orders are subject to CSIM's aggregation and allocation policy and procedures, which provide, among other things, that (i) a Portfolio Manager will not aggregate orders unless he or she believes such aggregation is consistent with his or her duty to seek best execution; (ii) no account will be favored over any other account; (iii) each account that participates in an aggregated order will participate at the average security price with all transaction costs shared on a pro-rata basis; and (iv) if the aggregated order cannot be executed in full, the partial execution is allocated pro-rata among the participating accounts in accordance with the size of each account's order. Investment Opportunities. A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the Portfolio Managers' management of the fund and Other Managed Accounts which, in theory, may allow them to allocate investment opportunities in a way that favors the Other Managed Accounts over the fund, which conflict of interest may be exacerbated to the extent that CSIM or the Portfolio Managers receive, or expect to receive, greater compensation from their management of the Other Managed Accounts than the fund. Notwithstanding this theoretical conflict of interest, it is CSIM's policy to manage each account based on its investment objectives and related restrictions and, as discussed above, CSIM has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to allocate investment opportunities on a fair and equitable basis over time and in a manner consistent with each account's investment objectives and related restrictions. For example, while the Portfolio Managers may buy for an Other Managed Account securities that differ in identity or quantity from securities bought for the fund or refrain from purchasing securities for an Other Managed Account that they are otherwise buying for the fund in an effort to outperform its specific benchmark, such an approach might not be suitable for the fund given its investment objectives and related restrictions. 51 COMPENSATION. Charles Schwab & Co., the Trust's distributor, compensates each CSIM Portfolio Manager for his or her management of the fund. Each Portfolio Manager's compensation consists of a fixed annual ("base") salary and a discretionary bonus. The base salary is determined considering compensation payable for a similar position across the investment management industry and an evaluation of the individual Portfolio Manager's overall performance such as the portfolio manager's contribution to the firm's overall investment process, being good corporate citizens and contribution to the firm's asset growth and business relationships. The discretionary bonus is determined in accordance with the CSIM Portfolio Management Incentive Plan (the "Plan"), which is designed to reward consistent and superior investment performance relative to established benchmarks and/or industry peer groups. The Plan is an annual incentive plan that provides quarterly advances at management's discretion based on their determination of whether funds are available under the Plan as well as factors such as the portfolio manager's contribution to the firm's overall investment process, being good corporate citizens, and contribution to the firm's asset growth and business relationships. The Plan consists of two independent funding components: 75% of the funding is based on fund investment performance and 25% of the funding is based on Schwab's corporate performance. - FUND INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE Funding into this Plan component is determined by fund performance relative to a Lipper Category or an established industry peer group. Peer groups are determined by the CSIM Peer Group Committee and are reviewed on a regular basis. - The fund's investment performance ranking relative to its peer group or respective Lipper Category ("fund ranking") is determined based on its 1-year and 3-year pre-tax return before expenses. In determining the fund ranking, 75% of the weighting is based on the 3-year pre-tax performance and 25% is based on the 1-year pre-tax performance. The 1-year and 3-year performance numbers are calculated based on a calendar year. A composite rating for each Portfolio Manager is then determined, based on a weighted average of all of their individual funds' rankings. The specific weight given to the fund in that calculation is determined by CSIM's senior management. - SCHWAB CORPORATE PERFORMANCE Funding into this Plan component is determined by Schwab corporate performance which is based on two financial performance measures: (1) year-to-date net revenue growth; and (2) Schwab's profit margin. The actual amount of funding into the Plan is discretionary and is determined by Schwab's senior management following the end of each quarter. The Portfolio Managers' compensation is not based on the value of the assets held in the fund's portfolio. OWNERSHIP OF FUND SHARES. Because the fund had not commenced operations prior to the date of this SAI, no information regarding the Portfolio Managers' "beneficial ownership" of shares of the fund has been included. This information will appear in a future version of the SAI. BROKERAGE ALLOCATION AND OTHER PRACTICES 52 PORTFOLIO TURNOVER For reporting purposes, the fund's turnover rate is calculated by dividing the value of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year, whichever is less, by the monthly average value of portfolio securities the fund owned during the fiscal year. When making the calculation, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less ("short-term securities") are excluded. PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS The investment adviser makes decisions with respect to the purchase and sale of portfolio securities on behalf of the fund. The investment adviser is responsible for implementing these decisions, including the negotiation of commissions and the allocation of principal business and portfolio brokerage. Purchases and sales of securities on a stock exchange or certain riskless principal transactions placed on NASDAQ are typically effected through brokers who charge a commission for their services. Purchases and sales of fixed income securities may be transacted with the issuer, the issuer's underwriter, or a dealer. The fund does not usually pay brokerage commissions on purchases and sales of fixed income securities, although the price of the securities generally includes compensation, in the form of a spread or a mark-up or mark-down, which is not disclosed separately. The prices the fund pays to underwriters of newly-issued securities usually include a commission paid by the issuer to the underwriter. Transactions placed through dealers who are serving as primary market makers reflect the spread between the bid and asked prices. The money market securities in which the fund invests are traded primarily in the over-the-counter market on a net basis and do not normally involve either brokerage commissions or transfer taxes. It is expected that the cost of executing portfolio securities transactions of the fund will primarily consist of dealer spreads and underwriting commissions. The investment adviser seeks to obtain the best execution in executing portfolio transactions. The investment adviser may take a number of factors into account in selecting brokers or dealers to execute these transactions. Such factors may include, without limitation, the following: execution price; brokerage commission or dealer spread; size or type of the transaction; nature or character of the markets; clearance or settlement capability; reputation; financial strength and stability of the broker or dealer; efficiency of execution and error resolution; block trading capabilities; willingness to execute related or unrelated difficult transactions in the future; order of call; or provision of additional brokerage or research services or products. The investment adviser may cause the fund to pay a higher commission than otherwise obtainable from other brokers or dealers in return for brokerage or research services or products if the investment adviser believes that such commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided. In addition to agency transactions, the investment adviser may receive brokerage and research services or products in connection with certain riskless principal transactions, in accordance with applicable SEC and other regulatory guidelines. In both instances, these services or products may include: economic, industry, or company research reports or investment recommendations; subscriptions to financial publications or research data compilations; compilations of securities prices, earnings, dividends, and similar data; computerized databases; quotation equipment and services; research or analytical computer software and services; products or services that assist in effecting transactions, including services of third-party computer systems developers directly related to research and brokerage activities; and effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance and settlement). The investment adviser may use research services furnished by brokers or dealers in servicing all client accounts and not all services may necessarily be used in connection with the account that paid commissions to the broker or dealer providing such services. 53 The investment adviser may receive a service from a broker or dealer that has both a "research" and a "non-research" use. When this occurs, the investment adviser will make a good faith allocation, under all the circumstances, between the research and non-research uses of the service. The percentage of the service that is used for research purposes may be paid for with client commissions, while the investment adviser will use its own funds to pay for the percentage of the service that is used for non-research purposes. In making this good faith allocation, the investment adviser faces a potential conflict of interest, but the investment adviser believes that that the costs of such services may be appropriately allocated to their anticipated research and non-research uses. The fund may purchase new issues of securities for clients in a fixed price offering. In these situations, the seller may be a member of the selling group that will, in addition to selling securities, provide the investment adviser with research services, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations permitting these types of arrangements. The investment adviser may place orders with electronic communications networks or other alternative trading systems. Placing orders with electronic communications networks or other alternative trading systems may enable the funds to trade directly with other institutional holders. At times, this may allow the funds to trade larger blocks than would be possible trading through a single market maker. The investment adviser may aggregate securities sales or purchases among two or more clients. The investment adviser will not aggregate transactions unless it believes such aggregation is consistent with its duty to seek best execution for each affected client and is consistent with the terms of the investment advisory agreement for such client. In any single transaction in which purchases and/or sales of securities of any issuer for the account of the fund are aggregated with other accounts managed by the investment adviser, the actual prices applicable to the transaction will be averaged among the accounts for which the transaction is effected, including the account of the fund. In determining when and to what extent to use Schwab or any other affiliated broker-dealer as its broker for executing orders for the fund on securities exchanges, the investment adviser follows procedures, adopted by the Board of Trustees, that are designed to ensure that affiliated brokerage commissions (if relevant) are reasonable and fair in comparison to unaffiliated brokerage commissions for comparable transactions. The Board reviews the procedures annually and approves and reviews transactions involving affiliated brokers quarterly. PROXY VOTING The Board of Trustees of the Trust has delegated the responsibility for voting proxies to CSIM through its Advisory Agreement. The Trustees have adopted CSIM's Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures with respect to proxies voted on behalf of the various Schwab Funds portfolios. A description of CSIM's Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures is included in Appendix B. The Trust is required to disclose annually the fund's complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX. The fund's proxy voting record for the most recent 12 month period ended June 30th is available by visiting the Schwab website at http://www.schwab.com/schwabfunds. The fund's Form N-PX will also be available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE The fund's Board of Trustees has approved policies and procedures that govern the timing and circumstances regarding the disclosure of fund portfolio holdings information to shareholders and third parties. These policies and procedures are designed to ensure that disclosure of information regarding the fund's portfolio securities is in the best interests of fund shareholders, and include procedures to address 54 conflicts between the interests of the fund's shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the fund's investment adviser, principal underwriter or any affiliated person of the fund, its investment adviser, or its principal underwriter, on the other. Pursuant to such procedures, the Board has authorized the president of the fund to authorize the release of the fund's portfolio holdings, as necessary, in conformity with the foregoing principles. The Board exercises on-going oversight of the disclosure of fund portfolio holdings by overseeing the implementation and enforcement of the fund's policies and procedures by the Chief Compliance Officer and by considering reports and recommendations by the Chief Compliance Officer concerning any material compliance matters. The Board will receive periodic updates, at least annually, regarding entities which were authorized to be provided "early disclosure" (as defined below) of the fund's portfolio holdings information. A complete list of the fund's portfolio holdings is published on the Schwab Funds website at http://www.schwab.com/schwabfunds, under "Prospectuses and Reports", typically 60-80 days after the end of the fund's fiscal quarter. The portfolio holdings information available on the Schwab Funds' website is the same that is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form N-Q or Form N-CSR. In addition, the fund's top ten holdings list is posted on the Schwab Funds website monthly, typically with a 10-day lag. In addition to the top ten holdings information, the fund also provides on the website monthly information regarding certain attributes of its investment holdings such as its sector weightings, composition, credit quality and duration and maturity, as applicable. The information on the website is publicly available to all categories of persons. The fund may disclose portfolio holdings information to certain persons and entities prior to and more frequently than the public disclosure of such information ("early disclosure"). The president may authorize early disclosure of portfolio holdings information to such parties at differing times and/or with different lag times provided that (a) the president of the fund determines that the disclosure is in the best interests of the fund and that there are no conflicts of interest between the fund's shareholders and fund's adviser and distributor; and (b) the recipient is, either by contractual agreement or otherwise by law, required to maintain the confidentiality of the information. In addition, the fund's service providers including, without limitation, CSIM, State Street Bank and Trust Company, auditor, proxy voting service providers as listed on Appendix B, pricing information vendors, as described in the "Pricing of Shares" section, publisher, printer and mailing agent may receive early disclosure of portfolio holdings information as frequently as daily in connection with the services they perform for the fund. Service providers will be subject to a duty of confidentiality with respect to any portfolio holdings information they receive whether imposed by the provisions of the service provider's contract with the Trust or by the nature of its relationship with the trust. The fund's policies and procedures prohibit the fund, the fund's investment adviser or any related party from receiving any compensation or other consideration in connection with the disclosure of portfolio holdings information. DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST The fund is a series of Schwab Investments. Schwab Investments was organized under Massachusetts law on October 26, 1990. The fund may hold special shareholder meetings, which may cause the fund to incur non-routine expenses. These meetings may be called for purposes such as electing trustees, changing fundamental policies and amending management contracts. Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each share owned 55 and may vote by proxy or in person. Proxy materials will be mailed to shareholders prior to any meetings, and will include a voting card and information explaining the matters to be voted upon. The bylaws of the Trust provides that a majority of shares entitled to vote shall be a quorum for the transaction of business at a shareholders' meeting, except that where any provision of law, or of the Declaration of Trust or of the bylaws permits or requires that (1) holders of any series shall vote as a series, then a majority of the aggregate number of shares of that series entitled to vote shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business by that series, or (2) holders of any class shall vote as a class, then a majority of the aggregate number of shares of that class entitled to vote shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business by that class. Any lesser number shall be sufficient for adjournments. Any adjourned session or sessions may be held, within a reasonable time after the date set for the original meeting, without the necessity of further notice. The Declaration of Trust specifically authorizes the Board of Trustees to terminate the Trust (or any of its investment portfolios) by notice to the shareholders without shareholder approval. Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of a Massachusetts business trust could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the Trust's obligations. The Declaration of Trust, however, disclaims shareholder liability for the Trust's acts or obligations and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Trust or the trustees. In addition, the Declaration of Trust provides for indemnification out of the property of an investment portfolio in which a shareholder owns or owned shares for all losses and expenses of such shareholder or former shareholder if he or she is held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust solely by reason of being or having been a shareholder. Moreover, the Trust will be covered by insurance which the trustees consider adequate to cover foreseeable tort claims. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is considered remote, because it is limited to circumstances in which a disclaimer is inoperative and the Trust itself is unable to meet its obligations. There is a remote possibility that the fund could become liable for a misstatement in the prospectus or SAI about another fund. As more fully described in the Declaration of Trust, the trustees may each year, or more frequently, distribute to the shareholders of each series accrued income less accrued expenses and any net realized capital gains less accrued expenses. Distributions of each year's income of each series shall be distributed pro rata to shareholders in proportion to the number of shares of each series held by each of them. Distributions will be paid in cash or shares or a combination thereof as determined by the trustees. Distributions paid in shares will be paid at the net asset value as determined in accordance with the bylaws. PURCHASE, REDEMPTION, DELIVERY OF SHAREHOLDER DOCUMENTS AND PRICING OF SHARES PURCHASING AND REDEEMING SHARES OF THE FUNDS The fund is open each day that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open (business days). The NYSE's trading session is normally conducted from 9:30 a.m. Eastern time until 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, although some days, such as in advance of and following holidays, the NYSE's 56 trading session closes early. The following holiday closings are currently scheduled for 2007: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Except as discussed below, you cannot place orders directly with the fund. You may invest in the fund through an intermediary by placing orders through your brokerage account at Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., or an account with another broker/dealer, investment adviser, 401(k) plan, employee benefit plan, administrator, bank, or other financial intermediary that is authorized to accept orders on behalf of the fund. Only orders that are received in good order by the fund's transfer agent prior to the close of the NYSE's trading session will be executed that day at the fund's (or class') share price calculated that day. On any day that the NYSE closes early the fund reserves the right to advance the time by which purchase, redemption and exchanges orders must be received by the fund's transfer agent that day in order to be executed that day at that day's share price. As long as the fund or Schwab follow reasonable procedures to confirm that an investor's telephone or Internet order is genuine, they will not be liable for any losses the investor may experience due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. These procedures may include requiring a form of personal identification or other confirmation before acting upon any telephone or Internet order, providing written confirmation of telephone or Internet orders and tape recording all telephone orders. Only Eligible Investors (as defined below) may purchase Institutional Shares directly from the fund's sub-transfer agent. Eligible Investors include, but are not limited to, qualified and non-qualified employee benefit plans (including but not limited to defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, 401(k) plans), foundations and endowments, banks, trusts, investment companies and corporate capital and cash management accounts. Potential investors that are, or are investing on behalf of, natural persons will not be considered Eligible Investors. The fund reserves the right to determine which potential investors qualify as Eligible Investors. Institutional Shares held by a non-Eligible Investor are subject to involuntary redemption by the fund. You must satisfy the investor eligibility requirements (set forth at above) in order to place direct orders for the fund's Institutional Shares. Eligible Investors must open an account with the fund through the fund's sub-transfer agent, Boston Financial Data Services (sub-transfer agent), prior to placing direct orders. You may obtain an account application by calling the sub-transfer agent at 1-800-407-0256. Your completed application and supporting documents must be returned to, and accepted by, the sub-transfer agent before you can place direct orders. You cannot place direct orders through your Schwab account or through your account at another intermediary. You cannot place direct orders by mail and cannot pay for purchases by check. To purchase Institutional Shares, you must call the sub-transfer agent at 1-800-407-0256 prior to the close of the fund (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time or the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), whichever is earlier) to place your order and to receive wire instructions. Orders received by the sub-transfer agent in good order on or prior to the close of the fund will be processed at the net asset value per share of the fund for that day. Your wired funds must be received and accepted by the sub-transfer agent prior to the close of the fund on settlement day. Please note that Institutional Shares that were purchased directly from the fund through its sub-transfer agent can only be redeemed by telephone. Also, the sub-transfer agent may only act on telephone instructions believed by the sub-transfer agent to be genuine. The sub-transfer agent's records of such instructions are binding on the shareholder. The fund and its service providers (including the sub-transfer agent, Schwab and CSIM) are not responsible for any losses or costs that may arise from following telephone instructions that the sub-transfer agent reasonably believes to be genuine. The sub-transfer agent will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated are genuine. These 57 procedures include tape recording of telephone instructions and requiring some form of personal identification prior to acting upon instructions received by telephone. Share certificates will not be issued in order to avoid additional administrative costs, however, share ownership records are maintained by Schwab. The Trust's Declaration of Trust provides that shares may be automatically redeemed if held by a shareholder in an amount less than the minimum required by the fund or share class. The fund's minimum initial investments and minimum balance requirements, if any, are set forth in the prospectus. These minimums may be waived for certain institutional and retirement plan accounts, including clients of Schwab Institutional and Schwab Corporate Services retirement plans, and for shareholders who roll into an IRA from an exempted retirement plan account. These minimums may also be waived for certain other investors, including trustees, officers and employees of Schwab, and for certain investment programs, including programs for retirement savings, education savings, or charitable giving. Schwab may receive other compensation for providing services to these clients, investors and programs. Certain investment managers, including CSIM and managers in Schwab Institutional, may aggregate the investments of their underlying customer accounts for purposes of meeting the Select and Institutional Shares initial minimum investment and minimum balance requirements. In order to aggregate investments for these purposes, investment managers must purchase shares through a financial institution, such as a broker, that has been approved by the fund or its distributor and that has the capability to process purchase and redemption orders and to monitor the balances of the managers' underlying customer accounts on an aggregated basis. The fund has made an election with the SEC to pay in cash all redemptions requested by any shareholder of record limited in amount during any 90-day period to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of its net assets at the beginning of such period. This election is irrevocable without the SEC's prior approval. Redemption requests in excess of these limits may be paid, in whole or in part, in investment securities or in cash, as the Board of Trustees may deem advisable. Payment will be made wholly in cash unless the Board of Trustees believes that economic or market conditions exist that would make such payment a detriment to the best interests of the fund. If redemption proceeds are paid in investment securities, such securities will be valued as set forth in "Pricing of Shares." A redeeming shareholder would normally incur transaction costs if he or she were to convert the securities to cash. The fund is designed for long-term investing. Because short-term trading activities can disrupt the smooth management of the fund and increase its expenses, the fund reserves the right to refuse any purchase or exchange order, or large purchase or exchange orders, including any purchase or exchange order which appears to be associated with short-term trading activities or "market timing." Because market timing decisions to buy and sell securities typically are based on an individual investor's market outlook, including such factors as the perceived strength of the economy or the anticipated direction of interest rates, it is difficult for the fund to determine in advance what purchase or exchange orders may be deemed to be associated with market timing or short-term trading activities. More information regarding the fund's policies regarding "market timing" is included in the fund's prospectus. As explained in more detail in the fund's prospectus, the fund charges a redemption fee of 2.00% on shares sold or exchanged 30 days or less after purchasing them. The fund reserves the right to waive the redemption fee if the fund or its service providers believe that such waiver is consistent with the best interests of the fund and its long-term shareholders. 58 Shares of the fund may be held only through a Schwab account or certain third-party investment providers that have an arrangement with Schwab. If you close your Schwab account, your fund shares may be redeemed unless you first transfer them to such a third-party investment provider. The fund's share price and principal value change, and when you sell your shares they may be worth less than what you paid for them. EXCHANGING SHARES OF THE FUND Except as discussed herein, shares of any Schwab Fund(R), including any class of shares, may be sold and shares of any other Schwab Fund or class purchased, provided the minimum investment and any other requirements of the fund or class purchased are satisfied. Without limiting this privilege, "an exchange order," which is a simultaneous order to sell shares of one fund or class and automatically invest the proceeds in another fund or class, may not be executed between shares of Sweep Investments(TM) and shares of non-Sweep Investments. In addition, there are no exchange privileges for Institutional Shares purchased directly from the fund through its sub-transfer agent. Shares of Sweep Investments may be bought and sold automatically pursuant to the terms and conditions of your Schwab account agreement or by direct order as long as you meet the minimums for direct investments. In addition, different exchange policies may apply to Schwab Funds that are bought and sold through third-party investment providers and the exchange privilege between Schwab Funds may not be available through third-party investment providers. The fund and Schwab reserve certain rights with regard to exchanging shares of the fund. These rights include the right to: (i) refuse any purchase or exchange order that may negatively impact the fund's operations; (ii) refuse orders that appear to be associated with short-term trading activities; and (iii) modify or terminate the exchange privilege upon 60 days' written notice to shareholders. DELIVERY OF SHAREHOLDER DOCUMENTS Typically once a year, an updated prospectus will be mailed to shareholders describing the fund's investment strategies, risks and shareholder policies. Twice a year, financial reports will be mailed to shareholders describing the fund's performance and investment holdings. In order to eliminate duplicate mailings of shareholder documents, each household may receive one copy of these documents, under certain conditions. This practice is commonly called "householding." If you want to receive multiple copies, you may write or call your fund at the address or telephone number on the front of this SAI. Your instructions will be effective within 30 days of receipt by Schwab. PRICING OF SHARES Each business day, each share class of the fund calculates its share price, or NAV, as of the close of the NYSE (generally 4 p.m. Eastern time). This means that NAVs are calculated using the values of the fund's portfolio securities as of the close of the NYSE. Such values are required to be determined in one of two ways: securities for which market quotations are readily available are required to be valued at current market value; and securities for which market quotations are not readily available or the investment adviser deems them to be unreliable are required to be valued at fair value using procedures approved by the Board of Trustees. Shareholders of the fund should be aware that because foreign markets are often open on weekends and other days when the fund is closed, the value of some of the fund's securities may change on days when it is not possible to buy or sell shares of the fund. 59 The fund uses approved pricing services to provide values for their portfolio securities. Current market values are generally determined by the approved pricing services as follows: securities traded on stock exchanges, excluding the NASDAQ National Market System, are valued at the last-quoted sales price on the exchange on which such securities are primarily traded (closing values), or, lacking any sales, at the mean between the bid and ask prices; securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at the last reported sales price that day, or, if no sales are reported, at the mean between the bid and ask prices. Securities listed on the NASDAQ National Market System are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. In addition, securities that are primarily traded on foreign exchanges are generally valued at the preceding closing values of such securities on their respective exchanges with these values then translated into U.S. dollars at the current exchange rate. Fixed income securities normally are valued based on valuations provided by approved pricing services. Securities may be fair valued pursuant to procedures approved by the fund's Board of Trustees when approved pricing services do not provide a value for a security, a furnished price appears manifestly incorrect or events occur prior to the close of the NYSE that materially affect the furnished price. The Board of Trustees regularly reviews fair value determinations made by the funds pursuant to the procedures. TAXATION The following is only a summary of certain additional federal income tax considerations generally affecting the fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the federal, state, local or foreign tax treatment of the fund or its shareholders, and the discussion here and in the Prospectus is not intended to be a substitute for careful tax planning. This discussion of federal income tax consequences is based on the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this Statement of Additional Information. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein. FEDERAL TAX INFORMATION FOR THE FUND It is the fund's policy to qualify for taxation as a "regulated investment company" (a "RIC") by meeting the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). By qualifying as a RIC, the fund expects to eliminate or reduce to a nominal amount the federal income tax to which it is subject. If the fund does not qualify as a RIC under the Code, it will be subject to federal income tax, at regular corporate rates on its net income, including any net realized capital gains. The fund is treated as a separate entity for federal income tax purposes and is not combined with the Trust's other funds. The fund intends to qualify as a RIC so that it will be relieved of federal income tax on that part of its income that is distributed to shareholders. In order to qualify for treatment as a RIC, the fund must distribute annually to its shareholders at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (generally, net investment income plus the excess, if any, of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital losses) and also must meet several additional requirements. Among these requirements are the following: (i) at least 90% of the fund's gross income each taxable year must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock or securities or currencies and net income derived from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership; (ii) at the close of each quarter of the fund's taxable year, at least 50% of the value of its total assets must be represented by cash and cash items, U.S. Government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount that does 60 not exceed 5% of the value of the fund's assets and that does not represent more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer; and (iii) at the close of each quarter of the fund's taxable year, not more than 25% of the value of its assets may be invested in securities (other than U.S. Government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer or of two or more issuers which the fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships. The Code imposes a non-deductible excise tax on RICs that do not distribute in a calendar year (regardless of whether they otherwise have a non-calendar taxable year) an amount equal to 98% of their "ordinary income" (as defined in the Code) for the calendar year plus 98% of their net capital gain for the one-year period ending on October 31 of such calendar year, plus any undistributed amounts from prior years. The non-deductible excise tax is equal to 4% of the deficiency. For the foregoing purposes, the fund is treated as having distributed any amount on which it is subject to income tax for any taxable year ending in such calendar year. The fund may in certain circumstances be required to liquidate fund investments in order to make sufficient distributions to avoid federal excise tax liability at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so, and liquidation of investments in such circumstances may affect the ability of the fund to satisfy the requirements for qualification as a RIC. If the fund fails to qualify as a RIC for any taxable year, it will be taxable at regular corporate rates. In such an event, all distributions (including capital gains distributions) will be taxable as ordinary dividends to the extent of the fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits, subject to the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders and the lower tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income distributed to individuals. The Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of the fund as a regulated investment company if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders. Although the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and its capital gains for each taxable year, the fund will be subject to federal income tax to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. If a fund's distributions exceed its taxable income and capital gains realized during a taxable year, all or a portion of the distributions made in the taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution generally will not be taxable but will reduce the shareholder's cost basis and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold. Dividends and interest received by the fund may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If the fund meets certain requirements, which include a requirement that more than 50% of the value of the fund's total assets at the close of its respective taxable year consists of stocks or securities of foreign corporations, then the fund should be eligible to file an election with the Internal Revenue Service that may enable shareholders, in effect, to receive either the benefit of a foreign tax credit, or a tax deduction, with respect to any foreign and U.S. possessions income taxes paid by the fund, subject to certain limitations. Pursuant to this election, the fund will treat those taxes as dividends paid to its shareholders. Each such shareholder will be required to include a proportionate share of those taxes in gross income as income received from a foreign source and must treat the amount so included as if the shareholder had paid the foreign tax directly. The shareholder may then either deduct the taxes deemed paid by him or her in computing his or her taxable income or, alternatively, use the foregoing information in calculating any foreign tax credit the shareholder may be entitled to use against such shareholder's federal income tax. If the fund makes this election, the fund will report annually to its shareholders the respective amounts per share of the fund's income from sources within, and taxes paid to, foreign countries and U.S. possessions. 61 The fund's transactions in foreign currencies and forward foreign currency contracts will be subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the funds and defer losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also may require the fund to mark-to-market certain types of positions in their portfolios (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) which may cause the fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the RIC distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The fund intends to monitor its transactions, intends to make the appropriate tax elections, and intends to make the appropriate entries in its books and records when it acquires any foreign currency or forward foreign currency contract in order to mitigate the effect of these rules so as to prevent disqualification of the fund as a RIC and minimize the imposition of income and excise taxes. The fund's transactions in futures contracts, options and certain other investment activities may be restricted by the Code and are subject to special tax rules. In a given case, these rules may accelerate income to the fund, defer its losses, cause adjustments in the holding periods of the fund's assets, convert short-term capital losses into long-term capital losses or otherwise affect the character of the fund's income. These rules could therefore affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders. The fund will endeavor to make any available elections pertaining to these transactions in a manner believed to be in the best interest of the fund and its shareholders. The fund is required for federal income tax purposes to mark-to-market and recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures contracts as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized during the year. Gain or loss from futures and options contracts on broad-based indexes required to be marked to market will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. The fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on futures contracts, options contracts and swaps to the extent of any unrecognized gains on offsetting positions held by the fund. It is anticipated that any net gain realized from the closing out of futures or options contracts will be considered gain from the sale of securities and therefore will be qualifying income for purposes of the 90% requirement. The fund distributes to shareholders at least annually any net capital gains which have been recognized for federal income tax purposes, including unrealized gains at the end of the fund's fiscal year on futures or options transactions. Such distributions are combined with distributions of capital gains realized on the fund's other investments and shareholders are advised on the nature of the distributions. Investments by the fund in zero coupon or other discount securities will result in income to the fund equal to a portion of the excess face value of the securities over their issue price (the "original issue discount" or "OID") each year that the securities are held, even though the fund receives no cash interest payments. In other circumstances, whether pursuant to the terms of a security or as a result of other factors outside the control of the fund, the fund may recognize income without receiving a commensurate amount of cash. Such income is included in determining the amount of income that the fund must distribute to maintain its status as a RIC and to avoid the payment of federal income tax, including the nondeductible 4% excise tax. Because such income may not be matched by a corresponding cash distribution to the fund, the fund may be reported to borrow money or dispose of other securities to be able to make distributions to its shareholders. FEDERAL INCOME TAX INFORMATION FOR SHAREHOLDERS The discussion of federal income taxation presented below supplements the discussion in the fund's prospectus and only summarizes some of the important federal tax considerations generally affecting shareholders of the fund. Accordingly, prospective investors (particularly those not residing or domiciled 62 in the United States) should consult their own tax advisors regarding the consequences of investing in the fund. Any dividends declared by the fund in October, November or December and paid the following January are treated, for tax purposes, as if they were received by shareholders on December 31 of the year in which they were declared. Distributions of net investment income and short-term capital gains are taxed as ordinary income. Long-term capital gains distributions are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held your shares. However, if you receive a long-term capital gains distribution with respect to fund shares held for six months or less, any loss on the sale or exchange of those shares shall, to the extent of the long-term capital gains distribution, be treated as a long-term capital loss. The fund will report to shareholders annually the amounts of dividends received from ordinary income, the amount of distributions received from capital gains and the portion of dividends which may qualify for the dividends received deduction. A portion of the dividends received from the fund may be treated as qualified dividend income (eligible for the reduced maximum rate to individuals of 15% (5% for individuals in lower tax brackets)) to the extent that the fund receives qualified dividend income. Qualified dividend income includes, in general, subject to certain holding period requirements and other requirements, dividend income from certain foreign corporations. Eligible foreign corporations include those incorporated in possessions of the United States, those incorporated in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States and those whose stock is tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Dividend income that the fund received from REITs, if any, generally will not be treated as qualified dividend income. The fund may derive capital gains and losses in connection with the sale or other dispositions of its portfolio securities. Distributions from net short-term capital gains will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. Distributions from net long-term gains will be taxable to you at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long you have held your shares in a Fund. Long-term capital gains are currently taxed at a maximum rate of 15%. Absent further legislation, the maximum 15% rate on qualified dividend income and long-term capital gains will cease to apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010. In general, a sale of shares results in capital gain or loss, and for individual shareholders, is taxable at a federal rate dependent upon the length of time the shares were held. A redemption of a shareholder's Fund shares is normally treated as a sale for tax purposes. Fund shares held for a period of one year or less at the time of such sale or redemption will, for tax purposes, generally result in short-term capital gains or losses and those held for more than one year will generally result in long-term capital gains or losses. Under current law, the maximum tax rate on long-term capital gains available to non-corporate shareholders generally is 15%. As noted above, without future legislation, the maximum tax rate on long-term capital gains would return to 20% in 2010. Gain or loss on the sale or redemption of shares in each Fund is measured by the difference between the amount received and the adjusted tax basis of the shares. Shareholders should keep records of investment made (including shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends and distribution) so they can compute the tax basis of their shares. A loss realized on a sale or exchange of shares of a Fund may be disallowed if other substantially identical shares are acquired (whether through the automatic reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a sixty-one (61) day period beginning thirty (30) days before and ending thirty (30) days after the date that the shares are disposed of. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired must be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss upon the sale or exchange of shares held for six (6) months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received by the shareholders. 63 The fund will be required in certain cases to withhold at the applicable withholding rate and remit to the U.S. Treasury, the withheld amount of taxable dividends paid to any shareholder who (1) fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number certified under penalty of perjury; (2) is subject to withholding by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to properly report all payments of interest or dividends; (3) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is not subject to "backup withholding;" or (4) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder's ultimate U.S. tax liability. Foreign shareholders (i.e., nonresident alien individuals and foreign corporations, partnerships, trusts and estates) are generally subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or a lower tax treaty rate) on distributions derived from net investment income and short-term capital gains; provided, however, that for the fund's taxable year beginning after December 31, 2004 and not beginning after December 31, 2007, certain interest related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends generally will not be subject to U.S. withholding taxes. Distributions to foreign shareholders of such short-term capital gain dividends, of long-term capital gains and any gains from the sale or other disposition of shares of the fund generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless the recipient is an individual who either (1) meets the Code's definition of "resident alien" or (2) is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. Different tax consequences may result if the foreign shareholder is engaged in a trade or business within the United States. In addition, the tax consequences to a foreign shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of a tax treaty may be different than those described above. Under recent legislation, the Code provides a look-through rule for distributions of so-called FIRPTA gain by a fund if all of the following requirements are met: (i) the fund is classified as a "qualified investment entity." A "qualified investment entity" includes entities taxable as RICs if, in general, more than 50% of the RIC's assets consists of interests in REITs and U.S. real property holding corporations, and (ii) you are a non-U.S. shareholder that owns more than 5% of a class of fund shares at any time during the one-year period ending on the date of the distribution. If these conditions are met, distributions by the fund are treated as gain from the disposition of a U.S. real property interest (USRPI), causing the distribution to be subject to U.S. withholding tax at a rate of 35%, and requiring that non-U.S. investors to file a nonresident U.S. income tax return. Also, such gain may be subject to a 30% branch profits tax in the hands of a foreign stockholder that is a corporation. If these rules do not apply to a distribution, such distribution in the hands of a non-U.S. investor is subject to the same treatment referenced in the preceding paragraph. The fund's investment in REITs may require the Fund to pass-through certain "excess inclusion income" as "unrelated business taxable income" ("UBTI"). Tax-exempt investors sensitive to UBTI are strongly encouraged to consult their tax advisers prior to investment in the fund regarding this issue and recent IRS pronouncements regarding the treatment of such income in the hands of such investors. GENERAL STATE AND LOCAL TAX INFORMATION Distributions by the fund also may be subject to state, local and foreign taxes, and their treatment under such applicable tax laws may differ from the federal income tax treatment. The foregoing discussion is a summary only and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Purchasers of shares should consult their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investing in such shares, including under state, local and other tax laws. Finally, the foregoing discussion is based on applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, judicial authority and administrative interpretations in effect on the date hereof. Changes in applicable authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed above, and such changes often occur. 64 REPORTABLE TRANSACTIONS Under promulgated Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on disposition of the fund's shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all regulated investment companies. In addition, pursuant to recently enacted legislation, significant penalties may be imposed for the failure to comply with the reporting requirements. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer's treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances. 65 APPENDIX A - RATINGS OF INVESTMENT SECURITIES From time to time, the fund may report the percentage of its assets that falls into the rating categories set forth below. BONDS MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE Aaa Bonds which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as "gilt edged." Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues. Aa Bonds which are rated Aa are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high-grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risk appear somewhat larger than the Aaa securities. A Bonds which are rated A possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper-medium grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate, but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment some time in the future. Baa Bonds which are rated Baa are considered as medium-grade obligations (i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured). Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well. Ba Bonds which are rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements; their future cannot be considered as well-assured. Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate and thereby not well safeguarded during both good and bad times over the future. Uncertainty of position characterizes bonds in this class. B Bonds which are rated B generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment. Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small. STANDARD & POOR'S CORPORATION INVESTMENT GRADE AAA Debt rated 'AAA' has the highest rating assigned by S&P. Capacity to pay interest and repay principal is extremely strong. 66 AA Debt rated 'AA' has a very strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal and differs from the highest rated debt only in small degree. A Debt rated 'A' has a strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal, although it is somewhat more susceptible to adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than debt in higher-rated categories. BBB Debt rated 'BBB' is regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Whereas it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal for debt in this category than in higher rated categories. SPECULATIVE GRADE Debt rated 'BB' and 'B' is regarded as having predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal. While such debt will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions. BB Debt rated 'BB' has less near-term vulnerability to default than other speculative grade debt. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions that could lead to inadequate capacity to meet timely interest and principal payments. The 'BB' rating category is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied 'BBB-' rating. B Debt rate 'B' has greater vulnerability to default but presently has the capacity to meet interest payments and principal repayments. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions would likely impair capacity or willingness to pay interest and repay principal. The 'B' rating category also is used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied 'BB' or 'BB-' rating. FITCH, INC. INVESTMENT GRADE BOND AAA Bonds considered to be investment grade and of the highest credit quality. The obligor has an exceptionally strong ability to pay interest and repay principal, which is unlikely to be affected by reasonably foreseeable events. AA Bonds considered to be investment grade and of very high credit quality. The obligor's ability to pay interest and repay principal is very strong, although not quite as strong as bonds rated 'AAA'. Because bonds rated in the 'AAA' and 'AA' categories are not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable future developments, short-term debt of these issuers is generally rated 'F1+'. A Bonds considered to be investment grade and of high credit quality. The obligor's ability to pay interest and repay principal is considered to be strong, but may be more vulnerable to adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances than bonds with higher ratings. BBB Bonds considered to be investment grade and of satisfactory credit quality. The obligor's ability to pay interest and repay principal is considered to be adequate. Adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances, however, are more likely to have adverse impact on these bonds, and therefore impair timely payment. The likelihood that the ratings of these bonds will fall below investment grade is higher than for bonds with higher ratings. 67 SPECULATIVE GRADE BOND BB Bonds are considered speculative. The obligor's ability to pay interest and repay principal may be affected over time by adverse economic changes. However, business and financial alternatives can be identified which could assist the obligor in satisfying its debt service requirements. B Bonds are considered highly speculative. While bonds in this class are currently meeting debt service requirements, the probability of continued timely payment of principal and interest reflects the obligor's limited margin of safety and the need for reasonable business and economic activity throughout the life of the issue. SHORT-TERM NOTES AND VARIABLE RATE DEMAND OBLIGATIONS MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE Short-term notes/variable rate demand obligations bearing the designations MIG-1/VMIG-1 are considered to be of the best quality, enjoying strong protection from established cash flows, superior liquidity support or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing. Obligations rated MIG-2/VMIG-3 are of high quality and enjoy ample margins of protection although not as large as those of the top rated securities. STANDARD & POOR'S CORPORATION An S&P SP-1 rating indicates that the subject securities' issuer has a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. Issues determined to possess very strong safety characteristics are given a plus (+) designation. S&P's determination that an issuer has a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest is denoted by an SP-2 rating. FITCH, INC. Obligations supported by the highest capacity for timely repayment are rated F1+. An F1 rating indicates that the obligation is supported by a very strong capacity for timely repayment. Obligations rated F2 are supported by a good capacity for timely repayment, although adverse changes in business, economic, or financial conditions may affect this capacity. COMMERCIAL PAPER MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE Prime-1 is the highest commercial paper rating assigned by Moody's. Issuers (or related supporting institutions) of commercial paper with this rating are considered to have a superior ability to repay short-term promissory obligations. Issuers (or related supporting institutions) of securities rated Prime-2 are viewed as having a strong capacity to repay short-term promissory obligations. This capacity will normally be evidenced by many of the characteristics of issuers whose commercial paper is rated Prime-1 but to a lesser degree. 68 STANDARD & POOR'S CORPORATION A Standard & Poor's Corporation ("S&P") A-1 commercial paper rating indicates a strong degree of safety regarding timely payment of principal and interest. Issues determined to possess overwhelming safety characteristics are denoted A-1+. Capacity for timely payment on commercial paper rated A-2 is satisfactory, but the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues designated A-1. FITCH, INC. F1+ is the highest category, and indicates the strongest degree of assurance for timely payment. Issues rated F1 reflect an assurance of timely payment only slightly less than issues rated F1+. Issues assigned an F2 rating have a satisfactory degree of assurance for timely payment, but the margin of safety is not as great as for issues in the first two rating categories. 69 APPENDIX B - DESCRIPTION OF PROXY VOTING AND POLICIES Charles Schwab Investment Management ("CSIM"), as an investment adviser, is generally responsible for voting proxies with respect to the securities held in accounts of investment companies for which it provides discretionary investment management services. CSIM's Proxy Committee exercises and documents CSIM's responsibility with regard to voting of client proxies (the "Proxy Committee"). The Proxy Committee is composed of representatives of CSIM's Compliance, Fund Administration, Legal and Portfolio Management Departments, and chaired by CSIM's Chief Investment Officer. The Chairman of the Committee may appoint the remaining members of the Committee. The Proxy Committee reviews and, as necessary, may amend periodically these Procedures to address new or revised proxy voting policies or procedures. The policies stated in these Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures (the "CSIM Proxy Procedures") pertain to all of CSIM's clients. The Boards of Trustees (the "Trustees") of The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, Schwab Capital Trust, and Schwab Annuity Portfolios (collectively, the "Funds" or "SchwabFunds") has delegated the responsibility for voting proxies to CSIM through their respective Investment Advisory and Administration Agreements. The Trustees have adopted these Proxy Procedures with respect to proxies voted on behalf of the various SchwabFunds portfolios. CSIM will present amendments to the Trustees for approval. However, there may be circumstances where the Proxy Committee deems it advisable to amend the Proxy Procedures between regular SchwabFunds Board meetings. In such cases, the Trustees will be asked to ratify any changes at the next regular meeting of the Board. To assist CSIM in its responsibility for voting proxies and the overall proxy voting process, CSIM has retained Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") as an expert in the proxy voting and corporate governance area. ISS is an independent company that specializes in providing a variety of proxy-related services to institutional investment managers, plan sponsors, custodians, consultants, and other institutional investors. The services provided by ISS include in-depth research, global issuer analysis, and voting recommendations as well as vote execution, reporting and record keeping. PROXY VOTING POLICY For investment companies and other clients for which CSIM exercises its responsibility for voting proxies, it is CSIM's policy to vote proxies in the manner that CSIM and the Proxy Committee determine will maximize the economic benefit to CSIM's clients. In furtherance of this policy, the Proxy Committee has received and reviewed ISS's written proxy voting policies and procedures ("ISS's Proxy Procedures") and has determined that ISS's Proxy Procedures are consistent with the CSIM Proxy Procedures and CSIM's fiduciary duty with respect to its clients. The Proxy Committee will review any material amendments to ISS's Proxy Procedures to determine whether such procedures continue to be consistent with the CSIM Proxy Voting Procedures, and CSIM's fiduciary duty with respect to its clients. Except under the circumstances described below, the Proxy Committee will delegate to ISS responsibility for voting proxies, including timely submission of votes, on behalf of CSIM's clients in accordance with ISS's Proxy Procedures. For proxy issues that are not addressed by ISS's Proxy Procedures or are determined by the Proxy Committee or the applicable portfolio manager or other relevant portfolio management staff to raise significant concerns with respect to the accounts of CSIM clients, the Proxy Committee will review the analysis and recommendation of ISS. Examples of factors that could cause a matter to raise significant concerns include, but are not limited to: issues whose outcome has the potential to materially affect the company's industry, or regional or national economy, and matters which involve broad public policy developments which may similarly materially affect the environment in which the company operates. 70 The Proxy Committee also will solicit input from the assigned portfolio manager and other relevant portfolio management staff for the particular portfolio security. After evaluating all such recommendations, the Proxy Committee will decide how to vote the shares and will instruct ISS to vote consistent with its decision. The Proxy Committee has the ultimate responsibility for making the determination of how to vote the shares in order to maximize the value of that particular holding. With respect to proxies of an affiliated mutual fund, the Proxy Committee will vote such proxies in the same proportion as the vote of all other shareholders of the fund (i.e., "echo vote"), unless otherwise required by law. When required by law, the Proxy Committee will also "echo vote" proxies of an unaffiliated mutual fund. For example, certain exemptive orders issued to the SchwabFunds by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, require the SchwabFunds, under certain circumstances, to "echo vote" proxies of registered investment companies that serve as underlying investments of the SchwabFunds. When not required to "echo vote," the Proxy Committee will delegate to ISS responsibility for voting proxies of an unaffiliated mutual fund in accordance with ISS's Proxy Procedures. Under certain circumstances, ISS may not provide an analysis or recommendation for voting a security's proxy. In that event, and when the following criteria are met, two members of the Proxy Committee, including at least one representative from equity Portfolio Management, may decide how to vote such proxy in order to maximize the value of that particular holding. The following criteria must be met: (1) For each Fund that holds the security in its portfolio, the value of the security must represent less than one tenth of one cent in the Fund's NAV, and (2) the security's value must equal less than $50,000 in the aggregate across all of the Funds and separate accounts that hold this security. Any voting decision made under these circumstances will be reported to the Proxy Committee at its next scheduled meeting. Conflicts of Interest. Except as described above for proxies of mutual funds, for proxy issues that present material conflicts of interest between CSIM, and/or any of its affiliates, and CSIM's clients, CSIM will delegate to ISS responsibility for voting such proxies in accordance with ISS's Proxy Procedures. The CSIM Legal Department is responsible for developing procedures to identify material conflicts of interest. Voting Foreign Proxies. CSIM has arrangements with ISS for voting proxies. However, voting proxies with respect to shares of foreign securities may involve significantly greater effort and corresponding cost than voting proxies with respect to domestic securities, due to the variety of regulatory schemes and corporate practices in foreign countries with respect to proxy voting. Problems voting foreign proxies may include the following: - proxy statements and ballots written in a foreign language; - untimely and/or inadequate notice of shareholder meetings; - restrictions of foreigner's ability to exercise votes; - requirements to vote proxies in person; - the imposition of restrictions on the sale of securities for a period of time in proximity to the shareholder meeting; - requirements to provide local agents with power of attorney to facilitate CSIM's voting instructions. In consideration of the foregoing issues, ISS uses its best-efforts to vote foreign proxies. As part of its ongoing oversight, the Proxy Committee will monitor the voting of foreign proxies to determine whether all reasonable steps are taken to vote foreign proxies. If the Proxy Committee determines that the cost 71 associated with the attempt to vote outweighs the potential benefits clients may derive from voting, the Proxy Committee may decide not to attempt to vote. Sub-Advisory Relationships. For investment companies or other clients that CSIM has delegated day-to-day investment management responsibilities to an investment adviser, CSIM may delegate its responsibility to vote proxies with respect to such investment companies' or other clients' securities. Each Sub-adviser to whom proxy voting responsibility has been delegated will be required to review all proxy solicitation material and to exercise the voting rights associated with the securities as it has been allocated in the best interest of each investment company and its shareholders, or other client. Prior to delegating the proxy voting responsibility, CSIM will review each sub-adviser's proxy voting policy to ensure that each Sub-adviser's proxy voting policy is generally consistent with the maximization of economic benefits to the investment company or other client. REPORTING AND RECORD RETENTION CSIM will maintain, or cause ISS to maintain, records which identify the manner in which proxies have been voted (or not voted) on behalf of CSIM clients. CSIM will comply with all applicable rules and regulations regarding disclosure of its or its clients proxy voting records and procedures. CSIM will retain all proxy voting materials and supporting documentation as required under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the rules and regulations thereunder. PROXY COMMITTEE QUORUM At scheduled meetings of the Proxy Committee, attendance by four members (or their respective designates) constitutes a quorum. Two members of the Committee may make voting decisions under the limited circumstances described above. CONCISE SUMMARY OF ISS 2007 PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES Effective for Meetings on or after Feb. 1, 2007 Updated Dec. 15, 2006 1. AUDITORS AUDITOR RATIFICATION Vote FOR proposals to ratify auditors, unless any of the following apply: - An auditor has a financial interest in or association with the company, and is therefore not independent, - There is reason to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion which is neither accurate nor indicative of the company's financial position; or - Fees for non-audit services ("Other" fees) are excessive. 2. BOARD OF DIRECTORS VOTING ON DIRECTOR NOMINEES IN UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS Vote CASE-BY-CASE on director nominees, examining, but not limited to, the following factors: - Composition of the board and key board committees; - Attendance at board and committee meetings; 72 - Corporate governance provisions and takeover activity; - Disclosures under Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act; - Long-term company performance relative to a market and peer index; - Extent of the director's investment in the company; - Existence of related party transactions; - Whether the chairman is also serving as CEO; - Whether a retired CEO sits on the board; - Number of outside boards at which a director serves; - Majority vote standard for director elections without a provision to allow for plurality voting when there are more nominees than seats. WITHHOLD from individual directors who: - Attend less than 75 percent of the board and committee meetings without a valid excuse (such as illness, service to the nation, work on behalf of the company); - Sit on more than six public company boards; - Are CEOs of public companies who sit on the boards of more than two public companies besides their own-- withhold only at their outside boards. WITHHOLD from the entire board of directors, (except from new nominees, who should be considered on a CASE-BY-CASE basis) if: - The company's proxy indicates that not all directors attended 75% of the aggregate of their board and committee meetings, but fails to provide the required disclosure of the names of the directors involved. If this information cannot be obtained, withhold from all incumbent directors; - The company's poison pill has a dead-hand or modified dead-hand feature. Withhold every year until this feature is removed; - The board adopts or renews a poison pill without shareholder approval since the beginning of 2005, does not commit to putting it to shareholder vote within 12 months of adoption, or reneges on a commitment to put the pill to a vote, and has not yet received a withhold recommendation for this issue; - The board failed to act on a shareholder proposal that received approval by a majority of the shares outstanding the previous year; - The board failed to act on a shareholder proposal that received approval of the majority of shares cast for the previous two consecutive years; - The board failed to act on takeover offers where the majority of the shareholders tendered their shares; - At the previous board election, any director received more than 50 percent withhold votes of the shares cast and the company has failed to address the issue(s) that caused the high withhold rate; - The company is a Russell 3000 company that underperformed its industry group (GICS group) under the criteria discussed in the section "Performance Test for Directors". WITHHOLD from Inside Directors and Affiliated Outside Directors (per the Classification of Directors below) when: - The inside or affiliated outside director serves on any of the three key committees: audit, compensation, or nominating; - The company lacks an audit, compensation, or nominating committee so that the full board functions as that committee; 73 - The company lacks a formal nominating committee, even if board attests that the independent directors fulfill the functions of such a committee; - The full board is less than majority independent. WITHHOLD from the members of the Audit Committee if: - The non - audit fees paid to the auditor are excessive (see discussion under Auditor Ratification); - A material weakness identified in the Section 404 Sarbanes-Oxley Act disclosures rises to a level of serious concern; there are chronic internal control issues and an absence of established effective control mechanisms; - There is persuasive evidence that the audit committee entered into an inappropriate indemnification agreement with its auditor that limits the ability of the company, or its shareholders, to pursue legitimate legal recourse against the audit firm. WITHHOLD from the members of the Compensation Committee if: - There is a negative correlation between the chief executive's pay and company performance (see discussion under Equity Compensation Plans); - The company reprices underwater options for stock, cash or other consideration without prior shareholder approval, even if allowed in their equity plan; - The company fails to submit one-time transfers of stock options to a shareholder vote; - The company fails to fulfill the terms of a burn rate commitment they made to shareholders; - The company has backdated options (see "Options Backdating" policy); - The company has poor compensation practices (see "Poor Pay Practices" policy). Poor pay practices may warrant withholding votes from the CEO and potentially the entire board as well. WITHHOLD from directors, individually or the entire board, for egregious actions or failure to replace management as appropriate. CLASSIFICATION/DECLASSIFICATION OF THE BOARD Vote AGAINST proposals to classify the board. Vote FOR proposals to repeal classified boards, and to elect all directors annually. INDEPENDENT CHAIR (SEPARATE CHAIR/CEO) Generally vote FOR shareholder proposals requiring an independent director fill the position of chair, unless there are compelling reasons to recommend against the proposal, such as a counterbalancing governance structure. This should include all of the following: - Has a designated lead director, elected by and from the independent board members with clearly delineated and comprehensive duties. (The role may alternatively reside with a presiding director, vice chairman, or rotating lead director; however the director must serve a minimum of one year in order to qualify as a lead director.) At a minimum these should include: - Presiding at all meetings of the board at which the chairman is not present, including executive sessions of the independent directors, - Serving as liaison between the chairman and the independent directors, - Approving information sent to the board, - Approving meeting agendas for the board, - Approves meetings schedules to assure that there is sufficient time for discussion of all agenda items, 74 - Having the authority to call meetings of the independent directors, - If requested by major shareholders, ensuring that he is available for consultation and direct communication; - Two-thirds independent board; - All-independent key committees; - Established governance guidelines; - The company does not under-perform its peers*. * Starting in 2007, the industry peer group used for this evaluation will change from the 4-digit GICS group to the average of the 12 companies in the same 6-digit GICS group that are closest in revenue to the company, and identified on the Executive compensation page of proxy analyses. To fail, the company must under-perform its index and industry group on all 4 measures (1 and 3 year performance, on industry peers, and index). MAJORITY VOTE SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS Generally vote FOR precatory and binding resolutions requesting that the board change the company's bylaws to stipulate that directors need to be elected with an affirmative majority of votes cast, provided it does not conflict with the state law where the company is incorporated. Binding resolutions need to allow for a carve-out for a plurality vote standard when there are more nominees than board seats. Companies are strongly encouraged to also adopt a post-election policy (also know as a director resignation policy) that will provide guidelines so that the company will promptly address the situation of a holdover director. 3. PROXY CONTESTS VOTING FOR DIRECTOR NOMINEES IN CONTESTED ELECTIONS Vote CASE-BY-CASE on the election of directors in contested elections, considering the following factors: - Long-term financial performance of the target company relative to its industry; - Management's track record; - Background to the proxy contest; - Qualifications of director nominees (both slates); - Strategic plan of dissident slate and quality of critique against management; - Likelihood that the proposed goals and objectives can be achieved (both slates); - Stock ownership positions. REIMBURSING PROXY SOLICITATION EXPENSES Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals to reimburse proxy solicitation expenses. When voting in conjunction with support of a dissident slate, vote FOR the reimbursement of all appropriate proxy solicitation expenses associated with the election. 4. TAKEOVER DEFENSES POISON PILLS Vote FOR shareholder proposals requesting that the company submit its poison pill to a shareholder vote or redeem it UNLESS the company has: (1) A shareholder approved poison pill in place; or (2) The 75 company has adopted a policy concerning the adoption of a pill in the future specifying that the board will only adopt a shareholder rights plan if either: - Shareholders have approved the adoption of the plan; or - The board, in its exercise of its fiduciary responsibilities, determines that it is in the best interest of shareholders under the circumstances to adopt a pill without the delay in adoption that would result from seeking stockholder approval (i.e. the "fiduciary out" provision). A poison pill adopted under this fiduciary out will be put to a shareholder ratification vote within twelve months of adoption or expire. If the pill is not approved by a majority of the votes cast on this issue, the plan will immediately terminate. Vote FOR shareholder proposals calling for poison pills to be put to a vote within a time period of less than one year after adoption. If the company has no non-shareholder approved poison pill in place and has adopted a policy with the provisions outlined above, vote AGAINST the proposal. If these conditions are not met, vote FOR the proposal, but with the caveat that a vote within twelve months would be considered sufficient. Vote CASE-by-CASE on management proposals on poison pill ratification, focusing on the features of the shareholder rights plan. Rights plans should contain the following attributes: - No lower than a 20% trigger, flip-in or flip-over; - A term of no more than three years; - No dead-hand, slow-hand, no-hand or similar feature that limits the ability of a future board to redeem the pill; - Shareholder redemption feature (qualifying offer clause); if the board refuses to redeem the pill 90 days after a qualifying offer is announced, ten percent of the shares may call a special meeting or seek a written consent to vote on rescinding the pill. SUPERMAJORITY VOTE REQUIREMENTS Vote AGAINST proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote. Vote FOR proposals to lower supermajority vote requirements. 5. MERGERS AND CORPORATE RESTRUCTURINGS For mergers and acquisitions, review and evaluate the merits and drawbacks of the proposed transaction, balancing various and sometimes countervailing factors including: - Valuation - Is the value to be received by the target shareholders (or paid by the acquirer) reasonable? While the fairness opinion may provide an initial starting point for assessing valuation reasonableness, emphasis is placed on the offer premium, market reaction and strategic rationale. - Market reaction - How has the market responded to the proposed deal? A negative market reaction should cause closer scrutiny of a deal. - Strategic rationale - Does the deal make sense strategically? From where is the value derived? Cost and revenue synergies should not be overly aggressive or optimistic, but reasonably achievable. Management should also have a favorable track record of successful integration of historical acquisitions. - Negotiations and process - Were the terms of the transaction negotiated at arm's-length? Was the process fair and equitable? A fair process helps to ensure the best price for shareholders. Significant negotiation "wins" can also signify the deal makers' competency. The comprehensiveness of the sales process (e.g., full auction, partial auction, no auction) can also affect shareholder value. 76 - Conflicts of interest - Are insiders benefiting from the transaction disproportionately and inappropriately as compared to non-insider shareholders? As the result of potential conflicts, the directors and officers of the company may be more likely to vote to approve a merger than if they did not hold these interests. Consider whether these interests may have influenced these directors and officers to support or recommend the merger. The CIC figure presented in the "ISS Transaction Summary" section of this report is an aggregate figure that can in certain cases be a misleading indicator of the true value transfer from shareholders to insiders. Where such figure appears to be excessive, analyze the underlying assumptions to determine whether a potential conflict exists. - Governance - Will the combined company have a better or worse governance profile than the current governance profiles of the respective parties to the transaction? If the governance profile is to change for the worse, the burden is on the company to prove that other issues (such as valuation) outweigh any deterioration in governance. 6. STATE OF INCORPORATION REINCORPORATION PROPOSALS Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals to change a company's state of incorporation, taking into consideration both financial and corporate governance concerns, including the reasons for reincorporating, a comparison of the governance provisions, comparative economic benefits, and a comparison of the jurisdictional laws. Vote FOR re-incorporation when the economic factors outweigh any neutral or negative governance changes. 7. CAPITAL STRUCTURE COMMON STOCK AUTHORIZATION Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance using a model developed by ISS. Vote FOR proposals to approve increases beyond the allowable increase when a company's shares are in danger of being de-listed or if a company's ability to continue to operate as a going concern is uncertain. In addition, for capital requests that are less than or equal to 300 percent of the current authorized shares and that marginally fail the calculated allowable cap (i.e., exceed the allowable cap by no more than 5 percent), vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis, In this situation, vote FOR the increase based on the company's performance, and whether the company's ongoing use of shares has shown prudence. ISSUE STOCK FOR USE WITH RIGHTS PLAN Vote AGAINST proposals that increase authorized common stock for the explicit purpose of implementing a non-shareholder approved shareholder rights plan (poison pill). PREFERRED STOCK Vote AGAINST proposals authorizing the creation of new classes of preferred stock with unspecified voting, conversion, dividend distribution, and other rights ("blank check" preferred stock). Vote FOR proposals to create "de-clawed" blank check preferred stock (stock that cannot be used as a takeover defense). Vote FOR proposals to authorize preferred stock in cases where the company specifies the voting, dividend, conversion, and other rights of such stock and the terms of the preferred stock appear reasonable. Vote AGAINST proposals to increase the number of blank check preferred stock authorized for issuance when no shares have been issued or reserved for a specific purpose. Vote CASE-BY-CASE 77 on proposals to increase the number of blank check preferred shares after analyzing the number of preferred shares available for issue given a company's industry and performance in terms of shareholder returns. 8. EXECUTIVE AND DIRECTOR COMPENSATION POOR PAY PRACTICES WITHHOLD from compensation committee members, CEO, and potentially the entire board, if the company has poor compensation practices, such as: - Egregious employment contracts (e.g., those containing multi-year guarantees for bonuses and grants); - Excessive perks that dominate compensation (e.g., tax gross-ups for personal use of corporate aircraft); - Huge bonus payouts without justifiable performance linkage or proper disclosure; - Performance metrics that are changed (e.g., canceled or replaced during the performance period without adequate explanation of the action and the link to performance); - Egregious pension/SERP (supplemental executive retirement plan) payouts (e.g., the inclusion of additional years of service not worked or inclusion of performance-based equity awards in the pension calculation); - New CEO awarded an overly generous new hire package (e.g., including excessive "make whole" provisions or any of the poor pay practices listed in this policy); - Excessive severance provisions (e.g., including excessive change in control payments); - Change in control payouts without loss of job or substantial diminution of job duties; - Internal pay disparity; - Options backdating (covered in a separate policy); and EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS Vote CASE-BY-CASE on equity-based compensation plans. Vote AGAINST the equity plan if any of the following factors apply: - The total cost of the company's equity plans is unreasonable; - The plan expressly permits the repricing of stock options without prior shareholder approval; - There is a disconnect between CEO pay and the company's performance; - The company's three year burn rate exceeds the greater of 2% and the mean plus 1 standard deviation of its industry group; or - The plan is a vehicle for poor pay practices. DIRECTOR COMPENSATION Vote CASE-BY-CASE on compensation plans for non-employee directors, based on the cost of the plans against the company's allowable cap. On occasion, director stock plans that set aside a relatively small number of shares when combined with employee or executive stock compensation plans exceed the allowable cap. Vote for the plan if ALL of the following qualitative factors in the board's compensation are met and disclosed in the proxy statement: - Director stock ownership guidelines with a minimum of three times the annual cash retainer. - Vesting schedule or mandatory holding/deferral period: 78 - A minimum vesting of three years for stock options or restricted stock; or - Deferred stock payable at the end of a three-year deferral period. - Mix between cash and equity: - A balanced mix of cash and equity, for example 40% cash/60% equity or 50% cash/50% equity; or - If the mix is heavier on the equity component, the vesting schedule or deferral period should be more stringent, with the lesser of five years or the term of directorship. - No retirement/benefits and perquisites provided to non-employee directors; and - Detailed disclosure provided on cash and equity compensation delivered to each non-employee director for the most recent fiscal year in a table. The column headers for the table may include the following: name of each non-employee director, annual retainer, board meeting fees, committee retainer, committee-meeting fees, and equity grants. EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLANS--QUALIFIED PLANS Vote CASE-BY-CASE on qualified employee stock purchase plans. Vote FOR employee stock purchase plans where all of the following apply: - Purchase price is at least 85% of fair market value; - Offering period is 27 months or less; and - The number of shares allocated to the plan is ten percent or less of the outstanding shares. EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLANS--NON-QUALIFIED PLANS Vote CASE-by-CASE on nonqualified employee stock purchase plans. Vote FOR nonqualified employee stock purchase plans with all the following features: - Broad-based participation (i.e., all employees of the company with the exclusion of individuals with 5% or more of beneficial ownership of the company); - Limits on employee contribution, which may be a fixed dollar amount or expressed as a percent of base salary; - Company matching contribution up to 25% of employee's contribution, which is effectively a discount of 20% from market value; - No discount on the stock price on the date of purchase, since there is a company matching contribution. OPTIONS BACKDATING In cases where a company has practiced options backdating, WITHHOLD on a CASE-BY-CASE basis from the members of the compensation committee, depending on the severity of the practices and the subsequent corrective actions on the part of the board. WITHHOLD from the compensation committee members who oversaw the questionable options grant practices or from current compensation committee members who fail to respond to the issue proactively, depending on several factors, including, but not limited to: - Reason and motive for the options backdating issue, such as inadvertent vs. deliberate grant date changes; - Length of time of options backdating; - Size of restatement due to options backdating; - Corrective actions taken by the board or compensation committee, such as canceling or repricing backdated options, or recouping option gains on backdated grants; - Adoption of a grant policy that prohibits backdating, and creation of a fixed grant schedule or window period for equity grants going forward. 79 SEVERANCE AGREEMENTS FOR EXECUTIVES/GOLDEN PARACHUTES Vote FOR shareholder proposals to require golden parachutes or executive severance agreements to be submitted for shareholder ratification, unless the proposal requires shareholder approval prior to entering into employment contracts. Vote on a CASE-BY-CASE basis on proposals to ratify or cancel golden parachutes. An acceptable parachute should include, but is not limited to, the following: - The triggering mechanism should be beyond the control of management; - The amount should not exceed three times base amount (defined as the average annual taxable W-2 compensation) during the five years prior to the year in which the change of control occurs; - Change-in-control payments should be double-triggered, i.e., (1) after a change in control has taken place, and (2) termination of the executive as a result of the change in control. Change in control is defined as a change in the company ownership structure. 9. CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY ANIMAL RIGHTS Generally vote AGAINST proposals to phase out the use of animals in product testing unless: - The company is conducting animal testing programs that are unnecessary or not required by regulation; - The company is conducting animal testing when suitable alternatives are accepted and used at peer firms; - The company has been the subject of recent, significant controversy related to its testing programs. DRUG PRICING AND RE-IMPORTATION Generally vote AGAINST proposals requesting that companies implement specific price restraints on pharmaceutical products, unless the company fails to adhere to legislative guidelines or industry norms in its product pricing. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals requesting that the company evaluate their product pricing considering: - The existing level of disclosure on pricing policies; - Deviation from established industry pricing norms; - The company's existing initiatives to provide its products to needy consumers; - Whether the proposal focuses on specific products or geographic regions. Generally vote FOR proposals requesting that companies report on the financial and legal impact of their policies regarding prescription drug re-importation unless such information is already publicly disclosed. Generally vote AGAINST proposals requesting that companies adopt specific policies to encourage or constrain prescription drug re-importation. GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS Vote AGAINST proposals asking companies to voluntarily label genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in their products, or alternatively to provide interim labeling and eventually eliminate GE ingredients due to the costs and feasibility of labeling and/or phasing out the use of GE ingredients. 80 GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS Vote AGAINST proposals asking companies to voluntarily label genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in their products or alternatively to provide interim labeling and eventually eliminate GE ingredients due to the costs and feasibility of labeling and/or phasing out the use of GE ingredients. TOBACCO Most tobacco-related proposals (such as on second-hand smoke, advertising to youth, and spin-offs of tobacco-related business) should be evaluated on a CASE-BY-CASE basis. TOXIC CHEMICALS Generally vote FOR resolutions requesting that a company discloses its policies related to toxic chemicals. Vote CASE-BY-CASE on resolutions requesting that companies evaluate and disclose the potential financial and legal risks associated with utilizing certain chemicals. Generally vote AGAINST resolutions requiring that a company reformulate its products within a certain timeframe, unless such actions are required by law in specific markets. ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Generally vote AGAINST request for reports outlining potential environmental damage from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) unless: - New legislation is adopted allowing development and drilling in the ANWR region; - The company intends to pursue operations in the ANWR; and - The company has not disclosed an environmental risk report for its ANWR operations. CONCENTRATED AREA FEEDING OPERATIONS (CAFOS) Vote FOR resolutions requesting that companies report to shareholders on the risks and liabilities associated with CAFOs, unless: - The company has publicly disclosed guidelines for its corporate and contract farming operations, including compliance monitoring; or - The company does not directly source from CAFOs. GLOBAL WARMING AND KYOTO PROTOCOL COMPLIANCE Generally vote FOR proposals requesting a report on greenhouse gas emissions from company operations and/or products unless this information is already publicly disclosed or such factors are not integral to the company's line of business. Generally vote AGAINST proposals that call for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by specified amounts or within a restrictive time frame unless the company lags industry standards and has been the subject of recent, significant fines or litigation resulting from greenhouse gas emissions. Generally vote FOR resolutions requesting that companies outline their preparations to comply with standards established by Kyoto Protocol signatory markets unless: - The company does not maintain operations in Kyoto signatory markets; - The company already evaluates and substantially discloses such information; or, - Greenhouse gas emissions do not significantly impact the company's core businesses. 81 POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals to improve the disclosure of a company's political contributions considering: recent significant controversy or litigation related to the company's political contributions or governmental affairs; and the public availability of a policy on political contributions. Vote AGAINST proposals barring the company from making political contributions. LINK EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TO SOCIAL PERFORMANCE Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals to review ways of linking executive compensation to social factors, such as corporate downsizings, customer or employee satisfaction, community involvement, human rights, environmental performance, predatory lending, and executive/employee pay disparities. OUTSOURCING/OFF-SHORING Vote CASE-BY-CASE on proposals calling for companies to report on the risks associated with outsourcing, considering: the risks associated with certain international markets; the utility of such a report to shareholders; the existence of a publicly available code of corporate conduct that applies to international operations. COUNTRY-SPECIFIC HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS Vote CASE-BY-CASE on requests for reports detailing the company's operations in a particular country and on proposals to implement certain human rights standards at company facilities or those of its suppliers and to commit to outside, independent monitoring. 10. MUTUAL FUND PROXIES ELECTION OF DIRECTORS Vote CASE-BY-CASE on the election of directors and trustees, following the same guidelines for uncontested directors for public company shareholder meetings. However, mutual fund boards do not usually have compensation committees, so do not withhold for the lack of this committee. CONVERTING CLOSED-END FUND TO OPEN-END FUND Vote CASE-BY-CASE on conversion proposals, considering the following factors: - Past performance as a closed-end fund; - Market in which the fund invests; - Measures taken by the board to address the discount; and - Past shareholder activism, board activity, and votes on related proposals. ESTABLISH DIRECTOR OWNERSHIP REQUIREMENT Generally vote AGAINST shareholder proposals that mandate a specific minimum amount of stock that directors must own in order to qualify as a director or to remain on the board. REIMBURSE SHAREHOLDER FOR EXPENSES INCURRED Vote CASE-BY-CASE on shareholder proposals to reimburse proxy solicitation expenses. When supporting the dissidents, vote FOR the reimbursement of the proxy solicitation expenses. 82 PART C OTHER INFORMATION SCHWAB INVESTMENTS Item 23. Exhibits. (a) Articles of (i) Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated October 25, 1990, was electronically filed and is Incorporation incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1, File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on December 30, 1997. (ii) Amendment to the Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated August 29, 2006, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(ii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 65 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on September 14, 2006. (b) By-Laws Amended and Restated Bylaws, dated November 16, 2004, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (b), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 56 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on February 25, 2005. (c) Instruments Defining (i) Article III, Section 5, Article V, Article VI, Article VIII, Section 4 and Article IX, Rights of Security Sections 1, 5 and 7 of (a) the Agreement and Declaration of Trust was electronically filed and is Holders incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1, File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on December 30, 1997, and (b) of the Amendment to the Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated August 29, 2006, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(ii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 65 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on September 14, 2006. (ii) Article 9 and Article 11 of the Amended and Restated By-Laws was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (b), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 56 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on February 25, 2005.
(d) Investment Advisory (i) Investment Advisory and Administration Agreement between Registrant and Charles Schwab Investment Contracts Management, Inc. (the "Investment Adviser") and Schedules B and C were electronically filed and are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 5(a), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on December 30, 1997. (ii) Amended Schedules A and D to the Investment Advisory and Administration Agreement, referenced to at Item 23 (d)(i) above are filed herewith as Exhibit (d)(ii), File No. 811-6200. (iii) Letter Agreement between Registrant, on behalf of its income funds, and the Investment Adviser dated November 14, 2006, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(iii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 66 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 15, 2006. (iv) Letter Agreement between Registrant, on behalf of its Schwab Inflation Protected Fund, and Investment Adviser dated January 21, 2006 was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(iv), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on January 23, 2006. (v) Letter Agreement between Registrant, on behalf of its Schwab Global Real Estate Fund, and the Investment Adviser dated February 20, 2007 was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(v), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 68 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on February 28, 2007. (vi) Letter Agreement between Registrant, on behalf of its Schwab 1000 Fund, and the Investment Adviser was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(vi), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 69 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on February 28, 2007. (vii) Letter Agreement between Registrant, on behalf its Schwab Premier Income Fund and the Investment Adviser dated September 19, 2007 is filed herewith as Exhibit (d)(vii), File No. 811-6200.
(viii) Expense Limitation Agreement between Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (the "Adviser"), Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., ("Schwab"), and Schwab Investments (the Trust) dated May 2, 2007, is incorporated by reference as Exhibit (d)(viii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 70 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on July 6, 2007. (e) Underwriting (i) Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab") was Contracts electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 6, File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on December 30, 1997. (ii) Amended Schedule A to the Distribution Agreement is filed herewith as Exhibit (e)(ii), File No. 811-6200. (f) Bonus or Profit Inapplicable. Sharing Contracts (g) Custodian Agreements (i) Master Fund Accounting and Services Agreement between Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated October 1, 2005, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (g)(xvi), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 14, 2005. (ii) Transfer Agency Agreement between the Registrant and Schwab and Schedule B were electronically filed and are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 8(e), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on December 30, 1997. (iii) Amended Schedules A and C to the Transfer Agency Agreement are filed herewith as Exhibit (g)(iii), File No. 811-6200. (iv) Shareholder Service Agreement between the Registrant and Schwab and Schedule B were electronically filed and are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 8(g), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on December 30, 1997. (v) Amended Schedules A and C to the Shareholder Service Agreement are filed herewith as Exhibit (g)(v), File No. 811-6200.
(vi) Amended and Restated Master Custodian Agreement between Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company, dated October 17, 2005, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (g)(xv), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 14, 2005. (h) Other Material Inapplicable. Contracts (i) Legal Opinion Opinion of Counsel is filed herewith as Exhibit (i), File No. 811-6200. (j) Other Opinions Inapplicable. (k) Omitted Financial Inapplicable. Statements (l) Initial Capital (i) Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schwab relating to shares of the Schwab 1000 Fund was Agreement electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(i), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 29 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on July 21, 1999. (ii) Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schwab relating to shares of the Schwab Short-Term Bond Market Index Fund (formerly Schwab Short/Intermediate Government Bond Fund) was electronically filed and incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(ii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 29 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on July 21, 1999. (iii) Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schwab relating to shares of the Schwab California Long-Term Tax-Free Bond Fund (formerly Schwab California Tax Free Bond Fund) was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(iii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 29 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on July 21, 1999. (iv) Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schwab relating to shares of the Schwab Long-Term Tax-Free Bond Fund (formerly Schwab National Tax Free Bond Fund) was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(iv), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 29 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on July 21, 1999.
(v) Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schwab relating to shares of the Schwab Short/Intermediate Tax-Free Bond Fund, Schwab California Short/Intermediate Tax-Free Bond Fund and Schwab Total Bond Market Index Fund (formerly, Schwab Long-Term Government Bond Fund) was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 13, File No. 811-6200, to Post-Effective Amendment No. 22 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on December 30, 1997. (vi) Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schwab relating to shares of the Schwab YieldPlus Fund(R) was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(vi) of Post-Effective Amendment No. 29, File No. 811-6200, to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on July 21, 1999. (vii) Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schwab relating to the purchase of one share of each class of the Schwab GNMA Fund was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(vii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on January 24, 2003. (viii) Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schwab relating to the purchase of one share of each class of the Schwab California Tax-Free YieldPlus Fund TM and the Schwab Tax-Free YieldPlus Fund TM was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(viii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 53 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 11, 2004. (ix) Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schwab relating to the purchase of one share of each class of the Schwab Inflation Protected Fund was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(ix), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on January 23, 2006. (x) Purchase Agreement between Registrant and Schwab relating to the purchase of one share of the Schwab Premier Income Fund Investor Shares, two shares of the Schwab Premier Income Fund Select Shares and three shares of the Schwab Premier Income Fund Institutional Shares is filed herewith as Exhibit (l)(x), File No. 811-6200. (m) Rule 12b-1 Plan Inapplicable.
(n) Rule 18f-3 Plan (i) Registrant's Amended and Restated Multiple Class Plan was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (o)(i), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on January 27, 2003. (ii) Amended Schedule A to the Multiple Class Plan for Investor, Select and Institutional Shares share classes of the Schwab Premier Income Fund is filed herewith as Exhibit (n), File No. 811-6200. (o) (Reserved) (p) Code of Ethics (i) Code of Ethics adopted by Registrant, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. and Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., dated January 1, 2005, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (q)(i), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 56 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on February 25, 2005. (q) Power of Attorney (i) Power of Attorney executed by Mariann Byerwalter, September 4, 2002, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(i), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 44 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 12, 2002. (ii) Power of Attorney executed by William A. Hasler, September 4, 2002, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(ii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 44 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 12, 2002. (iii) Power of Attorney executed by Gerald B. Smith, September 4, 2002, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(iii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 44 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 12, 2002. (iv) Power of Attorney executed by Donald F. Dorward, September 4, 2002, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(iv), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 44 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 12, 2002. (v) Power of Attorney executed by Robert G. Holmes, September 4, 2002, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(v), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 44 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 12, 2002.
(vi) Power of Attorney executed by Donald R. Stephens, September 4, 2002, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(vi), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 44 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 12, 2002. (vii) Power of Attorney executed by Michael W. Wilsey, September 4, 2002, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(vii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 44 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 12, 2002. (viii) Power of Attorney executed by Charles R. Schwab, September 4, 2002, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(viii), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 44 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on November 12, 2002. (ix) Power of Attorney executed by George Pereira, November 15, 2004, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(x), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 54 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1, filed on December 10, 2004. (x) Power of Attorney executed by Randall W. Merk, May 24, 2005, was electronically filed and is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(xi), File No. 811-6200, of Post-Effective Amendment No. 57 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A, filed on September 2, 2005.
Item 24. Persons Controlled by or under Common Control with the Registrant. The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Capital Trust and Schwab Annuity Portfolios are each Massachusetts business trusts registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). Each is advised by the Investment Manager and employs Schwab as principal underwriter, transfer agent and shareholder services agent. As a result, The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Capital Trust and Schwab Annuity Portfolios may each be deemed to be under common control with Registrant. The Investment Manager and Schwab are both wholly owned subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation. Charles R. Schwab is the founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Director of The Charles Schwab Corporation. As a result of his ownership of and interests in The Charles Schwab Corporation, Mr. Schwab may be deemed to be a controlling person of the Investment Manager and Schwab. Item 25. Indemnification. Article VIII of Registrant's Agreement and Declaration of Trust (Exhibit (1) hereto, which is incorporated herein by reference) provides in effect that Registrant will indemnify its officers and trustees against all liabilities and expenses, including but not limited to amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise, or as fines and penalties, and counsel fees reasonably incurred by any such officer or trustee in connection with the defense or disposition of any action, suit, or other proceeding. However, in accordance with Section 17(h) and 17(i) of the 1940 Act and its own terms, said Agreement and Declaration of Trust does not protect any person against any liability to Registrant or its shareholders to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office. In any event, Registrant will comply with 1940 Act Releases No. 7221 and 11330 respecting the permissible boundaries of indemnification by an investment company of its officers and trustees. Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, Registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, officer or controlling person of Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such trustee, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. Item 26. Business and Other Connections of Investment Manager Registrant's investment adviser, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation, organized in October 1989 to serve as investment manager to Registrant, also serves as the investment manager to The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Capital Trust, Schwab Annuity Portfolios, Laudus Trust and Laudus Variable Insurance Trust, each an open-end, management investment company. The principal place of business of the investment adviser is 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94104. The only business in which the investment adviser engages is that of investment adviser and administrator to Registrant, The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Capital Trust, Schwab Annuity Portfolios and any other investment companies that Schwab may sponsor in the future, investment adviser to Laudus Trust and Laudus Variable Insurance Trust and an investment adviser to certain non-investment company clients. The business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each director and/or senior or executive officer of the investment adviser (CSIM) is or has been engaged during the past two fiscal years is listed below. The name of any company for which any director and/or senior or executive officer of the investment adviser serves as director, officer, employee, partner or trustee is also listed below. In addition, the name and position of each director and/or senior or executive officer of the Registrant's principal underwriter Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. is listed below.
Name and Position Name of Other Company Capacity with Adviser ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Charles R. Schwab, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chairman The Charles Schwab Bank, N.A. Chairman, Director The Charles Schwab Corporation Chairman, Chief Executive Officer Schwab Holdings, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Name and Position Name of Other Company Capacity with Adviser ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Schwab International Holdings, Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Schwab (SIS) Holdings, Inc. I Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles Schwab Holdings (UK) Chairman All Kinds of Minds Director Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation Director Stanford University Trustee Randall W. Merk Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Executive Vice President Director, President and Chief Executive Officer Laudus Trust Trustee Laudus Variable Insurance Trust Charles Schwab Worldwide Funds, PLC Director Charles Schwab Asset Management (Ireland) Limited Director Koji E. Felton, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel Senior Vice President, Chief Counsel and Corporate Secretary Laudus Trust Chief Legal Officer Laudus Variable Insurance Trust Randall Fillmore, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer Chief Compliance Officer Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Senior Vice President Laudus Trust and Laudus Variable Insurance Trust Chief Compliance Officer Kimon P. Daifotis, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Senior Vice President Fixed Income and Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income
Name and Position Name of Other Company Capacity with Adviser ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jeffrey M. Mortimer, Laudus Trust Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Senior Vice President Laudus Variable Insurance Trust and Chief Investment Officer, Equities George Pereira, Laudus Trust Chief Financial Officer Senior Vice President Laudus Variable Insurance Trust and Chief Financial Officer Charles Schwab Worldwide Funds, PLC Director Charles Schwab Asset Management (Ireland) Limited Director
Item 27. Principal Underwriters. (a) Schwab acts as principal underwriter and distributor of Registrant's shares. Schwab also acts as principal underwriter for The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Capital Trust and Schwab Annuity Portfolios and intends to act as such for any other investment company which Schwab may sponsor in the future. (b) The principal business address of Schwab is 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94104.
Name Position and Offices with the Underwriter Position and Offices with the Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Charles R. Schwab Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chairman and Trustee ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Walt Bettinger President and Chief Operating Officer None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Joseph Martinetto Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Carrie Dwyer Executive Vice President, Corporate Oversight None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bryce Lensing Executive Vice President, Risk Management ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Randall W. Merk Executive Vice President Trustee; President and Chief Executive Officer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jan Hier King Executive Vice President, Human Resources None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gideon Sasson Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Becky Saeger Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maurisa Sommerfield Executive Vice President, Schwab Operations None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name Position and Offices with the Underwriter Position and Offices with the Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Koji E. Felton Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel Chief Legal Officer and Secretary ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Randall Fillmore Senior Vice President Chief Compliance Officer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) None. Item 28. Location of Accounts and Records. All accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained pursuant to Section 31(a) of the 1940 Act and the Rules thereunder are maintained at the offices of: Registrant; Registrant's investment manager and administrator, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94104; Registrant's principal underwriter, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94104; Registrant's Custodian and Registrant's fund accountants: State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111. Item 29. Management Services. Not applicable. Item 30. Undertakings. Not applicable. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for the effectiveness of this Post Effective Amendment No. 73 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A pursuant to Rule 485(b) under the 1933 Act and has duly caused this Post Effective Amendment No. 73 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized, in the City of Philadelphia, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on the 19th day of September, 2007. SCHWAB INVESTMENTS Registrant Charles R. Schwab* ------------------ Charles R. Schwab, Chairman and Trustee Pursuant to the requirements of the 1933 Act, this Post-Effective Amendment No. 73 to Registrant's Registration Statement on Form N-1A has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated this 19th day of September, 2007.
Signature Title --------- ----- Charles R. Schwab* Chairman and Trustee ------------------ Charles R. Schwab Randall W. Merk* Trustee, President and ---------------- Chief Executive Officer Randall W. Merk Mariann Byerwalter* Trustee ------------------- Mariann Byerwalter Donald F. Dorward* Trustee ------------------ Donald F. Dorward William A. Hasler* Trustee ------------------ William A. Hasler Robert G. Holmes* Trustee ----------------- Robert G. Holmes Gerald B. Smith* Trustee ---------------- Gerald B. Smith Donald R. Stephens* Trustee ------------------- Donald R. Stephens Michael W. Wilsey* Trustee ------------------ Michael W. Wilsey George Pereira* Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer --------------- George Pereira *By: /s/ Timothy W. Levin -------------------- Timothy W. Levin, Attorney-in-Fact Pursuant to Power of Attorney
EXHIBIT INDEX
EXH. NO. DOCUMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (d)(ii) Amended Schedules A & D -- Investment Advisory & Administration Agreement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (d)(vii) Letter Agreement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (e)(ii) Amended Schedule A -- Distribution Agreement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (g)(iii) Amended Schedules A & C -- Transfer Agency Agreement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (g)(v) Amended Schedules A & C -- Shareholder Services Agreement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (i) Opinion of Counsel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (l)(x) Purchase Agreement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (n)(ii) Amended Schedule A -- Multiple Class Plan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------