Charles Schwab Reduces Fees on ETFs

Commentary June 30, 2010 at 08:00 PM

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Charles Schwab is dropping fees on six of its eight proprietary ETFs as follows:

–Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF from 0.08 percent to 0.06 percent
–Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF from 0.15 percent to 0.13 percent
–Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF from 0.15 percent to 0.13 percent
–Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF from 0.15 percent to 0.13 percent
–Schwab International Equity ETF from 0.15 percent to 0.13 percent
–Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF from 0.35 percent to 0.25 percent

"Schwab is committed to providing investors with the building blocks for a well-diversified portfolio at an exceptionally low-cost," said Peter Crawford, senior vice president, Investment Management Services at Charles Schwab, in a press release. "The combination of low costs and the resources to put together smart investment strategies make ETF investing an unbeatable value at Schwab."

Currently, Schwab's ETF lineup consists of investments that follow broad market indexes.

For investors with a Charles Schwab brokerage account, Schwab ETFs can be bought and sold without commissions if purchased online, regardless of the number of shares traded.

According to the company, the fee reductions for the six Schwab ETFs will make them the lowest cost funds in their respective category.

"ETFs provide a liquid, low-cost and more tax-efficient way to invest in and trade entire segments of the market," said Crawford.

The ETF market is getting more and more competitive. In May, Vanguard launched commission-free trading for 46 of its ETFs – following moves by Fidelity to do so on some products and Schwab's commission-free arrangements.

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