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Schwab
Funds®
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Summary
Prospectus August 22,
2011
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Schwab California
Tax-Free Bond
Fundtm
Ticker
Symbol: SWCAX
Before you invest, you may want to review the funds
prospectus, which contains more information about the fund and
its risks. You can find the funds prospectus, Statement of
Additional Information (SAI) and other information about the
fund online at www.schwabfunds.com/prospectus. You can
also obtain this information at no cost by calling
1-866-414-6349
or by sending an email request to
orders@mysummaryprospectus.com. If you purchase or hold
fund shares through a financial intermediary, the funds
prospectus, SAI, and other information about the fund are
available from your financial intermediary.
The funds prospectus dated December 15, 2010 as
supplemented June 22, 2011 and SAI dated December 15,
2010, as amended August 22, 2011, include a more detailed
discussion of fund investment policies and the risks associated
with various fund investments. The prospectus and SAI are
incorporated by reference into the summary prospectus, making
them legally a part of the summary prospectus.
Investment
objective
The fund seeks high current income exempt from federal and
California personal income tax that is consistent with capital
preservation.
Fund fees
and expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you
buy and hold shares of the fund.
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Shareholder
fees
(fees
paid directly from your investment)
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None
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Annual
fund operating expenses
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(expenses
that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)
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Management fees
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0.30
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Distribution (12b-1) fees
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None
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Other expenses
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0.29
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Total annual fund operating expenses
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0.59
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Less expense reduction
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(0.10)
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Total annual fund operating expenses after expense
reduction1
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0.49
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1
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The investment
adviser and its affiliates have agreed to limit the total annual
fund operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes and certain
non-routine expenses) of the fund to 0.49% for so long as the
investment adviser serves as the adviser to the fund. This
agreement may only be amended or terminated with the approval of
the funds Board of Trustees.
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Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of
investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual
funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund
for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your
shares at the end of those time periods. The example also
assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that
the funds operating expenses remain the same. The figures
are based on total annual fund operating expenses after expense
reduction. 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
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1 year
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3 years
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5 years
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10 years
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$50
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$157
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$274
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$616
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Portfolio
turnover
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it
buys and sells securities (or turns over its
portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher
transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not
reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the
example, affect the funds performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the funds portfolio turnover rate was
88% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal
investment strategies
To pursue its goal, the fund primarily invests in
investment-grade municipal securities those in the
four highest credit rating categories (rated AAA to BBB or
the unrated equivalent as determined by the investment adviser)
from California issuers. The fund normally invests at
least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities the interest
from which is exempt from federal and California personal income
tax and federal alternative minimum tax (AMT). The fund does not
currently intend to invest in municipal securities whose
interest is subject to the AMT; however, this would not prevent
the fund from investing in such securities as a temporary
defensive measure discussed below. The fund seeks to maintain an
average maturity in its portfolio between three years and ten
years.
The fund may invest in securities from municipal issuers in
California and in U.S. territories and possessions. These
may include general obligation issues, which typically are
backed by the issuers ability to levy taxes, and revenue
issues, which typically are backed by a stream of revenue from a
given source, such as an electric utility or a public water
system. The fund may invest more than 25% of its total assets in
municipal securities financing similar projects, such as those
relating to education, health care, transportation and utilities
and may also invest in municipal notes.
In choosing securities, the funds manager seeks to
maximize current income within the limits of the funds
credit and average maturity standards. The investment
advisers credit research
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department analyzes and monitors the securities that the fund
owns or is considering buying. The fund may invest up to 15% of
its assets in below investment grade bonds (sometimes called
junk bonds) that are rated, at the time of investment, at least
B by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating
organization or are the unrated equivalent as determined by the
investment adviser. If a bond is downgraded below B or the
unrated equivalent, the fund may continue to hold it unless the
investment adviser determines the risk of holding the bond is
unacceptable when compared to the bonds total return
potential. The manager also may use investment techniques, such
as futures contracts and other derivatives, in seeking to
enhance yield, preserve capital, reduce bond price fluctuations
and otherwise manage investment risk.
During unusual market conditions, the fund may invest entirely
in taxable securities and municipal securities whose interest is
subject to the AMT as a temporary defensive measure. When the
fund engages in such activities, the fund would not be pursuing
its investment strategy and, as a result, it may not achieve its
investment objective.
Principal
risks
The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an
investor to lose money. The funds principal risks include:
Market Risk. Bond markets 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.
Management Risk. As with all actively managed funds,
the strategies of the funds investment adviser may not
achieve their desired results. Poor securities selection or a
focus on securities in a particular sector may cause the fund to
underperform its benchmark or other funds with a similar
investment objective.
Investment Style Risk. The fund is not designed to
offer substantial capital appreciation. In exchange for its goal
of capital preservation, the fund may offer lower long-term
performance than stock investments or certain other types of
bond investments. The funds emphasis on quality and
preservation of capital also could cause it to underperform
certain other types of bond investments, particularly those that
take greater maturity and credit risks. At the same time, some
of the funds investments may have greater risks than
securities in taxable bond funds.
Non-Diversification Risk. The fund is
non-diversified and, as such, may invest a greater percentage of
its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a fund that
is diversified. A non-diversified fund is more susceptible to
risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory
occurrence than a diversified fund.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rates will rise and
fall over time. During periods when interest rates are low, the
funds yield and total return also may be low. Changes in
interest rates also may affect the funds share price: a
sharp rise in interest rates could cause the funds share
price to fall. The longer the funds duration, the more
sensitive to interest rate movements its share price is likely
to be.
Credit Risk. The fund is subject to the risk that a
decline in the credit quality of a portfolio investment could
cause the fund to lose money or underperform. The fund could
lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a portfolio investment
fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise
honor its obligations.
Liquidity Risk. A particular investment may be
difficult to purchase or sell. The fund may be unable to sell a
security at an advantageous time or price.
High Yield Risk. High yield securities and unrated
securities of similar credit quality (sometimes called junk
bonds) that the fund may invest in are subject to greater levels
of credit and liquidity risks. High yield securities are
considered primarily speculative with respect to the
issuers continuing ability to make principal and interest
payments.
Leverage Risk. Certain fund transactions, such as
derivatives, may give rise to a form of leverage and may expose
the fund to greater risk. 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.
Prepayment and Extension Risk. The funds
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 funds yield or
share price.
Municipal Securities Risk. The fund primarily
invests in municipal securities whose interest, in the opinion
of the securities counsel, is exempt from federal income
tax and from the AMT. Neither the investment adviser nor the
fund guarantees that this opinion is correct, and there is no
assurance that the IRS will agree with such counsels
opinion. If certain types of investments the fund buys as
tax-exempt are later ruled to be taxable, a portion of the
funds income could be taxable. To the extent that the fund
invests in municipal securities from a given state or geographic
region, its share price and performance could be affected by
local, state and regional factors, including erosion of the tax
base and changes in the economic climate. National governmental
actions, such as the elimination of tax-exempt status, also
could affect performance.
California State-Specific Risk. Because the fund
concentrates its investments in California municipal securities,
the fund may be affected significantly by economic, regulatory
or political developments affecting the ability of California
issuers to pay interest or repay principal.
Derivatives Risk. The funds use of derivative
instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater
than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities
and other traditional investments and could cause the fund to
lose more than the principal amount invested. In addition,
investments in derivatives may involve leverage, which means a
small percentage of assets invested in derivatives can have a
disproportionately larger impact on the fund.
Taxable Investments. The fund may invest a portion
of its assets in securities that generate income that is not
exempt from federal income tax and, in addition, with respect to
any temporary defensive investments by the fund, in securities
whose interest is subject to the AMT. These investments could
generate taxable income for shareholders.
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Summary Prospectus August 22, 2011
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2 of 4
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Schwab California Tax-Free Bond
Fundtm
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Lack of Governmental Insurance or Guarantee. An
investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and it is not
insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
For more information on the risks of investing in the fund
please see the Fund details section in the
prospectus.
Performance
The bar chart below shows how the funds investment results
have varied from year to year, and the following table shows how
the funds average annual total returns for various periods
compared to that of an index. This information provides some
indication of the risks of investing in the fund. All figures
assume distributions were reinvested. Keep in mind that future
performance (both before and after taxes) may differ from past
performance. For current performance information, please see
www.schwabfunds.com/prospectus.
Annual
total returns
(%) as of
12/31
Best
quarter: 5.79% Q3 2002 Worst
quarter: (2.15%) Q2 2004
Year-to-date
performance (non-annualized and pre-tax) as of
9/30/10:
6.15%
Average
annual total returns
(%) as of
12/31/09
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1 year
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5 years
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10 years
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Before taxes
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9.38%
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3.60%
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5.55%
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After taxes on distributions
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9.38%
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3.58%
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5.53%
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After taxes on distributions and sale of shares
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7.35%
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3.65%
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5.43%
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Comparative Index (reflects no deduction for expenses or
taxes)
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Barclays
7-Year
Municipal Bond Index
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7.61%
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4.58%
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5.59%
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The after-tax figures reflect the highest individual federal
income tax rates in effect during the period and do not reflect
the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax
returns depend on your individual tax situation. In addition,
after-tax returns are not relevant if you hold your fund shares
through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan, IRA
or other tax-advantaged account. In some cases, the return after
taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed
benefit from any losses on a sale of shares at the end of the
measurement period.
Investment
adviser
Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.
Portfolio
managers
Kenneth Salinger, CFA, a managing director and portfolio
manager of the investment adviser, has
day-to-day
co-responsibility for the management of the fund. He has managed
the fund since 2008.
John Shelton, CFA, a portfolio manager of the investment
adviser, has
day-to-day
co-responsibility for the management of the fund. He has managed
the fund since 2000.
Purchase
and sale of fund shares
The fund is open for business each day that the New York Stock
Exchange is open. When you place orders to purchase, exchange or
redeem fund shares through an account at Charles
Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab) or another financial
intermediary, you must follow Schwabs or the other
financial intermediarys transaction procedures.
Eligible Investors (as determined by the fund and which
generally are limited to institutional investors) may invest
directly in the fund by placing purchase, exchange and
redemption orders through the funds transfer agent.
Eligible Investors must contact the transfer agent by phone or
in writing to obtain an account application. Eligible Investors
may contact the transfer agent:
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by telephone at
1-800-407-0256; or
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by mail in writing at Boston Financial Data Services, Attn:
Schwab Funds, P.O. Box 8283, Boston, MA
02266-8323.
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The minimum initial investment for the fund is $100. The fund
may waive the minimum initial investment for certain investors.
Tax
information
The fund intends to distribute income that is exempt from
regular federal and California state personal income taxes. A
portion the funds distributions may be subject to such
taxes or to the alternative minimum tax.
Payments
to financial intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the fund through a broker-dealer or
other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the fund and its
related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of fund
shares and related services. These payments may create a
conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other
financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the
fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your
financial intermediarys website for more information.
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Summary Prospectus August 22, 2011
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3 of 4
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Schwab California Tax-Free Bond
Fundtm
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Schwab
Funds®
REG58800FLD-06
Schwab
California Tax-Free Bond
Fundtm;
Ticker Symbol: SWCAX
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Summary Prospectus August 22, 2011
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4 of 4
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Schwab California Tax-Free Bond
Fundtm
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