Charles Schwab Investment Management Receives Best-in-Class Lipper Fund Awards for Two Laudus Funds

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM), a leading asset manager, announced today that two of its sub-advised Laudus mutual funds have received Best-in-Class Lipper Fund Awards for consistent risk-adjusted returns relative to their peers. Both funds focus on international equities, but employ different investment strategies.

The Laudus International MarketMasters Fund^TM – Select Shares (SWMIX) was named Best-in-Class among 146 International Multi-Cap Growth Funds for the ten-year period ending 11/30/2014. The Laudus Mondrian Institutional International Equity Fund (LIIEX)¹ was recognized as Best-in-Class among 62 International Large-Cap Value Funds for the three-year period ending 11/30/2014.

"Our aim at CSIM is to deliver consistently strong results over the long-term, and to never lose focus of what our clients seek from us – smart solutions and great outcomes," said Marie Chandoha, president and chief executive officer of CSIM. "To receive this kind of recognition from Lipper is a tremendous validation of that goal, and something that makes us extremely proud."

The honors were announced on March 31 at the Lipper Fund Awards ceremony in New York.

Laudus International MarketMasters Fund, Select Shares

The Laudus International MarketMasters Fund (SWMIX) launched in 1996 and the Select Shares launched in 2004. The Fund brings a multi-manager approach to investing in international stocks. CSIM selects sub-advisers with demonstrated long-term track records to manage portions of the fund's assets. Each manager brings a particular focus and style. Combined, the fund is internationally diversified, and provides exposure to varied equity styles, market capitalizations, and both international developed and emerging markets. The minimum initial investment for this share class is $50,000.

Laudus Mondrian Institutional International Equity Fund

The Laudus Mondrian Institutional International Equity Fund was launched in 2008 and was sub-advised by Mondrian Investment Partners Limited, with oversight by CSIM. The fund applied a value-oriented approach to investing in international stocks. It sought to identify undervalued securities that could provide strong long-term returns. Through extensive, proprietary research, the sub-adviser carefully constructed a focused portfolio of approximately 30 to 40 companies diversified across country, industry and sector. The fund's value-oriented, defensive approach sought to minimize the volatility that can result from extended market downturns, while retaining exposure to the strong long-term return potential of foreign markets. The fund's investment process focused on four key aspects – bottom-up security analysis, rigorous valuation methodology, top-down currency analysis and ongoing risk management. On February 6, 2015, the fund was reorganized into the Institutional Shares of the Laudus Mondrian International Equity Fund (LIEIX), a mutual fund with the same investment strategy and objective and managed by the same portfolio management team. The minimum initial investment for the Institutional Shares of the Laudus Mondrian International Equity Fund is $500,000.

About The Lipper Fund Awards

The Lipper Fund Awards are part of the Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence, a global family of awards that celebrate exceptional performance throughout the professional investment community. The Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence recognize the world's top funds, fund management firms, sell-side firms, research analysts, and investor relations teams. The Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence also include the Extel Survey Awards, the StarMine Analyst Awards, and the StarMine Broker Rankings. For more information, please contact markets.awards@thomsonreuters.com or visit excellence.thomsonreuters.com.

About Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.

Founded in 1989, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM), a subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation, is one of the nation's largest asset management companies with more than $269.4B in assets under management as of 2/27/15*. It is among the country's largest money market fund managers and is the third-largest provider of retail index funds. In addition to managing Schwab's proprietary funds, CSIM provides oversight for the sub-advised Laudus Fund family. CSIM currently manages 74 mutual funds, 20 of which are actively-managed funds, in addition to two separate account model portfolios, and 21 ETF offerings.

More information is available at www.csimfunds.com.

About Charles Schwab

At Charles Schwab we believe in the power of investing to help individuals create a better tomorrow. We have a history of challenging the status quo in our industry, innovating in ways that benefit investors and the advisors and employers who serve them, and championing our clients' goals with passion and integrity.

More information is available at www.aboutschwab.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Through its operating subsidiaries, The Charles Schwab Corporation SCHW provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; compliance and trade monitoring solutions; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through Schwab Advisor Services. Its banking subsidiary, Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender), provides banking and lending services and products. More information is available at www.schwab.com and www.aboutschwab.com.

DISCLOSURES:

Investors should consider carefully information contained in the prospectus, including investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. You can request a prospectus by calling 800-447-3332. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Investment value will fluctuate, and shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

International investments involve additional risks, which include differences in financial accounting standards, currency fluctuations, geopolitical risk, foreign taxes and regulations, and the potential for illiquid markets. Investing in emerging markets may accentuate these risks.

There are risks associated with investing in foreign companies, such as erratic market conditions, economic and political instability, fluctuations in currency and exchange rates, and an increased risk of price volatility associated with less uniformity in accounting and reporting requirements. Investing in emerging markets accentuates these risks. Investments in emerging markets may be more likely to experience political turmoil or rapid changes in market or economic conditions than more developed countries.

The Laudus Group® of Funds includes the Laudus Mondrian Funds and Laudus U.S. Large Cap Growth Fund, which are part of the Laudus Trust and distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc.; and the Laudus MarketMasters Funds®, which are part of the Schwab Capital Trust and distributed by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ALPS Distributors, Inc. and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. are unaffiliated entities.

Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. ("CSIM"), the investment advisor for Schwab's proprietary funds, and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab"), the distributor for Schwab Funds, are separate but affiliated companies and subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation.

Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company, is a nationally recognized organization that ranks the performance of mutual funds within a universe of funds that have similar investment objectives. Rankings are historical and are based on total return with capital gains and dividends reinvested.

* Number of Funds and Assets Under Management (AUM) is as of 12/31/2014. CSIM managed approximately $258.4B on a discretionary basis and approximately $11B on a non-discretionary basis.

¹ On February 6, 2015, LIIEX was reorganized into the Institutional Shares of the Laudus Mondrian International Equity Fund (LIEIX), a mutual fund with the same investment strategy and objective and managed by the same portfolio management team as LIIEX. For more information, see the fund's website.

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