Schwab's YieldPlus Bond Fund Rises to Category Leader at Both Morningstar and Lipper
May 18 2005 - 5:36PM
PR Newswire (US)
Schwab's YieldPlus Bond Fund Rises to Category Leader at Both
Morningstar and Lipper SAN FRANCISCO, May 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- The Schwab YieldPlus ultra-short bond fund has been named the
best performer in its class by Lipper and Morningstar. As of April
30, 2005, the fund outperformed its 46 peers at Lipper and 61 at
Morningstar. Schwab's fund rose to the top in the ultra- short
categories at both mutual fund rating agencies despite their
differing criteria for the three year period. A consistently high
performer, the fund ranked No. 6 out of 71 funds for the one-year
period and No. 3 out of 30 funds for the five-year period at
Lipper; and No. 3 out of 85 funds for the one-year period and No. 6
out of 43 funds for the five-year period at Morningstar. Since Dec.
31, 2004, Schwab's fund, which recently surpassed $5.5 billion in
assets, has been the largest ultra-short bond fund at Lipper.
"Investor confidence in Schwab's YieldPlus bond fund is responsible
for driving the incredible growth we've seen in this and other
Schwab Funds," said Evelyn Dilsaver, president and CEO of Charles
Schwab Investment Management (CSIM). "YieldPlus received more
inflows than any of Schwab's other mutual funds last year and has
surpassed the industry's leading ultra-short bond fund by more than
$500 million in assets at Lipper, and is the second largest in its
class at Morningstar. This kind of success is directly attributable
to the expertise of our fixed-income management team and their
ability to perform reliably and consistently. As a result of their
efforts, the assets in our fixed-income funds have increased 13
percent over the last quarter, as investors recognize the wide
range of funds available from Schwab to meet a variety of investing
needs." The YieldPlus bond fund was established Oct. 1, 1999 for
investors seeking higher yields than traditional money market funds
and who can tolerate some fluctuation in net asset value. The fund
seeks higher yield, with a higher related risk, than a money market
fund, and relatively less risk than a longer-term bond fund. The
fund invests primarily in investment-grade bonds and seeks to
maintain an average portfolio duration of one year or less; it may
invest up to 25 percent of assets in lower quality bonds. Portfolio
Management Kim Daifotis, senior vice president and chief investment
officer - fixed income for Charles Schwab Investment Management,
manages the Schwab YieldPlus Fund. Daifotis oversees all
fixed-income funds for CSIM, including municipal, taxable and money
market funds. He has more than 20 years of experience in research
and asset management. Prior to joining Schwab in November 1997, he
was a senior portfolio strategist at Lehman Brothers as well as a
senior portfolio manager at Barclays Global Investors. About
Charles Schwab Investment Management Founded in 1991, Charles
Schwab Investment Management, Inc., an affiliate of Charles Schwab
& Co. Inc., is one of the nation's largest mutual fund
companies with $140 billion under management as of March 31, 2005.
It is the country's fourth-largest money market fund manager and
third-largest provider of retail index funds. CSIM currently
manages 62 mutual funds including 21 actively managed equity funds,
taxable and tax-free bond funds, and taxable and municipal money
market funds. About Charles Schwab The Charles Schwab Corporation
(NYSE / Nasdaq: SCH), through its operating subsidiaries, provides
securities brokerage and financial services to individual investors
and the independent investment advisors who work with them. With
over 7 million individual investor accounts and more than $1
trillion in client assets, The Charles Schwab Corporation is one of
the nation's largest financial services firms. Its subsidiary
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) provides a complete
range of investment services and products, including an extensive
selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment
advice; retirement plans; referrals to independent fee-based
investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support
for independent fee-based investment advisors. Its subsidiary
Charles Schwab Bank, N.A. (member FDIC) provides banking and
mortgage services and products. The Corporation's other operating
subsidiaries include U.S. Trust Corporation (member FDIC) and
CyberTrader(R), Inc. (member SIPC). These companies' Web sites can
be reached at http://www.schwab.com/, http://www.schwabbank.com/,
http://www.ustrust.com/, and http://www.cybertrader.com/.
(0505-07908) Performance data quoted is past performance and no
guarantee of future results. Investment value will fluctuate and
shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their
original cost. Numbers assume reinvestment of dividends and capital
gains over each time period. Lipper, Inc. rankings are based on
average annual total returns not including sales charges for the
periods indicated. Lipper, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters, is
an independent ranking organization for the mutual fund industry.
Morningstar Ranking displays the fund's actual rank within its
Morningstar category based on average annual total return and
number of funds in that category DATASOURCE: Charles Schwab
CONTACT: Lara Edge of Charles Schwab, +1-415-636-3386 or Web site:
http://www.schwab.com/
Copyright