SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. said Thursday its mutual fund family saw total assets pass the $100-billion mark on Friday, spurred by growth among its equity and money market funds.
Schwab, also known for being the largest online broker, said the 25 equity funds grew the most in percentage terms among all of its 52 funds since the beginning of the year.
But those funds held only 18 percent of the assets, compared with the 80 percent held by the 17 money market funds, according to a spokeswoman.
The family's 10 bond funds hold about two percent of total assets, she added.
Meanwhile, assets reached some $250 billion when including other mutual fund families such as Janus and INVESCO, which are also sold by Schwab, it said.
When including all active accounts such as those held by online stock traders, assets totaled $592 billion, it said.
Bill Klipp, president of Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc., which oversees the SchwabFunds family, told Reuters the equity funds had been growing at a rate of more than 100 percent during the last three years, with flagship index funds Schwab 1000 and Schwab S&P 500 taking the lead.
Schwab 1000 tries to match the market's performance by investing in the 1,000 biggest companies, while Schwab S&P tries to do the same by investing in the 500 that comprise the the Standard & Poor's index.
Klipp expected the family's assets to pass $150 billion in about a year, and $200 billion in a little more than two.
In dollar terms, the family's 17 money market funds grew the most, he said.
For the year ending Sept. 9, their assets rose to about $81 billion from some $67 billion, compared with about $17 billion from about $12 billion for equity funds, he said.
Klipp said money market funds had the largest share of assets because they were the first to be introduced by Schwab, while the equity funds were a relatively new product whose popularity as a class had grown rapidly in recent years. |
