Welcome USAA members.
Welcome USAA members.
Take the next step toward your tomorrow with Schwab.
We believe you should always have a clear picture of what you're paying.
On this page:
- What are the fees?
- What do mutual funds cost with Schwab?
- What is net asset value (NAV)?
- What are mutual fund share classes?
- What are the tax consequences?
What are mutual fund fees?
Once you've found the mutual fund you want, take a close look at the fees and costs. And remember, the relative importance of fees and costs depends on how you plan to use the fund in pursuit of your investment goals.
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Operating expense ratio (OER)
An OER is the percentage of fund assets taken out annually to cover fund operating expenses. For example, if you have $10,000 in a mutual fund with a 0.50% expense ratio, you're paying about $50 per year in expenses.
Where to look it up?
Schwab mutual fund prospectus >
Schwab mutual fund research > -
Load
A load is a one-time commission some fund companies charge whenever you buy or sell shares in certain load-based mutual funds to compensate the broker for the sale.
Where to look it up?
Schwab mutual fund prospectus >
Schwab mutual fund research > -
Transaction fee
This is a trading fee some brokerages may charge whenever you buy or sell mutual fund shares.
Where to look it up?
View our transaction fees >
What do mutual funds cost at Schwab?
As an industry leader in mutual fund investing, we offer some of the best pricing you'll find anywhere. Here's a quick breakdown:
- What you might pay elsewhere
- With Schwab
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Operating Expense Ratio (OER)
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What you might pay elsewhere
Passively managed funds
The industry asset-weighted OER for passively managed funds is 0.09%.1Actively managed funds
The industry asset-weighted OER for actively managed funds is 0.64%.1
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With Schwab
Passively managed funds
Schwab Funds®*2
The asset-weighted OER ratio for passively managed mutual funds is 0.05%.3 OERs can range from 0.02% – 0.39%.Actively managed funds
Schwab Funds*2
The asset-weighted OER ratio for actively managed mutual funds is 0.76%.3 OERs can range from 0.38% – 1.09%.
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Load
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What you might pay elsewhere
Loads vary fund-to-fund. Look for the fund's load in its prospectus.
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With Schwab
$0 for Schwab Funds* and any fund participating in Schwab's Mutual Fund OneSource® service.4
No-load and load-waived funds that do not participate in Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource are also available, but transaction fees apply.
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Transaction Fee
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What you might pay elsewhere
Purchase $0 – $74.955
Redeem $0 – $49.995
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With Schwab
Purchase
$06 online for Schwab Funds* and any fund participating in Schwab's Mutual Fund OneSource service.
Up to $74.95 for all other funds.†
Redeem
$06 online for Schwab Funds* and any fund participating in Schwab's Mutual Fund OneSource service.
†Per-trade transaction fees do not exceed 8.5% of principal, up to $74.95. Trades below $100 in principal are exempt from the transaction fee.
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*Schwab Asset Management™ is the dba name for Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., the investment adviser for Schwab Funds. Schwab Funds are distributed by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), Member SIPC. Schwab Asset Management and Schwab are separate but affiliated companies and subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
- View important information about mutual funds
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1. Industry OERs obtained from Morningstar Direct, as reflected on 12/31/23. Includes OERs from all funds registered in the U.S., excluding money market funds and fund of funds. OERs are net expense ratios, and may not take into account the impact of fee cuts or fee increases that occurred since the prospectus was last filed.
2. Schwab Asset Management™ is the dba name for Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., the investment adviser for Schwab Funds. Schwab Funds are distributed by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), Member SIPC. Schwab Asset Management and Schwab are separate but affiliated companies and subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
3. Asset-weighted average expense ratio is based on assets as of 12/31/23. An asset-weighted average basis is used to give more weight to funds with greater assets. It reflects where investors are actually putting their assets, and thus, better reflects the actual expenses by investors than does a simple average (weighting each fund equally).
4. Trades in no-load mutual funds available through the Mutual Fund OneSource service (including Schwab Funds), as well as certain other funds, are available without transaction fees. For each of these trade orders placed through a broker, a $25 service charge applies. Schwab reserves the right to change the funds we make available without transaction fees and to reinstate fees on any funds. Schwab's short-term redemption fee of $49.95 will be charged on redemption of funds purchased through Schwab's Mutual Fund OneSource service (and certain other funds with no transaction fees) and held for 90 days or less. Schwab reserves the right to exempt certain funds from this fee, including Schwab Funds®, which may charge a separate redemption fee, and funds that accommodate short-term trading.
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.,Member SIPC, receives remuneration from fund companies participating in the Mutual Fund OneSource service for recordkeeping and shareholder services and other administrative services. Schwab also may receive remuneration from transaction fee fund companies for certain administrative services.
5. Based on competitor pricing information obtained from their respective websites as of 1/3/24: Fidelity, E*Trade, TD Ameritrade, and Vanguard. Competitor pricing and offers subject to change without notice.
6. Please be aware that transaction fees may apply to certain no-load funds that do not participate in Schwab's Mutual Fund OneSource platform. Such funds are subject to Schwab's standard transaction fees, in addition to any redemption fees imposed by the fund. See theCharles Schwab Pricing Guidefor details. Get more details aboutSchwab Mutual Funds.† An increased transaction fee applies to purchases made by self-directed Retail clients of funds from certain fund families that do not pay Schwab for recordkeeping, shareholder, and other administrative services on fund shares held by self-directed Retail clients; however, Schwab may receive compensation on fund shares held by other client segments. For more information and to identify any applicable transaction fees associated with purchasing a given fund, please refer to the Fund Facts & Fees tab on the individual fund page on Schwab.com.
View important information about mutual funds
What is net asset value?
The net asset value, or NAV, is the share price of the mutual fund, which is the fund's assets minus its liabilities, divided by the number of outstanding shares.
- NAV fluctuates daily as the value of the individual fund holdings and the number of outstanding fund shares change.
- Unlike stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds trade only once a day, after markets close at 4 p.m. ET. If you enter a trade to buy or sell mutual fund shares, your trade will be executed at the next available NAV, which is calculated after the market closes and typically posted by 6 p.m. ET.
What are mutual fund share classes?
Unlike ETFs, many mutual funds offer more than one class of shares. This structure allows you to select a share class that's best suited to your time horizon.
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Investor shares
Sometimes known as "retail" shares, these are typically no-load funds and impose a moderate expense ratio.
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Class A shares
These shares typically charge a front-end sales load, which means that the full price an investor pays upfront isn't entirely invested in fund shares; some portion of the investor's money goes instead to a financial professional.
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Class B shares
These shares generally forego a front-end sales charge but impose either a back-end sales charge or a contingent deferred sales charge, which is paid as redemption decreases over time.
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Class C shares
These shares also impose no front-end sales charge but charge higher ongoing asset-based fees.
What are the tax consequences?
When holding a mutual fund outside of a retirement account, investors are subject to taxes on annual gains, even if you don't sell—or, in some cases, just bought your shares. So it's important to understand a mutual fund's tax efficiency. Here are a few things to look for:
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Turnover ratio
Turnover is a measurement of how long a fund holds the securities it buys. The longer the holding period, the lower the turnover and vice versa. Index funds, because of their limited buying and selling activity, are generally more tax-efficient than actively managed funds.
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Tax cost ratio
This is a metric developed by mutual fund research firm Morningstar, Inc. that indicates how much a fund's annualized return is reduced by the taxes investors pay on dividends.
Next steps
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Explore mutual funds at Schwab.
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