| Schwab Investor Money Fund® | ||||||||||
| Schwab Investor Money Fund® | ||||||||||
| Investment objective | ||||||||||
| The fund’s goal is to seek the highest current income that is consistent with stability of capital and liquidity. | ||||||||||
| Fund fees and expenses | ||||||||||
| This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. | ||||||||||
| Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment) | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment) | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Example | ||||||||||
| This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those time periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. The expenses would be the same whether you stayed in the fund or sold your shares at the end of each period. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. | ||||||||||
| Expenses on a $10,000 investment | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Principal investment strategies | ||||||||||
To pursue its goal, the fund invests in high-quality short-term money market investments issued by U.S. and foreign issuers, such as:
The fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions that are collateralized by cash or U.S. government securities. In addition, the fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions that are collateralized by money market instruments, debt securities, loan participations or other securities, including equity securities and securities that are rated below investment grade or their unrated equivalents as determined by the investment adviser. In choosing securities, the fund’s manager seeks to maximize current income within the limits of the fund’s investment objective and credit, maturity and diversification policies. Some of these policies may be stricter than the federal regulations that apply to all money funds. Certain of the fund’s securities are subject to credit or liquidity enhancements, which are designed to provide incremental levels of creditworthiness or liquidity. The investment adviser’s credit research department analyzes and monitors the securities that the fund owns or is considering buying. The manager may adjust the fund’s holdings or its average maturity based on actual or anticipated changes in interest rates or credit quality. To preserve its investors’ capital, the fund seeks to maintain a stable $1.00 share price by operating, on or before October 14, 2016, as a “retail money market fund,” as such term is defined or interpreted under the rules governing money market funds. | ||||||||||
| Principal risks | ||||||||||
| The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The fund's principal risks include: Investment Risk. You could lose money by investing in the fund. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. Effective October 14, 2016, the fund may impose a fee upon the sale of your shares or may temporarily suspend your ability to sell shares if the fund’s liquidity falls below required minimums because of market conditions or other factors. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The fund’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time. Retail Money Market Fund Risk. On or before October 14, 2016, the fund intends to qualify as a “retail money market fund,” as such term is defined or interpreted under the rules governing money market funds. A “retail money market fund” is a money market fund that has policies and procedures reasonably designed to limit all beneficial owners of the fund to natural persons. Prior to and upon conversion to a “retail money market fund,” the fund may involuntarily redeem any investor who is not a natural person. The fund will provide advance notice of its intent to make any such involuntary redemption. Neither the fund nor the investment adviser will be responsible for any loss or tax liability in an investor’s account resulting from such involuntary redemption. As a “retail money market fund,” the fund will be permitted to continue to value its securities using the amortized cost method to seek to maintain a stable $1.00 share price. However, on or after October 14, 2016, the fund may be subject to liquidity fees and/or redemption gates on fund redemptions if the fund’s liquidity falls below required minimums because of market conditions or other factors. Interest Rate Risk. Interest rates rise and fall over time. As with any investment whose yield reflects current interest rates, the fund’s yield will change over time. During periods when interest rates are low, the fund’s yield (and total return) also will be low or may even be negative, which may make it difficult for the fund to pay expenses out of fund assets or maintain a stable $1.00 share price. Because interest rates in the United States are near historically low levels, a change in a central bank’s monetary policy or improving economic conditions may result in an increase in interest rates. A sudden or unpredictable rise in interest rates may cause volatility in the market and may decrease liquidity in the money market securities markets, making it more difficult for the fund to sell its money market investments at a time when the investment adviser might wish to sell such investments. Decreased market liquidity also may make it more difficult to value some or all of the fund’s money market securities holdings. Stable Net Asset Value Risk. If the fund or another money market fund fails to maintain a stable net asset value (or such perception exists in the market place), the fund could experience increased redemptions, which may adversely impact the fund’s share price. The fund is permitted, among other things, to reduce or withhold any income and/or gains generated from its portfolio to maintain a stable $1.00 share price. Repurchase Agreements Risk. When the fund enters into a repurchase agreement, the fund is exposed to the risk that the other party (i.e., the counter-party) will not fulfill its contractual obligation. In a repurchase agreement, there exists the risk that, when the fund buys a security from a counter-party that agrees to repurchase the security at an agreed upon price (usually higher) and time, the counter-party will not repurchase the security. These risks are magnified to the extent that a repurchase agreement is secured by collateral other than cash and government securities, such as debt securities, equity securities and high yield securities that are rated below investment grade (also referred to as junk bonds) (“Alternative Collateral”). High yield securities that are used as Alternative Collateral are subject to greater levels of credit and liquidity risk, and are considered primarily speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to make principal and interest payments. Alternative Collateral may be subject to greater price volatility and may be more volatile or less liquid than other types of collateral, increasing the risk that the fund will be unable to recover fully in the event of a counterparty’s default. Credit Risk. The fund is subject to the risk that a decline in the credit quality of a portfolio investment could cause the fund to lose money or underperform. The fund could lose money if the issuer of a portfolio investment fails to make timely principal or interest payments or if a guarantor, liquidity provider or counterparty of a portfolio investment fails to honor its obligations. Even though the fund’s investments in repurchase agreements are collateralized at all times, there is some risk to the fund if the other party should default on its obligations and the fund is delayed or prevented from recovering or disposing of the collateral. Negative perceptions of the ability of an issuer, guarantor, liquidity provider or counterparty to make payments or otherwise honor its obligations, as applicable, could also cause the price of that investment to decline. The credit quality of the fund’s portfolio holdings can change rapidly in certain market environments and any downgrade or default on the part of a single portfolio investment could cause the fund’s share price or yield to fall. Many of the U.S. government securities that the fund invests in are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, which means they are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury. Although maintained in conservatorship by the Federal Housing Finance Agency since September 2008, Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FHLMC) maintain only lines of credit with the U.S. Treasury. The Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB) maintain limited access to credit lines from the U.S. Treasury. Other securities, such as obligations issued by the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation (FFCB), are supported solely by the credit of the issuer. There can be no assurance that the U.S. government will provide financial support to securities of its agencies and instrumentalities if it is not obligated to do so under law. Also, any government guarantees on securities the fund owns do not extend to the shares of the fund itself. Foreign Investment Risk. Although the fund may invest only in U.S. dollar-denominated securities, the fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers or securities with credit or liquidity enhancements provided by foreign entities may involve certain risks that are greater than those associated with investments in securities of U.S. issuers or securities with credit or liquidity enhancements provided by U.S. entities. These include risks of adverse changes in foreign economic, political, regulatory and other conditions; the imposition of economic sanctions or other government restrictions; differing accounting, auditing, financial reporting and legal standards and practices; differing securities market structures; and higher transaction costs. In addition, sovereign risk, or the risk that a government may become unwilling or unable to meet its loan obligations or guarantees, could increase the credit risk of financial institutions connected to that particular country. Credit and Liquidity Enhancements Risk. The fund may invest in securities with credit or liquidity enhancements provided by a bank or other financial institution, and the existence and nature of such enhancements may be a significant factor in the investment adviser's decision-making process. Generally, these enhancements are employed by the issuers of the securities to reduce credit risk and provide enhanced or back-up liquidity for a purchaser, such as the fund. Adverse developments affecting these banks and financial institutions could therefore have a negative effect on the value of the fund's holdings. For example, a rating agency downgrade of a credit or liquidity enhancement provider may adversely affect the value of securities held by the fund. Any decline in the value of the securities held by the fund could cause the fund's share price or yield to fall. To the extent that a portion of the fund's underlying investments are enhanced by the same bank or financial institution, these risks may be increased. Management Risk. Any actively managed mutual fund is subject to the risk that its investment adviser will select investments or allocate assets in a manner that could cause the fund to underperform or otherwise not meet its objective. The fund’s investment adviser applies its own investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the fund, but there can be no guarantee that they will produce the desired results. The investment adviser’s maturity decisions will also affect the fund’s yield, and potentially could affect its share price. To the extent that the investment adviser anticipates interest rate trends imprecisely, the fund’s yield at times could lag the yields of other money market funds. Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase, sell or value, especially during stressed market conditions. The market for certain investments may become illiquid due to specific adverse changes in the conditions of a particular issuer or under adverse market or economic conditions independent of the issuer. In addition, dealer inventories of certain securities — an indication of the ability of dealers to engage in “market making” — are at, or near, historic lows in relation to market size, which could potentially lead to decreased liquidity. In such cases, the fund, due to limitations on investments in illiquid securities and the difficulty in readily purchasing and selling such securities at favorable times or prices, may decline in value, experience lower returns and/or be unable to achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain issuer or sector. Further, transactions in illiquid securities may entail transaction costs that are higher than those for transactions in liquid securities. Redemption Risk. The fund may experience periods of heavy redemptions that could cause the fund to liquidate its assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value, particularly during periods of declining or illiquid markets. Redemptions by a few large investors in the fund may have a significant adverse effect on the fund’s ability to maintain a stable $1.00 share price. In the event any money market fund fails to maintain a stable net asset value, other money market funds, including the fund, could face a market-wide risk of increased redemption pressures, potentially jeopardizing the stability of their $1.00 share prices. Money Market Fund Risk. The fund is not designed to offer capital appreciation. In exchange for their emphasis on stability and liquidity, money market investments may offer lower long-term performance than stock or bond investments. | ||||||||||
| Performance | ||||||||||
| The bar chart below shows how the fund's investment results have varied from year to year, and the following table shows the fund's average annual total returns for various periods. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. All figures assume distributions were reinvested. Keep in mind that future performance may differ from past performance. For current performance information, please see www.csimfunds.com/schwabfunds_prospectus or call toll-free1-800-435-4000 for a current seven-day yield. | ||||||||||
| Annual total returns (%) as of 12/31 | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Best Quarter: 1.22% Q3 2007 Worst Quarter: 0.00% Q4 2015 | ||||||||||
| Average annual total returns (%) as of 12/31/15 | ||||||||||
|
