In Brief: Schwab Ties Bond Funds to Broader Indexes

Charles Schwab & Co., San Francisco, announced this week that it has revamped two of its government bond funds to track bond indexes published by Lehman Brothers.

The aim was to give retail investors broader exposure to the bond market, said Michelle Swenson, senior vice president in investment products and research. Both funds remain heavily, but not exclusively, invested in Treasury and government agency bonds.

The Schwab Short-Term Bond Market Index, previously known as the Schwab Short/Intermediate Government Bond Fund, now tracks the Lehman Brothers Short Government/Corporate Index, which tracks one- to five-year bonds.

With approximately $133 million of assets under management, the fund is now 85% weighted in Treasuries and government agency bonds, 13% in corporates, and 2% in international bonds, Ms. Swenson said. Previously, the fund had a 94% weighting in the Treasury market and 6% in government agency mortgage-backed bonds.

The other fund, the Schwab Long-Term Government Bond Index, was formerly the Schwab Total Bond Market Index Fund.

The $36 million-asset fund has an eight-year average maturity and now tracks the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index. It has gone from holding only government and agency securities to 50% Treasury, 30% agency mortgage- backed, 15% corporates, 4% international, and 1% asset-backed, Ms. Swenson said.

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