
Costs of Investing:
A Breakdown
It's not always easy to get a handle on your investing costs. Depending on where you invest, it might be difficult to get a good understanding of what the costs are and what investors might expect to pay for them. We believe it shouldn't be that way. You should always know what you're paying—and finding that information should be easy.
Stocks and Options
What are the costs? | What you pay with Schwab |
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Trade Commissions Every time you buy or sell a stock or option, your brokerage company may charge you a trade commission. This includes costs for routing, executing, and clearing the trade.
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US$0 commissions on online listed stock and options trades.1 + US$0.65 per options contract.2
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- See disclosures on stocks and options
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1. Standard online US$0 commission does not apply to over-the-counter (OTC) equities, transaction-fee mutual funds, futures, fixed-income investments, or trades placed directly on a foreign exchange or in the Canadian market. Options trades will be subject to the standard US$0.65 per-contract fee. Service charges apply for trades placed through a broker (US$25) or by automated phone (US$5). Exchange process, ADR, and Stock Borrow fees still apply. Please contact Schwab for details. See the Charles Schwab Pricing Guide for Individual Investors for full fee and commission schedules.
2. Please see the Charles Schwab Pricing Guide for detailed information on equity and options commissions. Multiple-leg options strategies will involve multiple commissions.
Multiple leg online option orders such as spreads, straddles, combinations, and rollouts are charged per-contract fees for the total number of option contracts. Complex online option orders involving both an equity and an option leg, including Buy/Writes or Write/Unwinds, are charged per-contract fees for the option leg. Service charges apply for trades placed through a broker (US$25) or by automated phone (US$5).
Special Service Fees
For certain securities transactions, Schwab collects an Industry Fee to offset an array of charges assessed on us directly or indirectly by self-regulatory organizations ("SROs") (including national securities exchanges, clearing agencies, and a national securities association) and foreign governments. The amount of such charges incurred by Schwab depends on the nature of the transaction and the security purchased or sold. The Industry Fee is in addition to any commissions we may charge and is identified on your trade confirmation and account statements as Industry Fee.The Industry Fee is collected to offset, as applicable, some or all of the following SRO and foreign government fees:
- Section 31 Fee: The SEC assesses transaction fees on each national securities exchange and FINRA based on the aggregate dollar amount of sales of certain securities. The SEC recalculates the amount of this fee periodically—at least once per year but sometimes more often. This fee is ultimately intended to cover the costs incurred by the government, including the SEC, for supervising and regulating the securities markets and securities professionals. Each national securities exchange and FINRA offsets these transaction fees by charging their member broker-dealers. Schwab may be assessed these fees directly from SROs of which it is a member, and indirectly from other broker-dealers to whom we route orders.
- FINRA Trading Activity Fee: FINRA, a national securities association, charges this fee to its member firms, such as Schwab, to recover the costs of supervision and regulation. This fee is set by rule and is specified in Schedule A of FINRA's By-Laws.
- Options Regulatory Fee: The Options Clearing Corporation collects an Options Regulatory Fee ("ORF") that is assessed by each options exchange. The amount of the ORF varies by options exchange, where an options trade executes, and whether the broker who's responsible for the trade is a member of a particular exchange.
- Proprietary Index Options Fee: An options exchange, such as Cboe, may charge a proprietary index option fee on select index options (such as on the SPX®, OEX®, and VIX®) that only trade on their exchange.
- Foreign Transaction Tax on ADRs: The governments of some countries, such as France, Italy, and Spain, have implemented foreign transaction taxes on the purchase of certain securities they deem as being connected to their country, including U.S.-issued ADRs. These taxes are imposed extraterritorially, without regard to where an investor or financial firm is located, and are calculated as a percentage of the purchase amount of a covered security.
See disclosures on stocks and options
Offshore Mutual Funds
What are the costs? | What you pay with Schwab |
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Operating Expense Ratio (OER) OERs are charged annually by the fund company, expressed as a percentage of a fund's average net assets. They cover the fund's management and other costs.
Passively managed funds are designed to track a specific market index and typically have lower costs (OERs) than actively managed funds that pay fund managers or management teams to make ongoing decisions on where a fund's money is invested. |
OERs vary from fund to fund. |
Load When you purchase or redeem shares in certain load-based offshore mutual funds, some fund companies charge you this one-time commission to compensate the broker for the sale.
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US$0 Schwab waives sales loads charged by fund companies. |
Transaction Fee When you purchase or redeem an offshore mutual fund, your brokerage company may charge you a trade fee. This fee may also be used to compensate the brokerage in instances where it does not receive compensation from the fund. |
US$0 No transaction fee is charged at Schwab |
Exchange-traded Funds
What are the costs? | What you pay with Schwab |
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Operating Expense Ratio (OER) OERs are charged annually by the fund company, expressed as a percentage of a fund's average net assets. They cover the fund's management and other costs. Passively managed funds are designed to track a specific market index and typically have lower costs (OERs) than actively managed funds that pay fund managers or management teams to make ongoing decisions on where a fund's money is invested. |
Passively managed ETFs Schwab ETFs™*3 The asset-weighted average OER for passively managed ETFs is 0.05%.4 Expenses can range from 0.03%-0.13%. Third-party passively managed ETFs traded on US exchanges are also available. OERs vary from fund to fund. Actively managed ETFs Schwab offers third-party actively managed ETFs traded on U.S exchanges. OERs vary from fund to fund. |
Trade Commission (online) Your broker may charge you a trade commission each time you buy or sell an ETF. |
US$0 online for any listed ETFs, including Schwab ETFs5 |
Other Costs Bid/ask spreads and changes in discounts and premiums can also factor into your trade costs.
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Costs vary from fund to fund. |
*About Schwab ETFs - Schwab ETFs are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co.
- See disclosures on ETFs
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3. Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM), is the investment advisor for Schwab ETFs. Schwab ETFs are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (SIDCO). SIDCO is not affiliated with CSIM.
4. Asset-weighted average expense ratio from Morningstar as of 6/30/19. 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).
5. ETFs at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab") which are U.S. exchange-listed can be traded without a commission on buy and sell transactions made online in a Schwab account. Unlisted ETFs are subject to a commission. Please see pricing guide for additional information. Schwab does not receive payment to promote any particular ETF to its customers. Schwab's affiliate Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. ("CSIM") serves as investment advisor to the Schwab ETFs, which compensate CSIM out of the applicable operating expense ratios. The amount of the fees is disclosed in the prospectus of each ETF.
See disclosures on ETFs
Bonds
What are the costs? | What you pay with Schwab |
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Price Markup Generally, this is the difference between the market price of the bond and the price at which it's sold to you, including transaction fees.
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US$1 per bond transaction fee for most secondary market bonds traded online (US$10 minimum/US$250 maximum).6 |
- See disclosures on bonds
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6. Broker-assisted trades: Online pricing + US$25 per trade service charge
Schwab reserves the right to act as principal on any fixed income transaction, public offering or securities transaction. When Schwab acts as principal, the bond price includes our transaction fee and may also include a markup that reflects the bid-ask spread and is not subject to a minimum or maximum. When trading as principal, Schwab may also be holding the security in its own account prior to selling it to you and, therefore, may make (or lose) money depending on whether the price of the security has risen or fallen while Schwab has held it. When Schwab acts as agent, a commission will be charged on the transaction.
See disclosures on bonds
Portfolio Management Fees
What are the costs? | What you pay with Schwab |
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Annual Portfolio Management Fees If you choose to have your portfolio of investments professionally managed or to obtain advice for a fee, there may be additional periodic costs. Usually based on a percentage of your assets, the costs can vary depending on the level of assets held in your portfolio and the level of service you receive. Keep in mind that you may also be paying investment costs specific to the underlying assets in your portfolio, such as ETF or trade commissions.
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Dedicated financial advice7 Starts at 0.80% for Schwab Wealth Advisory™8 (Fee rates decrease at higher asset levels) |
- See disclosures on portfolio management fees
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7. Example model for Dedicated Financial Advice is limited to services defined as non-discretionary advice for a wrap fee. Additional discretionary advice or advised offers may be available and typically come with higher management fees versus non-discretionary advice.
8. Schwab Wealth Advisory™ ("SWA") is a non‐discretionary investment advisory service sponsored by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab"). Schwab Wealth Advisory, Inc. ("SWAI") is a Registered Investment Adviser and provides portfolio management for the SWA service. Schwab and SWAI are affiliates and are subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
See disclosures on portfolio management fees
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