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FILE NOS. 333-160595 AND 811-22311
AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON April 21, 2010
 
 
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 þ
Post-Effective Amendment No. 1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 þ
Amendment No. 3
 
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
211 Main Street, San Francisco, California 94105
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip code)
(800) 648-5300
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code)
Randall W. Merk
211 Main Street, San Francisco, California 94105
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
Copies of communications to:
     
 
   
Koji Felton, Esq
  W. John McGuire, Esq.
Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.
  Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
211 Main Street
  1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
SF211MN-05-489
  Washington, D.C. 20004
San Francisco, CA 94105
   
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)
  o   Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
 
  o   On (date), pursuant to paragraph (b)
 
  o   60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
 
  o   On (date), pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
 
  þ   75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
 
  o   On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485
 
If appropriate, check the following box:
 
  o   This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.
 
 

 


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Schwab Fixed-Income ETFs
(SCHWAB FUNDS LOGO)
Prospectus
July __, 2010
     
Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF tm
  [TICKER AND EXCHANGE]
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
  [TICKER AND EXCHANGE]
Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
  [TICKER AND EXCHANGE]
As with all exchange traded funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved these securities or passed on whether the information in this prospectus is adequate and accurate. Anyone who indicates otherwise is committing a federal crime.
(CHARLES SCHWAB LOGO)

 


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Schwab Fixed-Income ETFs
         
Fund Summaries
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       

 


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Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF tm
Ticker Symbol: XXXX
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) Index (Series L). 1
Fund fees and expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. The table does not reflect brokerage commissions you may incur when buying or selling fund shares.
         
Shareholder fees (fee paid directly from your investment)
  None
Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
       
Management fees
  X.XX
Other expenses
  None
 
     
Total annual operating expenses
  X.XX
 
     
Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other 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. This example does not reflect any brokerage commissions you may incur when buying or selling fund shares. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.
Expenses on a $10,000 investment
     
1 year   3 years
$ XX
  $ XX
Portfolio turnover
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. The fund is new, therefore, it does not have a historical portfolio turnover rate.
Principal investment strategies
To pursue its goal, the fund generally invests in securities that are included in the index. The index includes all publicly-issued U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) that have at least one year remaining to maturity, are rated investment grade and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. The TIPS in the index must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible. The index is market capitalization weighted and the TIPS in the index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of ___, 2010, there were ___ TIPS in the index. TIPS are publicly issued, dollar denominated U.S. Government securities issued by the U.S. Treasury that have principal and interest payments linked to an official inflation measure (as measured by the Consumer Price Index, or CPI) and their payments are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States.
It is the fund’s policy that under normal circumstances it will invest at least 90% of its net assets in securities included in the index. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy. The fund will generally give the same weight to a given security as the index does. However, when the Adviser believes it is appropriate to do so, such as to avoid purchasing odd-lots ( i.e. , purchasing less than the usual number of shares traded for a security), for tax considerations, or to address liquidity considerations with respect to a security, the Adviser may cause the fund’s weighting of a security to be more or less than the index’s weighting of the security. The fund may sell securities that are represented in the index in anticipation of their removal from the index.

 


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Under normal circumstances, the fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities not included in its index. The principal types of these investments include those that the Adviser believes will help the fund track the index, such as investments in (a) securities that are not represented in the index but the Adviser anticipates will be added to or removed from the index; (b) securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, including obligations that are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, and obligations that are issued by private issuers that are guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and (c) investment companies, including money market funds.. The fund may also invest in cash and cash equivalents, enter into repurchase agreements, and may lend its securities to minimize the difference in performance that naturally exists between an index fund and its corresponding index.
The Adviser may seek to track the price and yield performance of the index by using statistical sampling techniques. These techniques involve investing in a limited number of index securities that, when taken together, are expected to perform similarly to the index as a whole. These techniques are based on a variety of factors, including market capitalization, yield and other performance attributes, maturity, duration, credit ratings, liquidity, tax considerations, risk factors and other characteristics. The fund generally expects that its portfolio will hold less than the total number of securities in the index, but reserves the right to hold as many securities as it believes necessary to achieve the fund’s investment objective. The fund generally expects that its yield and maturity will be similar to those of the index. In addition, the fund generally expects that its average duration will closely correspond to the duration of the index, which as of ___, 2010 was ___.
The Adviser seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the fund’s performance and that of its index, before fees and expenses, of 95% or better. However, there can be no guarantee that the fund will achieve a high degree of correlation with the index. A number of factors may affect the fund’s ability to achieve a high correlation with its index, including the degree to which the fund utilizes a sampling technique. The correlation between the performance of the fund and its index may also diverge due to transaction costs, asset valuations, timing variances, and differences between the fund’s portfolio and the index resulting from legal restrictions (such as diversification requirements) that apply to the fund but not to the index.
 
1   Index ownership — © Barclays Capital Inc. 2010. All rights reserved. The Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Barclays Capital. Barclays Capital does not make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in shares of the fund.
Principal risks
The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The fund’s principal risks include:
Market Risk. Bond markets rise and fall daily. As with any investment whose performance is tied to these markets, the value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, which means that you could lose money.
Investment Style Risk. The fund is not actively managed. Therefore, the fund follows the securities included in the index during upturns as well as downturns. Because of its indexing strategy, the fund does not take steps to reduce market exposure or to lessen the effects of a declining market. In addition, because of the fund’s expenses, the fund’s performance is normally below that of the index.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rates will rise and fall over time. During periods when interest rates are low, the fund’s yield and total return also may be low. The longer the fund’s duration, the more sensitive to interest rate movements its share price is likely to be.
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 or guarantor of a portfolio investment, or the counterparty to a derivative contract, fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations.
Inflation Protected Security Risk . The value of inflation protected securities, including TIPS, generally will fluctuate in response to changes in “real” interest rates, generally decreasing when real interest rates rise and increasing when real interest rates fall. In addition, interest payments on inflation-indexed securities will generally vary up or down along with the rate of inflation.
Sampling Index Tracking Risk. The fund may not fully replicate the index and may hold securities not included in the index. As a result, the fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.

 


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Tracking Error Risk. The fund’s return may not match the return of the index due to differences between the fund’s securities and those in the index. Tracking error also may be attributable to the fund’s inability to match the securities’ weighting to the index or due to other regulatory, operational or liquidity constraints. The fund also incurs fees and expenses while the index does not, which may result in tracking error.
Liquidity Risk. A particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell. The fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price.
Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights in the collateral or delay in recovery of the collateral if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent.
Market Trading Risk. Although fund shares are listed on national securities exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for fund shares will develop or be maintained. If an active market is not maintained, investors may find it difficult to buy or sell fund shares.
Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the fund will approximate the fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. You may pay more than NAV when you buy shares of the fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market.
Lack of Governmental Insurance or Guarantee. An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
For more information on the risks of investing in the fund please see the “Fund details” section in the prospectus.
Performance
The fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history. Once the fund has completed a full calendar year of operations a bar chart and table will be included that will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing the variability of the fund’s returns and comparing the fund’s performance to the index.
Investment adviser
Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.
Portfolio managers
Jeffrey Mortimer, CFA, senior vice president and chief investment officer of the investment adviser, is responsible for the overall management of the fund. He has managed the fund since 2010.
Dustin Lewellyn, CFA, a managing director of the investment adviser, oversees the investment adviser’s management of exchange traded funds (ETFs). He has managed the fund since 2010.
Matthew Hastings, CFA, a managing director and portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the funds. He has managed the fund since 2010.
Steven Chan, a portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the funds. He has managed the fund since 2010.
Purchase and sale of fund shares
The fund issues and redeems shares at its net asset value (“NAV”) only in large blocks of shares, typically 50,000 shares or more (“Creation Units”). These transactions are usually in exchange for a basket of securities included in the index and an amount of cash. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares of the funds are not redeemable securities.
Individual shares of the fund trade on national securities exchanges and elsewhere during the trading day and can only be bought and sold at market prices throughout the trading day through a broker-dealer. Because fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

 


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Tax information
Dividends and capital gains distributions received from the fund will generally be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged account.

 


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Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
Ticker Symbol: XXXX
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Index sm . 2
Fund fees and expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. The table does not reflect brokerage commissions you may incur when buying or selling fund shares.
         
Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
  None
Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
       
Management fees
  X.XX
Other expenses
  None
 
     
Total annual operating expenses
  X.XX
 
     
Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other 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. This example does not reflect any brokerage commissions you may incur when buying or selling fund shares. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.
Expenses on a $10,000 investment
     
1 year   3 years
$ XX
  $ XX
Portfolio Turnover
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. The fund is new, therefore, it does not have a historical portfolio turnover rate.
Principal investment strategies
To pursue its goal, the fund generally invests in securities that are included in the index. The index includes all publicly-issued U.S. Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to one year and less than three years, are rated investment grade, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. The securities in the index must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible. The index excludes state and local government series bonds and coupon issues that have been stripped from bonds. The index is market capitalization weighted and the securities in the index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of ___, 2010 there were ___ issues in the index.
It is the fund’s policy that under normal circumstances it will invest at least 90% of its net assets in securities included in the index. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy. The fund will generally give the same weight to a given security as the index does. However, when the Adviser believes it is appropriate to do so, such as to avoid purchasing odd-lots ( i.e. , purchasing less than the usual number of shares traded for a security), for tax considerations, or to address liquidity considerations with respect to a security, the Adviser may cause the fund’s weighting of a security to be more or less than the index’s weighting of the security. The fund may sell securities that are represented in the index in anticipation of their removal from the index.
Under normal circumstances, the fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities not included in its index. The principal types of these investments include those that the Adviser believes will help the fund track the index, such as investments in (a) securities that are not represented in the index but the Adviser anticipates will be added to or removed from the index; (b) securities issued by

 


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the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, including obligations that are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, and obligations that are issued by private issuers that are guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and (c) investment companies, including money market funds. The fund may also invest in cash and cash equivalents, enter into repurchase agreements, and may lend its securities to minimize the difference in performance that naturally exists between an index fund and its corresponding index.
The Adviser may seek to track the price and yield performance of the index by using statistical sampling techniques. These techniques involve investing in a limited number of index securities that, when taken together, are expected to perform similarly to the index as a whole. These techniques are based on a variety of factors, including industry weightings, market capitalization, yield and other performance attributes, maturity, duration, credit ratings, liquidity, tax considerations, risk factors and other characteristics. The fund generally expects that its portfolio will hold less than the total number of securities in the index, but reserves the right to hold as many securities as it believes necessary to achieve the fund’s investment objective. The fund generally expects that its yield and maturity will be similar to those of the index. In addition, the fund generally expects that its average duration will closely correspond to the duration of the index, which as of ___, 2010 was ___.
The Adviser seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the fund’s performance and that of its index, before fees and expenses, of 95% or better. However, there can be no guarantee that the fund will achieve a high degree of correlation with the index. A number of factors may affect the fund’s ability to achieve a high correlation with its index, including the degree to which the fund utilizes a sampling technique. The correlation between the performance of the fund and its index may also diverge due to transaction costs, asset valuations, timing variances, and differences between the fund’s portfolio and the index resulting from legal restrictions (such as diversification requirements) that apply to the fund but not to the index.
 
2   Index ownership — © Barclays Capital Inc. 2010. All rights reserved. The Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Barclays Capital. Barclays Capital does not make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in shares of the fund.
Principal Risks
The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The fund’s principal risks include:
Market Risk. Bond markets rise and fall daily. As with any investment whose performance is tied to these markets, the value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, which means that you could lose money.
Investment Style Risk. The fund is not actively managed. Therefore, the fund follows the securities included in the index during upturns as well as downturns. Because of its indexing strategy, the fund does not take steps to reduce market exposure or to lessen the effects of a declining market. In addition, because of the fund’s expenses, the fund’s performance is normally below that of the index.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rates will rise and fall over time. During periods when interest rates are low, the fund’s yield and total return also may be low. The longer the fund’s duration, the more sensitive to interest rate movements its share price is likely to be.
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 or guarantor of a portfolio investment, or the counterparty to a derivative contract, fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations.
Sampling Index Tracking Risk. The fund may not fully replicate the index and may hold securities not included in the index. As a result, the fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.
Tracking Error Risk. The fund’s return may not match the return of the index due to differences between the fund’s securities and those in the index. Tracking error also may be attributable to the fund’s inability to match the securities’ weighting to the index or due to other regulatory, operational or liquidity constraints. The fund also incurs fees and expenses while the index does not, which may result in tracking error.
Liquidity Risk. A particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell. The fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price.

 


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Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights in the collateral or delay in recovery of the collateral if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent.
Market Trading Risk. Although fund shares are listed on national securities exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for fund shares will develop or be maintained. If an active market is not maintained, investors may find it difficult to buy or sell fund shares.
Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the fund will approximate the fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. You may pay more than NAV when you buy shares of the fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market.
Lack of Governmental Insurance or Guarantee. An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
For more information on the risks of investing in the fund please see the “Fund details” section in the prospectus.
Investment adviser
Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.
Portfolio managers
Jeffrey Mortimer, CFA, senior vice president and chief investment officer of the investment adviser, is responsible for the overall management of the fund. He has managed the fund since 2010.
Dustin Lewellyn, CFA, a managing director of the investment adviser, oversees the investment adviser’s management of exchange traded funds (ETFs). He has managed the fund since 2010.
Matthew Hastings, CFA, a managing director and portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the funds. He has managed the fund since 2010.
Steven Chan, a portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the funds. He has managed the fund since 2010.
Purchase and sale of fund shares
The fund issues and redeems shares at its net asset value (“NAV”) only in large blocks of shares, typically 50,000 shares or more (“Creation Units”). These transactions are usually in exchange for a basket of securities included in the index and an amount of cash. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares of the funds are not redeemable securities.
Individual shares of the fund trade on national securities exchanges and elsewhere during the trading day and can only be bought and sold at market prices throughout the trading day through a broker-dealer. Because fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
Tax information
Dividends and capital gains distributions received from the fund will generally be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged account.

 


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Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
Ticker Symbol:
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. 3-10 Year Treasury Bond Index sm . 3
Fund fees and expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. The table does not reflect brokerage commissions you may incur when buying or selling fund shares.
         
Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
  None
Annual fund operating expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
       
Management fees
  X.XX
Other expenses
  None
 
     
Total annual operating expenses
  X.XX
 
     
Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other 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. This example does not reflect any brokerage commissions you may incur when buying or selling fund shares. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.
Expenses on a $10,000 investment
     
1 year   3 years
$ XX
  $ XX
Portfolio Turnover
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. The fund is new, therefore, it does not have a historical portfolio turnover rate.
Principal investment strategies
To pursue its goal, the fund generally invests in securities that are included in the index. The index includes all publicly-issued U.S. Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to three years and less than ten years, are rated investment grade, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. The securities in the index must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible. The index excludes state and local government series bonds and coupon issues that have been stripped from bonds. The index is market capitalization weighted and the securities in the index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of ___, 20___, there were ___ issues in the index.
It is the fund’s policy that under normal circumstances it will invest at least 90% of its net assets in securities included in the index. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy. The fund will generally give the same weight to a given security as the index does. However, when the Adviser believes it is appropriate to do so, such as to avoid purchasing odd-lots ( i.e. , purchasing less than the usual number of shares traded for a security), for tax considerations, or to address liquidity considerations with respect to a security, the Adviser may cause the fund’s weighting of a security to be more or less than the index’s weighting of the security. The fund may sell securities that are represented in the index in anticipation of their removal from the index.
Under normal circumstances, the fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities not included in its index. The principal types of these investments include those that the Adviser believes will help the fund track the index, such as investments in (a) securities that are not represented in the index but the Adviser anticipates will be added to or removed from the index; (b) securities issued by

 


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the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, including obligations that are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, and obligations that are issued by private issuers that are guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and (c) investment companies, including money market funds. The fund may also invest in cash and cash equivalents, enter into repurchase agreements, and may lend its securities to minimize the difference in performance that naturally exists between an index fund and its corresponding index.
The Adviser may seek to track the price and yield performance of the index by using statistical sampling techniques. These techniques involve investing in a limited number of index securities that, when taken together, are expected to perform similarly to the index as a whole. These techniques are based on a variety of factors, including industry weightings, market capitalization, yield and other performance attributes, maturity, duration, credit ratings, liquidity, tax considerations, risk factors and other characteristics. The fund generally expects that its portfolio will hold less than the total number of securities in the index, but reserves the right to hold as many securities as it believes necessary to achieve the fund’s investment objective. The fund generally expects that its yield and maturity will be similar to those of the index. In addition, the fund generally expects that its average duration will closely correspond to the duration of the index, which as of ___, 2010 was ___.
The Adviser seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the fund’s performance and that of its index, before fees and expenses, of 95% or better. However, there can be no guarantee that the fund will achieve a high degree of correlation with the index. A number of factors may affect the fund’s ability to achieve a high correlation with its index, including the degree to which the fund utilizes a sampling technique. The correlation between the performance of the fund and its index may also diverge due to transaction costs, asset valuations, timing variances, and differences between the fund’s portfolio and the index resulting from legal restrictions (such as diversification requirements) that apply to the fund but not to the index.
 
3   Index ownership — © Barclays Capital Inc. 2010. All rights reserved. The Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Barclays Capital. Barclays Capital does not make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in shares of the fund.
Principal Risks
The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money. The fund’s principal risks include:
Market Risk. Bond markets rise and fall daily. As with any investment whose performance is tied to these markets, the value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, which means that you could lose money.
Investment Style Risk. The fund is not actively managed. Therefore, the fund follows the securities included in the index during upturns as well as downturns. Because of its indexing strategy, the fund does not take steps to reduce market exposure or to lessen the effects of a declining market. In addition, because of the fund’s expenses, the fund’s performance is normally below that of the index.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rates will rise and fall over time. During periods when interest rates are low, the fund’s yield and total return also may be low. The longer the fund’s duration, the more sensitive to interest rate movements its share price is likely to be.
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 or guarantor of a portfolio investment, or the counterparty to a derivative contract, fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations.
Sampling Index Tracking Risk. The fund may not fully replicate the index and may hold securities not included in the index. As a result, the fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.
Tracking Error Risk. The fund’s return may not match the return of the index due to differences between the fund’s securities and those in the index. Tracking error also may be attributable to the fund’s inability to match the securities’ weighting to the index or due to other regulatory, operational or liquidity constraints. The fund also incurs fees and expenses while the index does not, which may result in tracking error.
Liquidity Risk. A particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell. The fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price.

 


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Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights in the collateral or delay in recovery of the collateral if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent.
Market Trading Risk. Although fund shares are listed on national securities exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for fund shares will develop or be maintained. If an active market is not maintained, investors may find it difficult to buy or sell fund shares.
Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the fund will approximate the fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. You may pay more than NAV when you buy shares of the fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market.
Lack of Governmental Insurance or Guarantee. An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
For more information on the risks of investing in the fund please see the “Fund details” section in the prospectus.
Investment adviser
Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.
Portfolio managers
Jeffrey Mortimer, CFA, senior vice president and chief investment officer of the investment adviser, is responsible for the overall management of the fund. He has managed the fund since 2010.
Dustin Lewellyn, CFA, a managing director of the investment adviser, oversees the investment adviser’s management of exchange traded funds (ETFs). He has managed the fund since 2010.
Matthew Hastings, CFA, a managing director and portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the funds. He has managed the fund since 2010.
Steven Chan, a portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the funds. He has managed the fund since 2010.
Purchase and sale of fund shares
The fund issues and redeems shares at its net asset value (“NAV”) only in large blocks of shares, typically [50,000] shares or more (“Creation Units”). These transactions are usually in exchange for a basket of securities included in the index and an amount of cash. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares of the funds are not redeemable securities.
Individual shares of the fund trade on national securities exchanges and elsewhere during the trading day and can only be bought and sold at market prices throughout the trading day through a broker-dealer. Because fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
Tax information
Dividends and capital gains distributions received from the fund will generally be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged account.

 


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About the funds
The funds described in this Prospectus are advised by Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (“CSIM” or the “Adviser”). Each of the funds is an “exchange traded fund” (“ETF”). ETFs are funds that trade like other publicly-traded securities. The funds in this prospectus are index funds and are designed to track the performance of an index. Because the composition of an index tends to be comparatively stable, index funds historically have shown low portfolio turnover compared to actively managed funds.
This strategy distinguishes an index fund from an “actively managed” fund. Instead of choosing investments for the fund based on portfolio management’s judgment, an index is used to determine which securities the fund should own.
Unlike shares of a mutual fund, shares of the funds are listed on a national securities exchange and trade at market prices that change throughout the day. The market price for each of the fund’s shares may be different from its net asset value per share (“NAV”). The funds have their own CUSIP numbers and trade on the NYSE Arca, Inc. under the following tickers:
     
Schwab U.S TIPS ETF tm
  [TICKER]
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
  [TICKER]
Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
  [TICKER]
The funds issue and redeem shares at their NAV only in large blocks of shares, typically 50,000 shares or more (“Creation Units”). These transactions are usually in exchange for a basket of securities and an amount of cash. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares of the funds are not redeemable securities.
A note to retail investors
Shares can be purchased directly from the funds only in exchange for a basket of securities that is expected to be worth several million dollars. Most individual investors, therefore, will not be able to purchase shares directly from the funds. Instead, these investors will purchase shares in the secondary market through a brokerage account or with the assistance of a broker. Thus, some of the information contained in this Prospectus — such as information about purchasing and redeeming shares from the funds and references to transaction fees imposed on purchases and redemptions — is not relevant to most individual investors. Shares purchased or sold through a brokerage account or with the assistance of a broker may be subject to brokerage commissions and charges.
Except as explicitly described otherwise, the investment objective, the benchmark index and the investment policies of each of the funds may be changed without shareholder approval.
The funds’ performance will fluctuate over time and, as with all investments, future performance may differ from past performance.

 


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Fund details
Investment objectives, strategies and risks
Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF tm
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) Index (Series L) sm . 1 The fund’s investment objective is not fundamental and therefore may be changed by the fund’s board of trustees without shareholder approval.
Index
The fund’s benchmark index includes all publicly-issued U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) that have at least one year remaining to maturity, are rated investment grade and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. TIPS are U.S. Government securities issued by the U.S. Treasury that generate principal and interest payments designed to adjust for and protect against inflation. Their payments are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States. The securities in the index must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible. The index is market capitalization weighted and the securities in the index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of ___, 2010, there were ___TIPS in the index.
Investment strategy
To pursue its goal, the fund generally invests in securities that are included in the index. It is the fund’s policy that under normal circumstances it will invest at least 90% of its net assets in these securities. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy. The fund will generally give the same weight to a given security as the index does. However, when the Adviser believes it is appropriate to do so, such as to avoid purchasing odd-lots ( i.e. , purchasing less than the usual number of shares traded for a security), for tax considerations, or to address liquidity considerations with respect to a security, the Adviser may cause the fund’s weighting of a security to be more or less than the index’s weighting of the security. The fund may sell securities that are represented in the index in anticipation of their removal from the index.
Under normal circumstances, the fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities not included in its index. The principal types of these investments include those that the Adviser believes will help the fund track the index, such as investments in (a) securities that are not represented in the index but the Adviser anticipates will be added to or removed from the index; (b) securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, including obligations that are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, and obligations that are issued by private issuers that are guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and (c) investment companies, including money market funds. The fund may also invest in cash and cash equivalents, enter into repurchase agreements, and may lend its securities to minimize the difference in performance that naturally exists between an index fund and its corresponding index.
The Adviser may seek to track the price and yield performance of the index by using statistical sampling techniques. These techniques involve investing in a limited number of index securities that, when taken together, are expected to perform similarly to the index as a whole. These techniques are based on a variety of factors, including market capitalization, yield and other performance attributes, maturity, duration, credit ratings, liquidity, tax considerations, risk factors and other characteristics. The fund generally expects that its portfolio will hold less than the total number of securities in the index, but reserves the right to hold as many securities as it believes necessary to achieve the fund’s investment objective. The fund generally expects that its yield and maturity will be similar to those of the index. In addition, the fund generally expects that its average duration will closely correspond to the duration of the index, which as of ___, 2010 was ___.
The Adviser seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the fund’s performance and that of its index, before fees and expenses, of 95% or better. However, there can be no guarantee that the fund will achieve a high degree of correlation with the index. A number of factors may affect the fund’s ability to achieve a high correlation with its index, including the degree to which the fund utilizes a sampling technique. The correlation between the performance of the fund and its index may also diverge due to transaction costs, asset valuations, timing variances, and differences between the fund’s portfolio and the index resulting from legal restrictions (such as diversification requirements) that apply to the fund but not to the index.
 
1   Index ownership — © Barclays Capital Inc. 2010. All rights reserved. The Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Barclays Capital. Barclays Capital does not make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in shares of the fund.

 


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Principal Investment Risks
The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money.
Market Risk. Bond markets rise and fall daily. As with any investment whose performance is tied to these markets, the value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, which means that you could lose money.
Investment Style Risk. The fund is not actively managed. Therefore, the fund follows the securities included in the index during upturns as well as downturns. Because of its indexing strategy, the fund does not take steps to reduce market exposure or to lessen the effects of a declining market. In addition, because of the fund’s expenses, the fund’s performance is normally below that of the index.
Interest Rate Risk. The fund is subject to the risk that 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 may be low. Changes in interest rates also may affect the fund’s share price: a sharp rise in interest rates could cause the fund’s share price to fall. The longer the fund’s duration, the more sensitive to interest rate movements its share price is likely to be.
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, or the counterparty to a derivatives contract, fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations. The negative perceptions of an issuer’s ability to make such payments 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 default on the part of a single portfolio investment could cause the fund’s share price or yield to fall.
Although the fund invests primarily in U.S. Government securities issued by the U.S. Treasury, which are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, the fund may also invest in securities that are not guaranteed or insured by the U.S. Government. Issuers of securities such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB) maintain limited lines of credit with 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 shares of the fund itself. Any default on the part of a portfolio investment could cause the fund’s share price or yield to fall.
On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury announced a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, placing the two federal instrumentalities in conservatorship. The actions of the U.S. Treasury are intended to ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maintain a positive net worth and meet their financial obligations, preventing mandatory triggering of receivership. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Treasury initiatives will be successful.
Inflation Protected Security Risk . The value of inflation-protected securities, including TIPS, generally will fluctuate in response to changes in “real” interest rates. Real interest rates represent nominal (or stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. The value of an inflation-protected security generally decreases when real interest rates rise and generally increase when real interest rates fall. In addition, the principal value of an inflation-protected security is periodically adjusted up or down along with the rate of inflation. If the measure of inflation falls, the principal value of the inflation-protected security will be adjusted downwards, and consequently, the interest payable on the security will be reduced. Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed by the United States Treasury in the case of TIPS. For securities that do not provide a similar guarantee, the adjusted principal value of the security to be repaid at maturity is subject to credit risk.
Sampling Index Tracking Risk. The fund may not fully replicate the index and may hold securities not included in the index. As a result, the fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results. Because the fund utilizes a sampling approach it may not track the return of the index as well as it would if the fund purchased all of the equity securities in the index.
Tracking Error Risk. The fund’s return may not match the return of the index. For example, differences between the fund’s securities and those in the index, rounding of prices, changes to the index and regulatory requirements may cause tracking error, the divergence of the fund’s performance from that of its index. The fund may not be able to invest in certain securities in its benchmark index, or match the securities’ weighting to the benchmark, due to regulatory, operational or liquidity constraints, which may result in tracking error. The fund may attempt to offset the effects of not being invested in certain index securities by making substitute

 


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investments, but these efforts may not be successful. The fund also incurs fees and expenses while the index does not, which may result in tracking error.
Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. 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. The fund’s investments in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the fund because it may be unable to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. Further, transactions in illiquid securities may entail transaction costs that are higher than those for transactions in liquid securities.
Securities Lending Risk. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and other financial institutions provided a number of conditions are satisfied, including that the loan is fully collateralized. When the fund lends portfolio securities, its investment performance will continue to reflect changes in the value of the securities loaned, and the fund will also receive a fee or interest on the collateral. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights in the collateral or delay in recover of the collateral if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent. The fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral. The fund may pay lending fees to a party arranging the loan.
Market Trading Risk. Although fund shares are listed on national securities exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for fund shares will develop or be maintained. If an active market is not maintained, investors may find it difficult to buy or sell fund shares. Trading of shares of the fund on a stock exchange may be halted if exchange officials deem such action appropriate, if the fund is delisted, or if the activation of marketwide “circuit breakers” halts stock trading generally. If the fund’s shares are delisted, the fund may seek to list its shares on another market, merge with another ETF, or redeem its shares at NAV.
Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the fund will approximate the fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. Thus, you may pay more than NAV when you buy shares of the fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market.
The market price of fund shares during the trading day, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid/ask” spread charged by the exchange specialist, market makers or other participants that trade the fund shares. The bid/ask spread on ETF shares is likely to be larger on ETFs that are traded less frequently. In addition, in times of severe market disruption, the bid/ask spread can increase significantly. At those times, fund shares are most likely to be traded at a discount to NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your shares. The Adviser believes that, under normal market conditions, large market price discounts or premiums to NAV will not be sustained because of arbitrage opportunities.
Lack of Governmental Insurance or Guarantee. An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Index sm . 2 The fund’s investment objective is not fundamental and therefore may be changed by the fund’s board of trustees without shareholder approval.
Index
The fund’s benchmark index includes all publicly-issued U.S. Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to one year and less than three years, are rated investment grade, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. The securities in the index must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible. The index excludes state and local government series bonds and coupon issues that have been stripped from bonds. The index is market capitalization weighted and the securities in the index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of ___, 2010 there were ___ issues in the index.
Investment strategy
To pursue its goal, the fund generally invests in securities that are included in the index. It is the fund’s policy that under normal circumstances it will invest at least 90% of its net assets in these securities. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days

 


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before changing this policy. The fund will generally give the same weight to a given security as the index does. However, when the Adviser believes it is appropriate to do so, such as to avoid purchasing odd-lots ( i.e. , purchasing less than the usual number of shares traded for a security), for tax considerations, or to address liquidity considerations with respect to a security, the Adviser may cause the fund’s weighting of a security to be more or less than the index’s weighting of the security. The fund may sell securities that are represented in the index in anticipation of their removal from the index.
Under normal circumstances, the fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities not included in its index. The principal types of these investments include those that the Adviser believes will help the fund track the index, such as investments in (a) securities that are not represented in the index but the Adviser anticipates will be added to or removed from the index; (b) securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, including obligations that are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, and obligations that are issued by private issuers that are guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and (c) investment companies, including money market funds. The fund may also invest in cash and cash equivalents, enter into repurchase agreements, and may lend its securities to minimize the difference in performance that naturally exists between an index fund and its corresponding index.
The Adviser may seek to track the price and yield performance of the index by using statistical sampling techniques. These techniques involve investing in a limited number of index securities that, when taken together, are expected to perform similarly to the index as a whole. These techniques are based on a variety of factors, including industry weightings, market capitalization, yield and other performance attributes, maturity, duration, credit ratings, liquidity, tax considerations, risk factors and other characteristics. The fund generally expects that its portfolio will hold less than the total number of securities in the index, but reserves the right to hold as many securities as it believes necessary to achieve the fund’s investment objective. The fund generally expects that its yield and maturity will be similar to those of the index. In addition, the fund generally expects that its average duration will closely correspond to the duration of the index, which as of ___, 2010 was ___.
The Adviser seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the fund’s performance and that of its index, before fees and expenses, of 95% or better. However, there can be no guarantee that the fund will achieve a high degree of correlation with the index. A number of factors may affect the fund’s ability to achieve a high correlation with its index, including the degree to which the fund utilizes a sampling technique. The correlation between the performance of the fund and its index may also diverge due to transaction costs, asset valuations, timing variances, and differences between the fund’s portfolio and the index resulting from legal restrictions (such as diversification requirements) that apply to the fund but not to the index.
 
2   Index ownership — © Barclays Capital Inc. 2010. All rights reserved. The Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Barclays Capital. Barclays Capital does not make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in shares of the fund.
Principal Investment Risks.
The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money.
Market Risk. Bond markets rise and fall daily. As with any investment whose performance is tied to these markets, the value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, which means that you could lose money.
Investment Style Risk. The fund is not actively managed. Therefore, the fund follows the securities included in the index during upturns as well as downturns. Because of its indexing strategy, the fund does not take steps to reduce market exposure or to lessen the effects of a declining market. In addition, because of the fund’s expenses, the fund’s performance is normally below that of the index.
Interest Rate Risk. The fund is subject to the risk that 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 may be low. Changes in interest rates also may affect the fund’s share price: a sharp rise in interest rates could cause the fund’s share price to fall. The longer the fund’s duration, the more sensitive to interest rate movements its share price is likely to be.
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, or the counterparty to a derivatives contract, fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations. The negative perceptions of an issuer’s ability to make such payments could also cause the price of that investment to decline. The credit quality of the fund’s portfolio

 


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holdings can change rapidly in certain market environments and any default on the part of a single portfolio investment could cause the fund’s share price or yield to fall.
Although the fund invests primarily in U.S. Government securities issued by the U.S. Treasury, which are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, the fund may also invest in securities that are not guaranteed or insured by the U.S. Government. Issuers of securities such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB) maintain limited lines of credit with 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 shares of the fund itself. Any default on the part of a portfolio investment could cause the fund’s share price or yield to fall.
On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury announced a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, placing the two federal instrumentalities in conservatorship. The actions of the U.S. Treasury are intended to ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maintain a positive net worth and meet their financial obligations, preventing mandatory triggering of receivership. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Treasury initiatives will be successful.
Sampling Index Tracking Risk. The fund may not fully replicate the index and may hold securities not included in the index. As a result, the fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results. Because the fund utilizes a sampling approach it may not track the return of the index as well as it would if the fund purchased all of the equity securities in the index.
Tracking Error Risk. The fund’s return may not match the return of the index. For example, differences between the fund’s securities and those in the index, rounding of prices, changes to the index and regulatory requirements may cause tracking error, the divergence of the fund’s performance from that of its index. The fund may not be able to invest in certain securities in its benchmark index, or match the securities’ weighting to the benchmark, due to regulatory, operational or liquidity constraints, which may result in tracking error. The fund may attempt to offset the effects of not being invested in certain index securities by making substitute investments, but these efforts may not be successful. The fund also incurs fees and expenses while the index does not, which may result in tracking error.
Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. 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. The fund’s investments in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the fund because it may be unable to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. Further, transactions in illiquid securities may entail transaction costs that are higher than those for transactions in liquid securities
Securities Lending Risk. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and other financial institutions provided a number of conditions are satisfied, including that the loan is fully collateralized. When the fund lends portfolio securities, its investment performance will continue to reflect changes in the value of the securities loaned, and the fund will also receive a fee or interest on the collateral. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights in the collateral or delay in recover of the collateral if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent. The fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral. The fund may pay lending fees to a party arranging the loan.
Market Trading Risk. Although fund shares are listed on national securities exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for fund shares will develop or be maintained. If an active market is not maintained, investors may find it difficult to buy or sell fund shares. Trading of shares of the fund on a stock exchange may be halted if exchange officials deem such action appropriate, if the fund is delisted, or if the activation of marketwide “circuit breakers” halts stock trading generally. If the fund’s shares are delisted, the fund may seek to list its shares on another market, merge with another ETF, or redeem its shares at NAV.
Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the fund will approximate the fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. Thus, you may pay more than NAV when you buy shares of the fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market.
The market price of fund shares during the trading day, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid/ask” spread charged by the exchange specialist, market makers or other participants that trade the fund shares. The bid/ask spread on ETF shares is

 


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likely to be larger on ETFs that are traded less frequently. In addition, in times of severe market disruption, the bid/ask spread can increase significantly. At those times, fund shares are most likely to be traded at a discount to NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your shares. The Adviser believes that, under normal market conditions, large market price discounts or premiums to NAV will not be sustained because of arbitrage opportunities.
Lack of Governmental Insurance or Guarantee. An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
Investment objective
The fund’s goal is to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. 3-10 Year Treasury Bond Index sm . 3 The fund’s investment objective is not fundamental and therefore may be changed by the fund’s board of trustees without shareholder approval.
Index
The fund’s benchmark index includes all publicly-issued U.S. Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to three year and less than ten years, are rated investment grade, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. The securities in the index must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible. The index excludes state and local government series bonds and coupon issues that have been stripped from bonds. The index is market capitalization weighted and the securities in the index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of ___, 20___, there were ___ issues in the index.
Investment strategy
To pursue its goal, the fund generally invests in securities that are included in the index. It is the fund’s policy that under normal circumstances it will invest at least 90% of its net assets in these securities. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy. The fund will generally give the same weight to a given security as the index does. However, when the Adviser believes it is appropriate to do so, such as to avoid purchasing odd-lots ( i.e. , purchasing less than the usual number of shares traded for a security), for tax considerations, or to address liquidity considerations with respect to a security, the Adviser may cause the fund’s weighting of a security to be more or less than the index’s weighting of the security. The fund may sell securities that are represented in the index in anticipation of their removal from the index.
Under normal circumstances, the fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities not included in its index. The principal types of these investments include those that the Adviser believes will help the fund track the index, such as investments in (a) securities that are not represented in the index but the Adviser anticipates will be added to or removed from the index; (b) securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, including obligations that are not guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, and obligations that are issued by private issuers that are guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, and (c) investment companies, including money market funds. The fund may also invest in cash and cash equivalents, enter into repurchase agreements, and may lend its securities to minimize the difference in performance that naturally exists between an index fund and its corresponding index.
The Adviser may seek to track the price and yield performance of the index by using statistical sampling techniques. These techniques involve investing in a limited number of index securities that, when taken together, are expected to perform similarly to the index as a whole. These techniques are based on a variety of factors, including industry weightings, market capitalization, yield and other performance attributes, maturity, duration, credit ratings, liquidity, tax considerations, risk factors and other characteristics. The fund generally expects that its portfolio will hold less than the total number of securities in the index, but reserves the right to hold as many securities as it believes necessary to achieve the fund’s investment objective. The fund generally expects that its yield and maturity will be similar to those of the index. In addition, the fund generally expects that its average duration will closely correspond to the duration of the index, which as of ___, 2010 was ___.
The Adviser seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the fund’s performance and that of its index, before fees and expenses, of 95% or better. However, there can be no guarantee that the fund will achieve a high degree of correlation with the index. A number of factors may affect the fund’s ability to achieve a high correlation with its index, including the degree to which the fund utilizes a sampling technique. The correlation between the performance of the fund and its index may also diverge due to transaction costs, asset

 


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valuations, timing variances, and differences between the fund’s portfolio and the index resulting from legal restrictions (such as diversification requirements) that apply to the fund but not to the index.
 
3   Index ownership — © Barclays Capital Inc. 2010. All rights reserved. The Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Barclays Capital. Barclays Capital does not make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in shares of the fund.
Principal Investment Risks
The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an investor to lose money.
Market Risk. Bond markets rise and fall daily. As with any investment whose performance is tied to these markets, the value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, which means that you could lose money.
Investment Style Risk. The fund is not actively managed. Therefore, the fund follows the securities included in the index during upturns as well as downturns. Because of its indexing strategy, the fund does not take steps to reduce market exposure or to lessen the effects of a declining market. In addition, because of the fund’s expenses, the fund’s performance is normally below that of the index.
Interest Rate Risk. The fund is subject to the risk that 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 may be low. Changes in interest rates also may affect the fund’s share price: a sharp rise in interest rates could cause the fund’s share price to fall. The longer the fund’s duration, the more sensitive to interest rate movements its share price is likely to be.
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, or the counterparty to a derivatives contract, fails to make timely principal or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations. The negative perceptions of an issuer’s ability to make such payments 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 default on the part of a single portfolio investment could cause the fund’s share price or yield to fall.
Although the fund invests primarily in U.S. Government securities issued by the U.S. Treasury, which are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, the fund may also invest in securities that are not guaranteed or insured by the U.S. Government. Issuers of securities such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB) maintain limited lines of credit with 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 shares of the fund itself. Any default on the part of a portfolio investment could cause the fund’s share price or yield to fall.
On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury announced a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, placing the two federal instrumentalities in conservatorship. The actions of the U.S. Treasury are intended to ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maintain a positive net worth and meet their financial obligations, preventing mandatory triggering of receivership. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Treasury initiatives will be successful.
Sampling Index Tracking Risk. The fund may not fully replicate the index and may hold securities not included in the index. As a result, the fund is subject to the risk that the Adviser’s investment management strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results. Because the fund utilizes a sampling approach it may not track the return of the index as well as it would if the fund purchased all of the equity securities in the index.
Tracking Error Risk. The fund’s return may not match the return of the index. For example, differences between the fund’s securities and those in the index, rounding of prices, changes to the index and regulatory requirements may cause tracking error, the divergence of the fund’s performance from that of its index. The fund may not be able to invest in certain securities in its benchmark index, or match the securities’ weighting to the benchmark, due to regulatory, operational or liquidity constraints, which may result in tracking error. The fund may attempt to offset the effects of not being invested in certain index securities by making substitute investments, but these efforts may not be successful. The fund also incurs fees and expenses while the index does not, which may result in tracking error.

 


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Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. 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. The fund’s investments in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the fund because it may be unable to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. Further, transactions in illiquid securities may entail transaction costs that are higher than those for transactions in liquid securities
Securities Lending Risk. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and other financial institutions provided a number of conditions are satisfied, including that the loan is fully collateralized. When the fund lends portfolio securities, its investment performance will continue to reflect changes in the value of the securities loaned, and the fund will also receive a fee or interest on the collateral. Securities lending involves the risk of loss of rights in the collateral or delay in recover of the collateral if the borrower fails to return the security loaned or becomes insolvent. The fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral. The fund may pay lending fees to a party arranging the loan.
Market Trading Risk. Although fund shares are listed on national securities exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for fund shares will develop or be maintained. If an active market is not maintained, investors may find it difficult to buy or sell fund shares. Trading of shares of the fund on a stock exchange may be halted if exchange officials deem such action appropriate, if the fund is delisted, or if the activation of marketwide “circuit breakers” halts stock trading generally. If the fund’s shares are delisted, the fund may seek to list its shares on another market, merge with another ETF, or redeem its shares at NAV.
Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the fund will approximate the fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. Thus, you may pay more than NAV when you buy shares of the fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market.
The market price of fund shares during the trading day, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid/ask” spread charged by the exchange specialist, market makers or other participants that trade the fund shares. The bid/ask spread on ETF shares is likely to be larger on ETFs that are traded less frequently. In addition, in times of severe market disruption, the bid/ask spread can increase significantly. At those times, fund shares are most likely to be traded at a discount to NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your shares. The Adviser believes that, under normal market conditions, large market price discounts or premiums to NAV will not be sustained because of arbitrage opportunities.
Lack of Governmental Insurance or Guarantee. An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
Portfolio holdings
A description of the funds’ policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of a fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Statement of Additional Information.

 


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Fund management
The investment adviser for the Schwab Fixed-Income ETFs is Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (“CSIM” or the “Adviser”), 211 Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Founded in 1989, the firm today serves as investment adviser for all of the Schwab Funds ® , Laudus Funds ® and Schwab ETFs. The firm has more than $       billion under management. (All figures on this page are as of ___/___/___.)
As the investment adviser, the firm oversees the asset management and administration of the funds. As compensation for these services, the firm receives a management fee from the funds, expressed as a percentage of each fund’s average daily net assets.
         
Schwab U.S TIPS ETF tm
  0.XX%
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
  0.XX%
Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
  0.XX%
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the funds’ investment advisory agreements will be available in the funds’ first annual and/or semi-annual report.
Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Adviser and each fund, the Adviser will pay the operating expenses of the fund, excluding interest expense, taxes, any brokerage expenses, and extraordinary or non-routine expenses. The fund does not currently expect to incur any interest expense in the first year of operations.
Jeffrey Mortimer, CFA, senior vice president and chief investment officer of the Adviser, is responsible for the overall management of each of the funds. Prior to joining the firm in October 1997, he worked for more than eight years in asset management.
Dustin Lewellyn, CFA, a managing director of the Adviser, oversees the investment adviser’s management of exchange traded funds (ETF(s)). Prior to joining the firm in May 2009, he worked for two years as director of ETF product management and development at a major financial institution focused on asset and wealth management. Prior to that, he was a portfolio manager for institutional clients at a financial services firm for three years. In addition, he held roles in portfolio operations and product management at a large asset management firm for more than 6 years.
Matthew Hastings, CFA, a managing director and portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the funds. He joined the firm in 1999 and has worked in fixed-income asset management since 1996.
Steven Chan, a portfolio manager of the investment adviser, has day-to-day co-responsibility for the management of the funds. He joined the firm in 1996 and has been performing portfolio analytic and operational support since 2004 prior to moving to his current role in 2007.
Additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities in the funds is available in the Statement of Additional Information.
Distributor. The funds’ Distributor is SEI Investments Distribution Co. The Distributor, located at 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456, is a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the funds and does not maintain a secondary market in shares of the funds.

 


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Investing in the funds
On the following pages, you will find information on buying and selling shares. Most investors will invest in the funds through an intermediary by placing orders through their brokerage account at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”) or an account with another broker/dealer or other intermediary. Authorized Participants (as defined in “Purchase and redemption of creation units,” below) may invest directly in the funds by placing orders for Creation Units through the funds’ Distributor (direct orders). Helpful information on taxes is included as well.
Shares of the funds trade on national securities exchanges and elsewhere during the trading day and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other shares of publicly traded securities. When buying or selling shares through a broker most investors will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread” — that is, any difference between the bid price and the ask price.
Shares of the funds trade under the following trading symbols:
     
Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF tm
  XXXX
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
  XXXX
Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
  XXXX
Shares of the funds may be acquired or redeemed directly from the funds only in Creation Units or multiples thereof; as discussed in the “Creation and redemption” section below. Once created, shares of the funds trade in the secondary market in amounts less than a Creation Unit. The funds do not impose any minimum investment for shares of the funds purchased on an exchange or in the secondary market. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares are not redeemable by the funds.
Share trading prices
As with other types of securities, the trading prices of shares in the secondary market can be affected by market forces such as supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors. The price you pay or receive when you buy or sell your shares in the secondary market may be more (a premium) or less (a discount) than the NAV of such shares.
The approximate value of shares of the funds is disseminated every fifteen seconds throughout the trading day by the national securities exchange on which the funds are listed or by other information providers. This approximate value should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the NAV, because the approximate value may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed once per day. The approximate value generally is determined by using current market quotations and/or price quotations obtained from broker-dealers that may trade in the portfolio securities held by the funds. The funds and Adviser are not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the approximate value and make no warranty as to its accuracy.
Determination of net asset value
The NAV of the funds’ shares is calculated as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, on each day the NYSE is open for trading (each, a “Business Day”). NAV per share is calculated by dividing the funds’ net assets by the number of the funds’ shares outstanding.
In valuing their securities, the funds use market values if they are readily available. In cases where market values are not readily available, the funds may value securities based on fair values developed using methods approved by the funds’ Board of Trustees (described below). When valuing fixed income securities with remaining maturities of more than 60 days, the funds use the value of the security provided by pricing services. The pricing services may value fixed income securities at an evaluated price by employing methodologies that use actual market transactions, broker-supplied valuations, or other methodologies designed to identify the market value for such securities. When valuing fixed income securities with remaining maturities of 60 days or less, a fund may use the security’s amortized cost, which approximates the security’s market value.
The funds’ Board of Trustees has adopted procedures, which include fair value methodologies, to fair value the funds’ securities when market prices are not “readily available” or are unreliable. For example, the funds may fair value a security when a security is de-listed or its trading is halted or suspended; when a security’s primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; when a security’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or when a security’s value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the security’s primary trading market. By fair valuing securities whose prices may have been affected by

 


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events occurring after the close of trading, the funds seek to establish prices that investors might expect to realize upon the current sales of these securities. The funds’ fair value methodologies seek to ensure that the prices at which the funds’ shares are purchased and redeemed are fair and do not result in dilution of shareholder interest or other harm to shareholders. Generally, when fair valuing a security, the funds will take into account all reasonably available information that may be relevant to a particular valuation including, but not limited to, fundamental analytical data regarding the issuer, information relating to the issuer’s business, recent trades or offers of the security, general and specific market conditions and the specific facts giving rise to the need to fair value the security. The funds make fair value determinations in good faith and in accordance with the fair value methodologies included in the Board adopted valuation procedures. Due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, there can be no assurance that the funds could obtain the fair value assigned to the security upon the sale of such security.
Transactions in fund shares will be priced at NAV only if you purchase or redeem shares directly from the funds in Creation Units. Fund shares that are purchased or sold on a national securities exchange will be effected at prevailing market prices, which may be higher or lower than NAV, and may be subject to brokerage commissions and charges. As described below, purchases and redemptions of Creation Units will be priced at the NAV next determined after receipt of the purchase or redemption order.
Purchase and redemption of creation units
Creation and redemption
The shares that trade in the secondary market are “created” at NAV. The funds issue and redeem shares only in Creation Units, which are large blocks of shares, typically 50,000 shares or more. Only institutional investors, who have entered into an authorized participant agreement (known as “Authorized Participants”) may purchase or redeem Creation Units. Creation Units generally are issued and redeemed in exchange for a specified basket of securities approximating the holdings of the funds and a designated amount of cash. Each Business Day, prior to the opening of trading, the funds publish the specific securities and designated amount of cash included in that day’s basket for the funds through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) or other method of public dissemination. The funds reserve the right to accept or pay out a basket of securities or cash that differs from the published basket. The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after an order is received and deemed acceptable by the Distributor. Orders from Authorized Participants to create or redeem Creation Units will only be accepted on a Business Day and are also subject to acceptance by the funds and the Distributor.
Creations and redemptions must be made by an Authorized Participant or through a firm that is either a member of the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC or a Depository Trust Company participant, and in each case, must have executed an agreement with the Distributor with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Unit aggregations. Information about the procedures regarding creation and redemption of Creation Units is included in the funds’ Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
Authorized participants and the continuous offering of shares
Because new shares may be created and issued on an ongoing basis, at any point during the life of the funds, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”), may be occurring. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in them being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner that could render them statutory underwriters and subject to the prospectus-delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act. Nonetheless, any determination of whether one is an underwriter must take into account all the relevant facts and circumstances of each particular case.
Broker-dealers should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters,” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary transactions), and thus dealing with shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. For delivery of prospectuses to exchange members, the prospectus delivery mechanism of Rule 153 under the Securities Act is only available with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange.
Creation and redemption transaction fees for creation units
The funds may impose a creation transaction fee and a redemption transaction fee to offset transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units of shares. The creation and redemption transaction fees applicable to the funds are listed below. The standard creation transaction fee is charged to each purchaser on the day such purchaser creates a Creation Unit. The standard fee is a single charge and will be the amount indicated below regardless of the number of Creation Units

 


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purchased by an investor on the same day. Similarly, the standard redemption transaction fee will be the amount indicated regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed that day. Purchasers and redeemers of Creation Units for cash will be subject to an additional variable charge up to four times the additional amount shown below under “Additional Creation/Redemption Transaction Fee” for each Creation Unit to offset the transaction costs to the funds of buying or selling portfolio securities. In addition, purchasers and redeemers of shares in Creation Units are responsible for payment of the costs of transferring securities to or out of the funds. From time to time, the Adviser may cover the cost of any transaction fees when believed to be in the best interests of the funds.
The following table shows, as of ___, 2010, the approximate value of one Creation Unit of the funds, including the standard and additional creation and redemption transaction fee. These fees are payable only by investors who purchase shares directly from the funds. Retail investors who purchase shares through their brokerage account will not pay these fees. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may pay fees for such services.
             
        Standard   Additional
    Approximate Value   Creation/Redemption   Creation/Redemption
Name of Fund   of One Creation Unit   Transaction Fee   Transaction Fee
Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF tm
  $ [___]   $ ___   $ ___
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
  $ [___]   $ ___   $ ___
Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tm
  $ [___]   $ ___   $ ___
Transaction policies
Policy regarding short-term or excessive trading. The funds have adopted policies and procedures with respect to frequent purchases and redemptions of Creation Units of fund shares. However, because the funds are ETFs, only Authorized Participants are authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly with the funds. Because purchase and redemption transactions with Authorized Participants are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep ETF trading prices in line with NAV, the funds accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions by Authorized Participants. Frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase index tracking error and portfolio transaction costs and may lead to realization of capital gains. Frequent in-kind creations and redemptions do not give rise to these concerns. The funds reserve the right to reject any purchase order at any time.
The funds reserve the right to impose restrictions on disruptive, excessive, or short-term trading. Such trading is defined by the funds as purchases and sales of fund shares in amounts and frequency determined by the funds to be significant and in a pattern of activity that can potentially be detrimental to the funds and their shareholders, such as by diluting the value of the shareholders’ holdings, increasing fund transaction costs, disrupting portfolio management strategy, incurring unwanted taxable gains, or forcing funds to hold excess levels of cash. The funds may reject purchase or redemption orders in such instances. The funds also impose a transaction fee on Creation Unit transactions that is designed to offset the funds’ transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of the Creation Units. Although the funds have adopted policies and procedures designed to discourage disruptive, excessive or short-term trading, there can be no guarantee that the funds will be able to identify and restrict investors that engage in such activities or eliminate the risks associated with such activities. In addition, the decisions to restrict trading are inherently subjective and involve judgment in their application. The funds may amend these policies and procedures in response to changing regulatory requirements or to enhance their effectiveness.
Investments by Registered Investment Companies. Section 12(d)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 restricts investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including shares of the funds. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the funds beyond the limits set forth in section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order issued to the Schwab Strategic Trust, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the funds.
Distributions and taxes
Any investment in the funds typically involves several tax considerations . The information below is meant as a general summary for U.S. citizens and residents. Because each person’s tax situation is different, you should consult your tax advisor about the tax implications of your investment in a fund. You also can visit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) web site at www.irs.gov.
As a shareholder, you are entitled to your share of the dividends and gains your fund earns . Dividends from net investment income, if any, are generally declared and paid [annually for the Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF and monthly for the Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF and Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury Fund]. Distributions of net realized capital gains, if any, generally are

 


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declared and paid once a year, although the funds may do so more frequently as determined by the Board of Trustees. Although it is not generally expected, if the fund’s distributions exceed its realized taxable income and capital gains during a taxable year, then all or a portion of the distributions made during that year may be characterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution generally will not be taxable but will reduce the shareholder’s cost basis and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold Each fund reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve its status as a regulated investment company or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income or realized gains. Dividends and other distributions on shares of the funds are distributed on a pro rata basis to beneficial owners of such shares. During the fourth quarter of the year, typically in early November, an estimate of the funds’ year-end distribution, if any, may be made available on the funds’ website www.schwab.com/SchwabETFProspectus.
Unless you are investing through an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged retirement account, your fund distributions generally have tax consequences . Each fund’s net investment income and short-term capital gains are distributed as dividends and will be taxable as ordinary income. Other capital gain distributions are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held your shares in the fund. Distributions generally are taxable in the tax year in which they are declared, whether you reinvest them or take them in cash.
Generally, any sale of your shares is a taxable event . A sale of your shares may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of shares will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Absent further legislation, the reduced maximum rates on qualified dividend income and long-term capital gains will cease to apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term, rather than short-term, to the extent of any long-term capital gain distributions received (or deemed received) by you with respect to the shares. All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares will be disallowed if you purchase other substantially identical shares within 30 days before or after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly purchased shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
At the beginning of every year, the funds provide shareholders with information detailing the tax status of any distributions the funds paid during the previous calendar year. Schwab customers also receive information on distributions and transactions in their monthly account statements.
Adjustments for inflation to the principal amount of an inflation-protected U.S. Treasury bond held by a fund may be included for tax purposes in a fund’s gross income, even though no cash attributable to such gross income has been received by the fund. In such event, a fund may be required to make annual distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash it has otherwise received. In order to pay such distributions, a fund may be required to raise cash by selling portfolio investments. The sale of such investments could result in capital gains to a fund and additional capital gain distributions to fund shareholders. In addition, adjustments during the taxable year for deflation to an inflation-indexed bond held by a fund may cause amounts distributed in the taxable year as income to be characterized as a return of capital.
If you are investing through a taxable account and purchase shares of the funds just before it declares a distribution, you may receive a portion of your investment back as a taxable distribution. This is because when the funds make a distribution, the share price is reduced by the amount of the distribution. You can avoid “buying a dividend,” as it is often called, by finding out if a distribution is imminent and waiting until afterwards to invest. Of course, you may decide that the opportunity to gain a few days of investment performance outweighs the tax consequences of buying a dividend.
Taxes on creation and redemption of creation units
An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the cash component paid. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of the securities and the amount of cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities for Creation Units should consult a tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

 


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Any capital gain or loss realized upon a redemption (or creation) of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the funds’ shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for one year or less.
If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many shares you purchased or sold and at what price. Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.
Index provider
CSIM has entered into a license agreement with Barclay’s Capital Inc. to use the index. Fees payable under the license agreement are paid by CSIM. Barclay’s Capital Inc. has no obligation to continue to provide the indexes to CSIM beyond the term of the license agreement.
Disclaimers
The Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF TM , Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF TM and Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF TM (the “funds”) are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Barclays Capital. Barclays Capital makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the funds particularly or the ability of a Barclays Capital Index to track general bond market performance. Barclays Capital’s only relationship to Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., the funds’ investment manager (“CSIM”), and the funds is the licensing of the Barclays Capital Index which is determined, composed and calculated by Barclays Capital without regard to CSIM or the funds. Barclays Capital has no obligation to take the needs of CSIM, the funds, or the owners of the funds into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Barclays Capital Index. Barclays Capital is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the funds to be issued. Barclays Capital has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the funds.
BARCLAYS CAPITAL SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY TO THE FUNDS OR TO THIRD PARTIES FOR THE QUALITY, ACCURACY AND/OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN OR FOR INTERRUPTIONS IN THE DELIVERY OF THE INDICES. BARCLAYS CAPITAL MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY CSIM, THE OWNERS OF THE FUNDS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN IN CONNECTION WITH THE RIGHTS LICENSED OR FOR ANY OTHER USE. BARCLAYS CAPITAL MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. BARCLAYS CAPITAL SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THE INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN.
Shares of the funds are not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by NYSE Arca, Inc. NYSE Arca makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of the funds or any member of the public regarding the ability of a fund to track the total return performance of its underlying index or the ability of the underlying index to track stock market performance. NYSE Arca is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the compilation or the calculation of any underlying index, nor in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of shares of the funds to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. NYSE Arca has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of the funds in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the shares of the funds.
NYSE Arca shall have no liability for damages, claims, losses or expenses caused by any errors, omissions, or delays in calculating or disseminating any current index or portfolio value; the current value of the portfolio of securities required to be deposited to the funds; the amount of any dividend equivalent payment or cash distribution to holders of shares of the funds; net asset value; or other information relating to the creation, redemption or trading of shares of the funds, resulting from any negligent act or omission by NYSE Arca, or any act, condition or cause beyond the reasonable control of NYSE Arca, including, but not limited to, an act of God; fire; flood; extraordinary weather conditions; war; insurrection; riot; strike; accident; action of government; communications or power failure; equipment or software malfunction; or any error, omission or delay in the reporting of transactions in one or more underlying securities. NYSE Arca makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by any person or entity from the use of any underlying index or data included therein and NYSE Arca makes no express or implied warranties, and disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to shares of the funds or any underlying index or data included therein.
The funds and CSIM do not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the indexes or any data included therein and shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein. The funds and CSIM make no warranty, express or implied, as to results

 


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to be obtained by the funds, or any other person or entity from the use of indexes or any data included therein. The funds and CSIM make no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties, of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the indexes or any data included therein, without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the funds and CSIM have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special or consequential damages (including lost profits), even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

 


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Notes
To learn more
This prospectus contains important information on the funds and should be read and kept for reference. You also can obtain more information from the following sources.
Annual and semi-annual reports, which are mailed to current fund investors, contain more information about the funds’ holdings and detailed financial information about the funds. Annual reports also contain information from the funds’ managers about strategies, recent market conditions and trends and their impact on fund performance.
The Statement of Additional Information (SAI) includes a more detailed discussion of investment policies and the risks associated with various investments. The SAI is incorporated by reference into the prospectus, making it legally part of the prospectus.
For a free copy of any of these documents or to request other information or ask questions about the funds, call Schwab ETFs tm at 1-800-435-4000. In addition, you may visit Schwab ETFs web site at www.schwab.com/SchwabETFProspectus for a free copy of a prospectus, SAI or an annual or semi-annual report.
The SAI, the funds’ annual and semi-annual reports and other related materials are available from the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s web site (http://www.sec.gov). You can obtain copies of this information, after paying a duplicating fee, by sending a request by e-mail to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. You can also review and copy information about the funds, including the funds’ SAI, at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call 1-202-551-8090 for information on the operation of the SEC’s Public Reference Room.
SEC File Number
     
Schwab Strategic Trust   811-22311
REGxxxxxFLT-00
Schwab U.S. ETFs
Prospectus
July ___, 2010
(CHARLES SCHWAB LOGO)

 


 

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Schwab Fixed-Income ETFs
     
Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF
  [TICKER AND EXCHANGE]
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF
  [TICKER AND EXCHANGE]
Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF
  [TICKER AND EXCHANGE]
July __, 2010
The Statement of Additional Information (SAI) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the funds’ prospectus, dated July ___, 2010 (as amended from time to time). To obtain a free copy of the prospectus, please contact Schwab ETFs at 1-800-435-4000. For TDD service call 1-800-345-2550. The prospectus also may be available on the Internet at: http://www.schwab.com/SchwabETFProspectus.
Each fund is a series of the Schwab Strategic Trust (the trust). The funds are part of the Schwab complex of funds.
         
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
APPENDIX B- DESCRIPTION OF PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
       

 


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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES, RISKS AND LIMITATIONS
Investment Objectives
Each fund’s investment objective is not fundamental and therefore may be changed by the funds’ board of trustees without shareholder approval.
The Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF™ seeks to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) Index (Series L) sm .
The Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF™ seeks to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Index sm .
The Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF™ seeks to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. 3-10 Year Treasury Bond Index sm .
There is no guarantee the funds will achieve their investment objectives.
Description of Benchmark Indices
The Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF’s benchmark index, Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) Index (Series L) sm , includes all publicly-issued U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) that have at least one year remaining to maturity, are rated investment grade and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. TIPS are U.S. Government securities issued by the U.S. Treasury that generate principal and interest payments designed to adjust for and protect against inflation. The securities in the index must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible. The index is market capitalization weighted and the securities in the index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of                      , 2010, there were                      issues in the index.
The Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF’s benchmark index, Barclays Capital U.S. 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Index sm , includes all publicly-issued U.S. Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to one year and less than three years, are rated investment grade, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. The securities in the index must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible. The index excludes state and local government series bonds and coupon issues that have been stripped from bonds. The index is market capitalization weighted and the securities in the index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of                      , 2010 there were ___ issues in the index.
The Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF’s benchmark index, Barclays Capital U.S. 3-10 Year Treasury Bond Index sm , includes all publicly-issued U.S. Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to three years and less than ten years, are rated investment grade, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. The securities in the index must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible. The index excludes state and local government series bonds and coupon issues that have been stripped from bonds. The index is market capitalization weighted and the securities in the index are updated on the last business day of each month. As of                      , 2010, there were ___ issues in the index.
Index Providers and Disclaimers
The Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF TM , Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF TM and Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF TM (the “funds”) are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Barclays Capital. Barclays Capital makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the funds particularly or the ability of a Barclays Capital Index to track general bond market performance. Barclays Capital’s only relationship to Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., the funds’ investment manager (“CSIM”) and the funds is the licensing of each Barclays Capital Index which is determined, composed and calculated by Barclays Capital without regard to the funds and the investment manager. Barclays Capital has no obligation to take the needs of the funds, the investment manager, or the owners of the funds into consideration in determining, composing or calculating a Barclays Capital Index. Barclays Capital is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the shares of the funds to be issued. Barclays Capital has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the funds.
BARCLAYS CAPITAL SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY TO THE FUNDS OR TO THIRD PARTIES FOR THE QUALITY, ACCURACY AND/OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN OR FOR INTERRUPTIONS IN THE DELIVERY OF THE INDICES. BARCLAYS CAPITAL MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR

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IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY CSIM, THE FUNDS, OWNERS OF THE FUNDS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN IN CONNECTION WITH THE RIGHTS LICENSED OR FOR ANY OTHER USE. BARCLAYS CAPITAL MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. BARCLAYS CAPITAL SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THE INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN.
Shares of the funds are not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by NYSE Arca Inc. NYSE Arca makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of the funds or any member of the public regarding the ability of the funds to track the total return performance of any underlying index or the ability of the underlying index to track stock market performance. NYSE Arca is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the compilation or the calculation of an underlying index, nor in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of shares of the funds to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. NYSE Arca has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of the funds in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the shares of the funds.
NYSE Arca shall have no liability for damages, claims, losses or expenses caused by any errors, omissions, or delays in calculating or disseminating any current index or portfolio value the current value of the portfolio of securities required to be deposited to the funds; the amount of any dividend equivalent payment or cash distribution to holders of shares of the funds; net asset value; or other information relating to the creation, redemption or trading of shares of the funds, resulting from any negligent act or omission by NYSE Arca, or any act, condition or cause beyond the reasonable control of NYSE Arca, including, but not limited to, an act of God; fire; flood; extraordinary weather conditions; war; insurrection; riot; strike; accident; action of government; communications or power failure; equipment or software malfunction; or any error, omission or delay in the reporting of transactions in one or more underlying securities. NYSE Arca makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by any person or entity from the use of any underlying index or data included therein and NYSE Arca makes no express or implied warranties, and disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to shares of the funds or any underlying index or data included therein.
Fund Investment Policies
The Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF™ will, under normal circumstances, invest at least 90% of its net assets in the securities of its benchmark index. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy. For purposes of this policy, net assets mean net assets plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
The Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF™ will, under normal circumstances, invest at least 90% of its net assets in the securities of its benchmark index. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy. For purposes of this policy, net assets mean net assets plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
The Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF™ will, under normal circumstances, invest at least 90% of its net assets in the securities of its benchmark index. The fund will notify its shareholders at least 60 days before changing this policy. For purposes of this policy, net assets mean net assets plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
Investments, Risks and Limitations
The following investment strategies, risks and limitations supplement those set forth in the prospectus and may be changed without shareholder approval unless otherwise noted. Also, policies and limitations that state a maximum percentage of assets that may be invested in a security or other asset, or that set forth a quality standard, shall be measured immediately after and as a result of a fund’s acquisition of such security or asset unless otherwise noted. Thus, except with respect to limitations on borrowing and futures and option contracts, any subsequent change in values, net assets or other circumstances does not require a fund to sell an investment if it could not then make the same investment.
Principal Investment Strategy Investments
Unless otherwise indicated, the following investments may be used as part of each fund’s principal investment strategy.
Diversification involves investing in a wide range of securities and thereby spreading and reducing the risks of investment. Each fund is a series of an open-end investment management company with limited redeemability. The funds are diversified exchange traded funds. Diversification does not eliminate the risk of market loss.
Duration was developed as a more precise alternative to the concept of “maturity.” Traditionally, a debt obligation’s maturity has been used as a proxy for the sensitivity of the security’s price to changes in interest rates (which is the “interest rate risk” or

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“volatility” of the security). However, maturity measures only the time until a debt obligation provides its final payment, taking no account of the pattern of the security’s payments prior to maturity. In contrast, duration incorporates a bond’s yield, coupon interest payments, final maturity, call and put features and prepayment exposure into one measure. Duration is the magnitude of the change in the price of a bond relative to a given change in market interest rates. Duration management is one of the fundamental tools used by the investment adviser.
Duration is a measure of the expected life of a debt obligation on a present value basis. Duration takes the length of the time intervals between the present time and the time that the interest and principal payments are scheduled or, in the case of a callable bond, the time the principal payments are expected to be received, and weights them by the present values of the cash to be received at each future point in time. For debt obligations with interest payments occurring prior to the payment of principal, duration will usually be less than maturity. In general, all else being equal, the lower the stated or coupon rate of the interest of a fixed income security, the longer the duration of the security; conversely, the higher the stated or coupon rate of a fixed income security, the shorter the duration of the security.
Holding long futures or call option positions will lengthen the duration of a fund’s portfolio. Holding short futures or put options will shorten the duration of a fund’s portfolio. A swap agreement on an asset or group of assets may affect the duration of the portfolio depending on the attributes of the swap. For example, if the swap agreement provides a fund with a floating rate of return in exchange for a fixed rate of return, the duration of the fund would be modified to reflect the duration attributes of a similar security that the fund is permitted to buy.
There are some situations where even the standard duration calculation does not properly reflect the interest rate exposure of a security. For example, floating- and variable-rate securities often have final maturities of ten or more years; however, their interest rate exposure corresponds to the frequency of the coupon reset. Another example where the interest rate exposure is not properly captured by maturity is mortgage pass-through securities. The stated final maturity of such securities is generally 30 years, but current prepayment rates are more critical in determining the securities’ interest rate exposure. Finally, the duration of the debt obligation may vary over time in response to changes in interest rates and other market factors.
Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”) such as the funds or Standard and Poor’s Depositary Receipts (“SPDRs”) Trust, are investment companies that typically are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“1940 Act”) as open-end fund as is the funds’ case or unit investment trusts (“UITs”). ETFs are actively traded on national securities exchanges and are generally based on specific domestic and foreign market indices. Shares of an ETF may be bought and sold through the day at market prices, which may be higher or lower than the shares’ net asset value. An “index-based ETF” seeks to track the performance of an index holding in its portfolio either the contents of the index or a representative sample of the securities in the index. Because ETFs are based on an underlying basket of securities or an index, they are subject to the same market fluctuations as these types of securities in volatile market swings. ETFs, like mutual funds, have expenses associated with their operation, including advisory fees. When a fund invests in an ETF, in addition to directly bearing expenses associated with its own operations, it will bear a pro rata portion of the ETF’s expenses. As with any exchange listed security, ETF shares purchased in the secondary market are subject to customary brokerage charges.
Indexing Strategies involve tracking the securities represented in, and therefore the performance of, an index. Each fund normally will invest primarily in the securities of its index. Moreover, each fund seeks to invest so that its portfolio performs similarly to that of its index. Each fund will seek a correlation between its performance and that of its index of 0.95 or better. Correlation for each fund is calculated daily, according to a mathematical formula (“R-squared”) that measures correlation between a fund’s portfolio and benchmark index returns. A perfect correlation of 1.0 is unlikely as the funds incur operating and trading expenses unlike their indices. The Board will monitor each fund’s correlation to its index on a periodic basis. If determined to be in the best interest of a fund and its shareholders, the Board may determine to substitute a different index for the index a fund currently tracks, such determination to be made by the Board based on its evaluation of all pertinent facts and circumstances, including the review of any period(s) of time for which a fund did not achieve its intended correlation and the reasons for such non-correlation. The Board has not established any particular time period of non-correlation that would cause the Board to automatically consider substituting a different index for the index a fund currently tracks.
Inflation Protected Securities (Principal investments for the Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF. Permissible non-principal investments for each other fund). Inflation protected securities are fixed income securities whose value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation. Two structures are common. The U.S. Treasury and some other issuers utilize a structure that accrues inflation into the principal value of the bond. Other issuers pay out the Consumer Price Index (CPI) accruals as part of a semiannual coupon. Inflation protected securities issued by the U.S. Treasury have maturities of approximately five, ten or thirty years, although it is possible that

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securities with other maturities will be issued in the future. The U.S. Treasury securities pay interest on a semi-annual basis equal to a fixed percentage of the inflation adjusted principal amount.
If the periodic adjustment rate measuring inflation falls, the principal value of inflation protected bonds will be adjusted downward, and consequently the interest payable on these securities (calculated with respect to a smaller principal amount) will be reduced. Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury in the case of U.S. Treasury inflation indexed bonds, even during a period of deflation. However, the current market value of the bonds is not guaranteed and will fluctuate. A fund may also invest in other inflation related bonds which may or may not provide a similar guarantee. If a guarantee of principal is not provided, the adjusted principal value of the bond to be repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal amount and, therefore, is subject to credit risk.
The value of inflation protected bonds is expected to change in response to changes in real interest rates. Real interest rates in turn are tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. Therefore, if the rate of inflation rises at a faster rate than nominal interest rates, real interest rates might decline, leading to an increase in value of inflation protected bonds. In contrast, if nominal interest rates increase at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates might rise, leading to a decrease in value of inflation protected bonds. While these securities are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to a decline in value. If interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation, investors in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the bond’s inflation measure.
The periodic adjustment of U.S. inflation protected bonds is tied to the non-seasonally adjusted U.S. City Average All Items Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), published monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI-U is a measurement of changes in the cost of living, made up of components such as housing, food, transportation and energy.
Any increase in principal for an inflation protected security resulting from inflation adjustments is considered by the IRS to be taxable income in the year it occurs. The fund’s distributions to shareholders include interest income and the income attributable to principal adjustments, both of which will be taxable to shareholders. The tax treatment of the income attributable to principal adjustments may result in the situation where a fund needs to make its required annual distributions to shareholders in amounts that exceed the cash received. As a result, a fund may need to liquidate certain investments when it is not advantageous to do so. Also, if the principal value of an inflation protected security is adjusted downward due to deflation, amounts previously distributed in the taxable year may be characterized in some circumstances as a return of capital.
The securities in Schwab U.S. TIPS benchmark index include all publicly-issued U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities that have at least one year remaining to maturity, are rated investment grade and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. The securities must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed-rate and non-convertible. TIPS are publicly issued, dollar denominated U.S. Government securities issued by the U.S. Treasury that have principal and interest payments linked to official inflation measure (as measured by the Consumer Price Index, or CPI) and their payments are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States.
Interest Rates may rise and fall over time, and debt securities will experience price changes when interest rates change. For example, when interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities generally rise. If interest rates move sharply in a manner not anticipated by the fund’s investment manager, the value of a fund’s debt securities could be adversely impacted and the fund could lose money. The value of debt securities in the funds can be expected to vary inversely with changes in prevailing interest rates. In general, debt securities with longer maturities will tend to react to interest rate changes more severely than shorter-term debt securities, but will generally offer greater rates of interest.
During periods of rising interest rates, the average life of certain debt securities is extended because of slower than expected principal payments. This may lock in below-market interest rates and extend the duration of these debt securities, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates. This is known as extension risk and may cause the value of debt securities to depreciate as a result of the higher market interest rates. Debt securities also are subject to the risk that the issuers will not make timely interest and/or principal payments or fail to make them at all. This is called credit risk. Debt instruments also may be subject to price volatility due to market perception of future interest rates, the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (market risk).
Maturity of Investments will generally be determined using the portfolio securities’ final maturity dates. However for certain securities, maturity will be determined using the security’s effective maturity date. Except as discussed below, the effective maturity date for a security subject to a put or demand feature is the demand date, unless the security is a variable- or floating-rate security. If it is a variable-rate security, its effective maturity date is the earlier of its demand date or next interest rate change date. For variable rate securities not subject to a put or demand feature and floating-rate securities, the effective maturity date is the next interest rate change

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date. For an interest rate swap agreement, its effective maturity would be equal to the difference in the effective maturity of the interest rates “swapped.” Securities being hedged with futures contracts may be deemed to have a longer maturity, in the case of purchases of future contracts, and a shorter maturity, in the case of sales of futures contracts, than they would otherwise be deemed to have. In addition, a security that is subject to redemption at the option of the issuer on a particular date (“call date”), which is prior to, or in lieu of, the security’s stated maturity, may be deemed to mature on the call date rather than on its stated maturity date. The call date of a security will be used to calculate average portfolio maturity when the investment adviser reasonably anticipates, based upon information available to it, that the issuer will exercise its right to redeem the security. The average portfolio maturity of a fund is dollar-weighted based upon the amortized cost of a fund’s securities at the time of the calculation.
Money Market Securities are high-quality, short term debt securities that may be issued by entities such as the U.S. government, corporations and financial institutions (like banks). Money market securities include commercial paper, certificates of deposit, banker’s acceptances, notes and time deposits. Certificates of deposit and time deposits are issued against funds deposited in a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate. Banker’s acceptances are credit instruments evidencing a bank’s obligation to pay a draft drawn on it by a customer. These instruments reflect the obligation both of the bank and of the drawer to pay the full amount of the instrument upon maturity. Commercial paper consists of short term, unsecured promissory notes issued to finance short term credit needs.
Money market securities pay fixed, variable or floating rates of interest and are generally subject to credit and interest rate risks. The maturity date or price of and financial assets collateralizing a security may be structured to make it qualify as or act like a money market security. These securities may be subject to greater credit and interest rate risks than other money market securities because of their structure. Money market securities may be issued with puts or sold separately, sometimes called demand features or guarantees, which are agreements that allow the buyer to sell a security at a specified price and time to the seller or “put provider.” When a fund buys a put, losses could occur as a result of the costs of the put or if it exercises its rights under the put and the put provider does not perform as agreed.
A fund may keep a portion of its assets in cash for business operations. To reduce the effect this otherwise uninvested cash would have on its performance, a fund may invest in money market securities. A fund may also invest in money market securities to the extent it is consistent with its investment objective.
Securities Lending of portfolio securities is a common practice in the securities industry. A fund may engage in security lending arrangements. For example, a fund may receive cash collateral, and it may invest it in short term, interest-bearing obligations, but will do so only to the extent that it will not lose the tax treatment available to regulated investment companies. Lending portfolio securities involves risks that the borrower may fail to return the securities or provide additional collateral. Also, voting rights with respect to the loaned securities may pass with the lending of the securities.
A fund may loan portfolio securities to qualified broker-dealers or other institutional investors provided: (1) the loan is secured continuously by collateral consisting of U.S. government securities, letters of credit, cash or cash equivalents or other appropriate instruments maintained on a daily marked-to-market basis in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned; (2) a fund may at any time call the loan and obtain the return of the securities loaned; (3) a fund will receive any interest or dividends paid on the loaned securities; and (4) the aggregate market value of securities loaned will not at any time exceed one-third of the total assets of a fund, including collateral received from the loan (at market value computed at the time of the loan).
Although voting rights with respect to loaned securities pass to the borrower, the lender retains the right to recall a security (or terminate a loan) for the purpose of exercising the security’s voting rights. Efforts to recall such securities promptly may be unsuccessful, especially for foreign securities or thinly traded securities such as small-cap stocks. In addition, because recalling a security may involve expenses to a fund, it is expected that a fund will do so only where the items being voted upon are, in the judgment of the investment adviser, either material to the economic value of the security or threaten to materially impact the issuer’s corporate governance policies or structure.
Securities of Other Investment Companies . Investment companies generally offer investors the advantages of diversification and professional investment management, by combining shareholders’ money and investing it in securities such as stocks, bonds and money market instruments. Investment companies include: (1) open-end funds (commonly called mutual funds) that issue and redeem their shares on a continuous basis; (2) closed-end funds that offer a fixed number of shares, and are usually listed on an exchange; and (3) unit investment trusts that generally offer a fixed number of redeemable shares. Certain open-end funds, closed-end funds and unit investment trusts are traded on exchanges.
Investment companies may make investments and use techniques designed to enhance their performance. These may include delayed-delivery and when-issued securities transactions; swap agreements; buying and selling futures contracts, illiquid, and/or restricted securities and repurchase agreements; and borrowing or lending money and/or portfolio securities. The risks of investing in a

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particular investment company will generally reflect the risks of the securities in which it invests and the investment techniques it employs. Also, investment companies charge fees and incur expenses.
The funds may buy securities of other investment companies in compliance with the requirements of federal law or any SEC exemptive order. A fund may invest in investment companies that are not registered with the SEC or privately placed securities of investment companies (which may or may not be registered), such as hedge funds. Unregistered funds are largely exempt from the regulatory requirements that apply to registered investment companies. As a result, unregistered funds may have a greater ability to make investments, or use investment techniques, that offer a higher potential investment return (for example, leveraging), but which may carry high risk. Unregistered funds, while not regulated by the SEC like registered funds, may be indirectly supervised by the financial institutions (e.g., commercial and investment banks) that may provide them with loans or other sources of capital. Investments in unregistered funds may be difficult to sell, which could cause a fund selling an interest in an unregistered fund to lose money. For example, many hedge funds require their investors to hold their investments for at least one year.
Federal law restricts the ability of one registered investment company to invest in another. As a result, the extent to which a fund may invest in another investment company may be limited. With respect to investments in other mutual funds, the SEC has granted the funds an exemption from the limitations of the 1940 Act that restrict the amount of securities of underlying mutual funds a fund may hold, provided that certain conditions are met. The conditions requested by the SEC were designed to address certain abuses perceived to be associated with funds of funds, including unnecessary costs (such as sales loads, advisory fees and administrative costs), and undue influence by a fund of funds over the underlying fund. The conditions apply only when a fund and its affiliates in the aggregate own more than 3% of the outstanding shares of any one underlying fund.
Under the terms of the exemptive order, each fund and its affiliates may not control a non-affiliated underlying fund. Under the 1940 Act, any person who owns beneficially, either directly or through one or more controlled companies, more than 25% of the voting securities of a company is assumed to control that company. This limitation is measured at the time the investment is made.
U.S. Government Securities are issued by the U.S. Treasury or issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities. Not all U.S. government securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Some U.S. government securities, such as those issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (known as Fannie Mae), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (known as Freddie Mac), the Student Loan Marketing Association (known as Sallie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by a line of credit the issuing entity has with the U.S. Treasury. Others are supported solely by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality such as obligations issued by the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation. There can be no assurance that the U.S. government will provide financial support to U.S. government securities of its agencies and instrumentalities if it is not obligated to do so under law. Of course U.S. government securities, including U.S. Treasury securities, are among the safest securities, however, not unlike other debt securities, they are still sensitive to interest rate changes, which will cause their yields and prices to fluctuate.
On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury announced a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, placing the two federal instrumentalities in conservatorship. Under the takeover, the U.S. Treasury agreed to acquire $1 billion of senior preferred stock of each instrumentality and obtained warrants for the purchase of common stock of each instrumentality. Under these Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements (SPAs), the U.S. Treasury has pledged to provide up to $100 billion per instrumentality as needed, including the contribution of cash capital to the instrumentalities in the event their liabilities exceed their assets. On May 6, 2009, the U.S. Treasury increased its maximum commitment to each instrumentality under the SPAs to $200 billion per instrumentality. On December 24, 2009, the U.S. Treasury further amended the SPAs to allow the cap on Treasury’s funding commitment to increase as necessary to accommodate any cumulative reduction in Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s net worth through the end of 2012. At the conclusion of 2012, the remaining U.S. Treasury commitment will then be fully available to be drawn per the terms of the SPAs. In December 2009, the U.S. Treasury also amended the SPAs to provide Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with some additional flexibility to meet the requirement to reduce their mortgage portfolios.
The actions of the U.S. Treasury are intended to ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maintain a positive net worth and meet their financial obligations preventing mandatory triggering of receivership. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Treasury initiatives will be successful.
Non-Principal Investment Strategy Investments
The following investments may be used as part of each fund’s non-principal investment strategy:
Bankers’ Acceptances or notes are credit instruments evidencing a bank’s obligation to pay a draft drawn on it by a customer. These instruments reflect the obligation both of the bank and of the drawer to pay the full amount of the instrument upon maturity. A fund will invest only in bankers’ acceptances of banks that have capital, surplus and undivided profits in the aggregate in excess of $100 million.

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Borrowing . A fund may borrow money from banks for any purpose in an amount up to 1/3 of the fund’s total assets. The funds also may borrow money for temporary purposes in an amount not to exceed 5% of the funds’ total assets. Provisions of the 1940 Act, as amended, require the funds to maintain continuous asset coverage (that is, total assets including borrowings, less liabilities exclusive of borrowings) of 300% of the amount borrowed, with an exception for borrowings not in excess of 5% of a fund’s total assets made for temporary purposes. Any borrowings for temporary purposes in excess of 5% of a fund’s total assets must maintain continuous asset coverage. If the 300% asset coverage should decline as a result of market fluctuations or other reasons, the funds may be required to sell some of its portfolio holdings within three days to reduce the debt and restore the 300% asset coverage, even though it may be disadvantageous from an investment standpoint to sell securities at that time.
A fund may borrow for temporary or emergency purposes; for example, a fund may borrow at times to meet redemption requests rather than sell portfolio securities to raise the necessary cash. The fund’s borrowings will be subject to interest costs. Borrowing can also involve leveraging when securities are purchased with the borrowed money. Leveraging creates interest expenses that can exceed the income from the assets purchased with the borrowed money. In addition, leveraging may magnify changes in the net asset value of a fund’s shares and in its portfolio yield. A fund will earmark or segregate assets to cover such borrowings in accordance with positions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). If assets used to secure a borrowing decrease in value, a fund may be required to pledge additional collateral to avoid liquidation of those assets.
A fund may establish lines-of-credit (“lines”) with certain banks by which it may borrow funds for temporary or emergency purposes. A borrowing is presumed to be for temporary or emergency purposes if it is repaid by a fund within 60 days and is not extended or renewed. A fund may use the lines to meet large or unexpected redemptions that would otherwise force a fund to liquidate securities under circumstances which are unfavorable to a fund’s remaining shareholders. A fund will pay a fee to the bank for using the lines.
Certificates of Deposit or time deposits are issued against funds deposited in a banking institution for a specified period of time at a specified interest rate. A fund will invest only in certificates of deposit of banks that have capital, surplus and undivided profits in the aggregate in excess of $100 million.
Commercial Paper consists of short term, promissory notes issued by banks, corporations and other institutions to finance short term credit needs. These securities generally are discounted but sometimes may be interest bearing. Commercial paper, which also may be unsecured, is subject to credit risk.
Corporate Debt Securities are obligations issued by domestic corporations to raise money. They are basically “IOUs,” but are commonly referred to as bonds or money market securities. These securities normally require the issuer to pay a fixed, variable or floating rate of interest on the amount of money borrowed (“principal”) until it is paid back upon maturity.
Debt securities experience price changes when interest rates change. For example, when interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities generally rise. Also, issuers tend to pre-pay their outstanding debts and issue new ones paying lower interest rates.
Conversely, in a rising interest rate environment, prepayment on outstanding debt securities generally will not occur. This is known as extension risk and may cause the value of debt securities to depreciate as a result of the higher market interest rates. Typically, longer-maturity securities react to interest rate changes more severely than shorter-term securities (all things being equal), but generally offer greater rates of interest.
Debt securities also are subject to the risk that the issuers will not make timely interest and/or principal payments or fail to make them at all. This is called credit risk. Debt instruments also may be subject to price volatility due to market perception of future interest rates, the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (market risk). Investment-grade debt securities are considered medium- or/and high-quality securities, although some still possess varying degrees of speculative characteristics and risks.
The funds will limit their investments in corporate debt securities to those that are rated investment-grade, which means that the securities are rated by at least one Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (“NRSRO”), such as Standard & Poor’s Corporation, Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch, Inc. or Dominion Bond Rating Service, in one of the four highest rating categories (within which there may be sub-categories or gradations indicating relative standing). See Appendix A for a description of the ratings. The ratings of NRSROs represent their opinions as to the quality of the securities. It should be emphasized, however, that these ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality. Consequently, obligations with the same rating, maturity and interest rate may have different market prices. Further, NRSROs may have conflicts of interest relating to the issuance of a credit rating and such conflicts may affect the integrity of the credit rating process or the methodologies used to develop credit ratings for securities. Such conflicts may include, but are not limited to, NRSROs being paid by issuers or underwriters to determine the credit ratings with respect to the securities they issue or underwrite, NRSROs being paid by issuers and underwriters for services in addition to the

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NRSROs determination of credit ratings; allowing persons with the NRSRO to directly own securities or money market instruments of, or having other direct ownership interests in, issuers or obligors subject to a credit rating determined by the NRSRO; and allowing persons within the NRSRO to have a business relationship that is more than an arms length ordinary course of business relationship with issuers or obligors subject to a credit rating determined by the NRSRO.
In addition, credit ratings are generally given to securities at the time of issuance. While the rating agencies may from time to time revise such ratings, they undertake no obligation to do so, and the ratings given to securities at issuance do not necessarily represent ratings that would be given to these securities on a particular subsequent date. Accordingly, investors should note that the assignment of a rating to a security by a rating service may not reflect the effect of recent developments on the issuer’s ability to make interest and principal payments.
Credit and Liquidity Supports or enhancements may be employed by issuers to reduce the credit risk of their securities. Credit supports include letters of credit, insurance and guarantees provided by domestic entities. Liquidity supports include puts, demand features, and lines of credit. Most of these arrangements move the credit risk of an investment from the issuer of the security to the support provider. Changes in the credit quality of a support provider could cause losses to a fund.
Delayed-Delivery Transactions include purchasing and selling securities on a delayed-delivery or when-issued basis. These transactions involve a commitment to buy or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield, with payment and delivery taking place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. When purchasing securities on a delayed-delivery basis, a fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risk of price and yield fluctuations. Typically, no interest will accrue to a fund until the security is delivered. A fund will earmark or segregate appropriate liquid assets to cover its delayed-delivery purchase obligations. When a fund sells a security on a delayed-delivery basis, a fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to that security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, a fund could suffer losses.
Demand Features , which may include guarantees, are used to shorten a security’s effective maturity and/or enhance its creditworthiness. If a demand feature provider were to refuse to permit the feature’s exercise or otherwise terminate its obligations with respect to such feature, however, the security’s effective maturity may be lengthened substantially, and/or its credit quality may be adversely impacted. In either event, a fund may experience an increase in share price volatility. This also could lengthen a fund’s overall average effective maturity.
Derivative Instruments are commonly defined to include securities or contracts whose values depend on (or “derive” from) the value of one or more other assets such as securities, currencies, or commodities. These “other assets” are commonly referred to as “underlying assets.” The types of derivatives that may be used by the funds are futures, swaps, options, and options on futures. A future is an agreement to buy or sell a financial instrument at a specific price on a specific day. A swap is an agreement whereby two parties agree to exchange payment streams calculated in relation to a rate, index, instrument or certain securities and a predetermined amount. An option is the right to buy or sell an instrument at a specific price before a specific date.
A derivative instrument generally consists of, is based upon, or exhibits characteristics similar to options or forward contracts. Options and forward contracts are considered to be the basic “building blocks” of derivatives. For example, forward-based derivatives include forward contracts, as well as exchange-traded futures. Option-based derivatives include privately negotiated, over-the-counter (OTC) options (including caps, floors, collars, and options on forward and swap contracts) and exchange-traded options on futures. Diverse types of derivatives may be created by combining options or forward contracts in different ways, and applying these structures to a wide range of underlying assets. Risk management strategies include investment techniques designed to facilitate the sale of portfolio securities, manage the average duration of the portfolio or create or alter exposure to certain asset classes, such as equity, other debt or foreign securities.
A fund’s use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. Certain of these risks, such as credit risk, market risk and liquidity risk, are discussed in the funds’ prospectus. A fund’s use of derivatives may also give rise to a form of leverage and may expose the fund to greater risk. Leverage tends to magnify the effect of any decrease or increase in the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. The use of leverage may cause a fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations. A fund’s use of derivatives is also subject to lack of availability risk, valuation risk, correlation risk and tax risk. Lack of availability risk is the risk that suitable derivative transactions may not be available in all circumstances for risk management or other purposes. Valuation risk is the risk that a particular derivative may be valued incorrectly. Correlation risk is the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. Tax risk is the risk that the use of derivatives may cause the fund to realize higher amounts of short-term capital gain. These risks could cause the funds to lose more than the principal amount invested.

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Fixed Time Deposits are bank obligations payable at a stated maturity date and bearing interest at a fixed rate. Fixed time deposits may be withdrawn on demand by the investor, but may be subject to early withdrawal penalties, which vary depending upon market conditions and the remaining maturity of the obligation. There are no contractual restrictions on the right to transfer a beneficial interest in a fixed time deposit to a third party, although there is no market for such deposits. A fund will not invest in fixed time deposits, which (1) are not subject to prepayment or (2) provide for withdrawal penalties upon prepayment (other than overnight deposits) if, in the aggregate, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in such deposits, repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days and other illiquid assets.
Futures Contracts are instruments that represent an agreement between two parties that obligates one party to buy, and the other party to sell, specific instruments at an agreed-upon price on a stipulated future date. In the case of futures contracts relating to an index or otherwise not calling for physical delivery at the close of the transaction, the parties usually agree to deliver the final cash settlement price of the contract. A fund may purchase and sell futures contracts based on securities, securities indices and foreign currencies, interest rates, or any other futures contracts traded on U.S. exchanges or boards of trade that the Commodities Future Trading Commission (“CFTC”) licenses and regulates on foreign exchanges. Consistent with CFTC regulations, the trust has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act.
A fund must maintain a small portion of its assets in cash to process shareholder transactions in and out of it and to pay its expenses. To reduce the effect this otherwise uninvested cash would have on its performance, a fund may purchase futures contracts. Such transactions allow a fund’s cash balance to produce a return similar to that of the underlying security or index on which the futures contract is based. Also, a fund may purchase or sell futures contracts on a specified foreign currency to “fix” the price in U.S. dollars of the foreign security it has acquired or sold or expects to acquire or sell. A fund may enter into futures contracts for other reasons as well.
When buying or selling futures contracts, a fund must place a deposit with its broker equal to a fraction of the contract amount. This amount is known as “initial margin” and must be in the form of liquid debt instruments, including cash, cash-equivalents and U.S. government securities. Subsequent payments to and from the broker, known as “variation margin” may be made daily, if necessary, as the value of the futures contracts fluctuate. This process is known as “marking-to-market.” The margin amount will be returned to a fund upon termination of the futures contracts assuming all contractual obligations are satisfied. Because margin requirements are normally only a fraction of the amount of the futures contracts in a given transaction, futures trading can involve a great deal of leverage. To avoid this, a fund will earmark or segregate assets for any outstanding futures contracts as may be required under the federal securities laws.
While a fund intends to purchase and sell futures contracts to simulate full investment, there are risks associated with these transactions. Adverse market movements could cause a fund to experience substantial losses when buying and selling futures contracts. Of course, barring significant market distortions, similar results would have been expected if a fund had instead transacted in the underlying securities directly. There also is the risk of losing any margin payments held by a broker in the event of its bankruptcy. Additionally, a fund incurs transaction costs (i.e. brokerage fees) when engaging in futures trading. To the extent a fund also invests in futures to simulate full investment, these same risks apply.
When interest rates are rising or securities prices are falling, a fund may seek, through the sale of futures contracts, to offset a decline in the value of their current portfolio securities. When rates are falling or prices are rising, a fund, through the purchase of futures contracts, may attempt to secure better rates or prices than might later be available in the market when they effect anticipated purchases.
Futures contracts normally require actual delivery or acquisition of an underlying security or cash value of an index on the expiration date of the contract. In most cases, however, the contractual obligation is fulfilled before the date of the contract by buying or selling, as the case may be, identical futures contracts. Such offsetting transactions terminate the original contracts and cancel the obligation to take or make delivery of the underlying securities or cash. There may not always be a liquid secondary market at the time a fund seeks to close out a futures position. If a fund is unable to close out its position and prices move adversely, a fund would have to continue to make daily cash payments to maintain its margin requirements. If a fund had insufficient cash to meet these requirements it may have to sell portfolio securities at a disadvantageous time or incur extra costs by borrowing the cash. Also, a fund may be required to make or take delivery and incur extra transaction costs buying or selling the underlying securities. A fund seeks to reduce the risks associated with futures transactions by buying and selling futures contracts that are traded on national exchanges or for which there appears to be a liquid secondary market.

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With respect to futures contracts that are not legally required to “cash settle,” a fund may cover the open position by setting aside or earmarking liquid assets in an amount equal to the market value of the futures contracts. With respect to futures contracts that are required to “cash settle,” however, a fund is permitted to set aside or earmark liquid assets in an amount equal to the fund’s daily marked to market (net) obligation, if any, (in other words, the fund’s daily net liability, if any) rather than the market value of the futures contracts. By setting aside assets or earmarking equal to only its net obligation under cash-settled futures, a fund will have the ability to employ leverage to a greater extent than if the fund were required to set aside or earmark assets equal to the full market value of the futures contract.
Illiquid Securities generally are any securities that cannot be disposed of promptly and in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the amount at which a fund has valued the instruments. The liquidity of a fund’s investments is monitored under the supervision and direction of the Board of Trustees. Each fund may not invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. In the event that a subsequent change in net assets or other circumstances cause a fund to exceed this limitation, the fund will take steps to bring the aggregate amount of illiquid instruments back within the limitations as soon as reasonably practicable.
In making liquidity determinations before purchasing a particular security, the Adviser considers a number of factors including, but not limited to: the nature and size of the security; the number of dealers that make a market in the security; and data which indicates that a security’s price has not changed for a period of a week or longer. After purchase, it is the Adviser’s policy to maintain awareness of developments in the marketplace that could cause a change in a security’s liquid or illiquid status. Investments currently not considered liquid include repurchase agreements not maturing within seven days and certain restricted securities.
Interfund Borrowing and Lending . A fund may borrow money from and/or lend money to other funds/portfolios in the Schwab complex, including traditional mutual funds/portfolios not discussed in this SAI or in the corresponding prospectus. All loans are for temporary or emergency purposes and the interest rates to be charged will be the average of the overnight repurchase agreement rate and the short term bank loan rate. All loans are subject to numerous conditions designed to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all participating funds/portfolios. These conditions include, for example, that a fund’s participation in the credit facility must be consistent with its investment policies and limitations and organizational documents; no fund may lend to another fund through the interfund lending facility if the loan would cause the aggregate outstanding loans through the credit facility to exceed 15% of the lending fund’s current net assets at the time of the loan; and that a fund’s interfund loans to any one fund shall not exceed 5% of the lending fund’s net assets. With respect to the funds discussed in this SAI, a fund lending to another fund may forego gains which could have been made had those assets been invested in securities of its applicable underlying index. The interfund lending facility is subject to the oversight and periodic review of the Board of Trustees.
Promissory Notes are written agreements committing the maker or issuer to pay the payee a specified amount either on demand or at a fixed date in the future, with or without interest. These are sometimes called negotiable notes or instruments and are subject to credit risk. Bank notes are notes used to represent obligations issued by banks in large denominations.
Puts are agreements that allow the buyer to sell a security at a specified price and time to the seller or “put provider.” When a fund buys a security with a put feature, losses could occur if the put provider does not perform as agreed. If a put provider fails to honor its commitment upon a fund’s attempt to exercise the put, a fund may have to treat the security’s final maturity as its effective maturity. If that occurs, the security’s price may be negatively impacted, and its sensitivity to interest rate changes may be increased, possibly contributing to increased share price volatility for a fund. This also could lengthen a fund’s overall average effective maturity.
Repurchase Agreements are instruments under which a buyer acquires ownership of certain securities (usually U.S. government securities) from a seller who agrees to repurchase the securities at a mutually agreed-upon time and price, thereby determining the yield during the buyer’s holding period. Any repurchase agreements a fund enters into will involve a fund as the buyer and banks or broker-dealers as sellers. The period of repurchase agreements is usually short — from overnight to one week, although the securities collateralizing a repurchase agreement may have longer maturity dates. Default by the seller might cause a fund to experience a loss or delay in the liquidation of the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. A fund also may incur disposition costs in liquidating the collateral. In the event of a bankruptcy or other default of a repurchase agreement’s seller, a fund might incur expenses in enforcing its rights, and could experience losses, including a decline in the value of the underlying securities and loss of income. A fund will make payment under a repurchase agreement only upon physical delivery or evidence of book entry transfer of the collateral to the account of its custodian bank. Repurchase agreements are the economic equivalents of loans.
Restricted Securities are securities that are subject to legal restrictions on their sale. Restricted securities may be considered to be liquid if an institutional or other market exists for these securities. In making this determination, a fund, under the direction and supervision of the Board of Trustees will take into account various factors, including: (1) the frequency of trades and quotes for the

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security; (2) the number of dealers willing to purchase or sell the security and the number of potential purchasers; (3) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security; and (4) the nature of the security and marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of transfer). To the extent a fund invests in restricted securities that are deemed liquid, its general level of illiquidity may be increased if qualified institutional buyers become uninterested in purchasing these securities.
Stripped Securities are securities whose income and principal components are detached and sold separately. Stripped securities are typically subject to greater changes in value. U.S. Treasury securities that have been stripped by the Federal Reserve Bank are obligations of the U.S. Treasury. Privately stripped government securities are created when a dealer deposits a U.S. Treasury security or other U.S. Government security with a custodian for safekeeping; the custodian issues separate receipts for the coupon payments and the principal payment, which the dealer then sells. There are two types of stripped securities: coupon strips, which refer to the zero coupon bonds that are backed by the coupon payments; and principal strips, which are backed by the final repayments of principal. Unlike coupon strips, principal strips do not accrue a coupon payment. They are sold at a discounted price and accrete up to par. An investor in a principal strip would only need to pay capital gains tax on the principal strip.
The funds may invest in U.S. Treasury bonds that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, the coupons themselves, and receipts or certificates representing interests in such stripped debt obligations and coupons. Interest on zero coupon bonds is accrued and paid at maturity rather than during the term of the security. Such obligations have greater price volatility than coupon obligations and other normal interest-paying securities, and the value of zero coupon securities reacts more quickly to changes in interest rates than do coupon bonds. Because dividend income is accrued throughout the term of the zero coupon obligation, but it is not actually received until maturity, a fund may have to sell other securities to pay accrued dividends prior to the maturity of the zero coupon obligation.
Unlike regular U.S. Treasury bonds which pay semi-annual interest, U.S. Treasury zero coupon bonds do not generate semi-annual coupon payments. Instead, zero coupon bonds are purchased at a substantial discount from the maturity of such securities. The discount reflects the current value of the deferred interest and is amortized as interest income over the life of the securities; it is taxable even though there is no cash return until maturity.
Zero coupon U.S. Treasury issues originally were created by government bond dealers who bought U.S. Treasury bonds and issued receipts representing an ownership interest in the interest coupons or the principal portion of the bonds. Subsequently, the U.S. Treasury began directly issuing zero coupon bonds with the introduction of the Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities (“STRIPS”) program. Under the STRIPS program, the principal and interest components are separately issued by the U.S. Treasury at the request of depository financial institutions, which then trade the component parts separately.
While zero coupon bonds eliminate the reinvestment risk of regular coupon issues, i.e., the risk of subsequently investing the periodic interest payments at a lower rate than that of the security currently held, zero coupon bonds fluctuate much more sharply than regular coupon-bearing bonds. Thus, when interest rates rise, the value of zero coupon bonds will decrease to a greater extent than will the value of regular bonds having the same interest rate.
Variable and Floating Rate Debt Securities pay an interest rate, which is adjusted either periodically or at specific intervals or which floats continuously according to a formula or benchmark. Although these structures generally are intended to minimize the fluctuations in value that occur when interest rates rise and fall, some structures may be linked to a benchmark in such a way as to cause greater volatility to the security’s value.
Some variable rate securities may be combined with a put or demand feature (variable rate demand securities) that entitles the holder to the right to demand repayment in full or to resell at a specific price and/or time. While the demand feature is intended to reduce credit risks, it is not always unconditional and may be subject to termination if the issuer’s credit rating falls below investment grade or if the issuer fails to make payments on other debt. While most variable-rate demand securities allow a fund to exercise its demand rights at any time, some such securities may only allow a fund to exercise its demand rights at certain times, which reduces the liquidity usually associated with this type of security. A fund could suffer losses in the event that the demand feature provider, usually a bank, fails to meet its obligation to pay the demand.
Investment Limitations
The investment limitations below may be changed only by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the applicable fund. Under the 1940 Act, a “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” of a fund means the affirmative vote of the lesser of (1) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the fund or (2) 67% or more of the shares present at a shareholders meeting if more than 50% of the outstanding shares are represented at the meeting in person or by proxy.

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EACH FUND MAY NOT:
  1)   Purchase securities of an issuer, except as consistent with the maintenance of its status as an open-end diversified company under the 1940 Act, the rules or regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time.
 
  2)   Concentrate investments in a particular industry or group of industries, as concentration is defined under the 1940 Act, the rules or regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time.
 
  3)   Purchase or sell commodities, commodities contracts or real estate, lend or borrow money, issue senior securities, underwrite securities issued by others, or pledge, mortgage or hypothecate any of its assets, except as permitted by (or not prohibited by) the 1940 Act or the rules or regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time.
THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTIONS OF THE 1940 ACT MAY ASSIST INVESTORS IN UNDERSTANDING THE ABOVE POLICIES AND RESTRICTIONS.
BORROWING. The 1940 Act restricts an investment company from borrowing (including pledging, mortgaging or hypothecating assets) in excess of 33 1/3% of its total assets (not including temporary borrowings not in excess of 5% of its total assets). Transactions that are fully collateralized in a manner that does not involve the prohibited issuance of a “senior security” within the meaning of Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act, shall not be regarded as borrowings for the purposes of a fund’s investment restriction.
CONCENTRATION. The SEC has defined concentration as investing 25% or more of an investment company’s total assets in an industry or group of industries, with certain exceptions such as with respect to investments in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities, or tax-exempt obligations of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions.
DIVERSIFICATION. Under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and interpretations thereunder, a “diversified company,” as to 75% of its total assets, may not purchase securities of any issuer (other than obligations of, or guaranteed by, the U.S. government or its agencies, or instrumentalities or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result, more than 5% of its total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or more than 10% of the issuer’s voting securities would be held by a fund.
LENDING. Under the 1940 Act, an investment company may only make loans if expressly permitted by its investment policies.
REAL ESTATE. The 1940 Act does not directly restrict an investment company’s ability to invest in real estate, but does require that every investment company have the fundamental investment policy governing such investments. Each fund has adopted the fundamental policy that would permit direct investment in real estate. However, each fund has a non-fundamental investment limitation that prohibits it from investing directly in real estate. This non-fundamental policy may be changed only by vote of a fund’s Board of Trustees.
SENIOR SECURITIES. Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by an investment company evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities, although it provides allowances for certain borrowings and certain other investments, such as short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, and firm commitment agreements, when such investments are “covered” or with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligations.
UNDERWRITING. Under the 1940 Act, underwriting securities involves an investment company purchasing securities directly from an issuer for the purpose of selling (distributing) them or participating in any such activity either directly or indirectly. Under the 1940 Act, a diversified fund may not make any commitment as underwriter, if immediately thereafter the amount of its outstanding underwriting commitments, plus the value of its investments in securities of issuers (other than investment companies) of which it owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities, exceeds 25% of the value of its total assets.
THE FOLLOWING ARE NON-FUNDAMENTAL INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RESTRICTIONS, AND MAY BE CHANGED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

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EACH FUND MAY NOT:
1)   Invest more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities.
2)   Sell securities short unless it owns the security or the right to obtain the security or equivalent securities, or unless it covers such short sale as required by current SEC rules and interpretations (transactions in futures contracts, options and other derivative instruments are not considered selling securities short).
3)   Purchase securities on margin, except such short term credits as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of securities and provided that margin deposits in connection with futures contracts, options on futures or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.
4)   Borrow money except that a fund may (i) borrow money from banks or through an interfund lending facility, if any, only for temporary or emergency purposes (and not for leveraging) and (ii) engage in reverse repurchase agreements with any party; provided that (i) and (ii) in combination do not exceed 33 1/3% of its total assets (any borrowings that come to exceed this amount will be reduced to the extent necessary to comply with the limitation within three business days).
5)   Lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties (this restriction does not apply to purchases of debt securities or repurchase agreements).
6)   Purchase securities (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result of such purchase, 25% or more of the value of its total assets would be invested in any industry or group of industries (except that each fund may purchase securities to the extent that the index the fund is designed to track is also so concentrated).
7)   Purchase or sell commodities, commodity contracts or real estate, including interests in real estate limited partnerships, provided that a fund may (i) purchase securities of companies that deal in real estate or interests therein (including REITs); (ii) purchase securities of companies that deal in precious metals or interests therein; and (iii) purchase, sell and enter into futures contracts (including futures contracts on indices of securities, interest rates and currencies), options on futures contracts (including futures contracts on indices of securities, interest rates and currencies), warrants, swaps, forward contracts, foreign currency spot and forward contracts or other derivative instruments.
Policies and investment limitations that state a maximum percentage of assets that may be invested in a security or other asset, or that set forth a quality standard shall be measured immediately after and as a result of a fund’s acquisition of such security or asset, unless otherwise noted. Except with respect to limitations on borrowing and futures and option contracts, any subsequent change in net assets or other circumstances does not require a fund to sell an investment if it could not then make the same investment. With respect to the limitation on illiquid securities, in the event that a subsequent change in net assets or other circumstances cause a fund to exceed its limitation, a fund will take steps to bring the aggregate amount of illiquid instruments back within the limitations as soon as reasonably practicable.
CONTINUOUS OFFERING
The funds offer and issue shares at their net asset value per share (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of shares (“Creation Units”). The method by which Creation Units are created and trade may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by the funds on an ongoing basis, at any point a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933 the (“Securities Act”), may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.
For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the fund’s distributor, breaks them down into constituent shares, and sells such shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to categorization as an underwriter.
Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, generally are required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares of the fund are reminded that, pursuant to Rule 153 under the Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with the sale on an exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at the exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.

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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
The funds are overseen by a Board of Trustees. The trustees are responsible for protecting shareholder interests. The trustees regularly meet to review the investment activities, contractual arrangements and the investment performance of the fund. The trustees met [XXX] times during the most recent fiscal year.
Certain trustees are “interested persons.” A trustee is considered an interested person of the trust under the 1940 Act if he or she is an officer, director, or an employee of Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (“CSIM”) or Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”). A trustee also may be considered an interested person of the trust under the 1940 Act if he or she owns stock of The Charles Schwab Corporation, a publicly traded company and the parent company of CSIM.
As used herein the term “Family of Investment Companies” collectively refers to The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, Schwab Annuity Portfolios, Schwab Capital Trust and Schwab Strategic Trust which, as of                      , 20___, included XX funds.
The tables below provide information about the trustees and officers for the trust. The “Fund Complex” includes The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, Schwab Capital Trust, Schwab Strategic Trust, Schwab Annuity Portfolios, Laudus Trust, and Laudus Institutional Trust. As of                      , 20___, the Fund Complex included XX funds. The mailing address of each of the trustees is c/o Schwab Strategic Trust, 211 Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.
                 
        Number    
        of    
Name, Address 1 and       Portfolios    
Year of Birth; (Term       in Fund    
of Office and Length   Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five   Complex   Other Directorships Held by
of Time Served)   Years   Overseen   Trustee During the Past Five Years
Independent Trustees:
           
 
               
Robert W. Burns 4
1959

(10/09 —present)
  Retired. From 1987 – 2008: Managing Director, PIMCO (investment adviser); From 1994 – 2008: President and Trustee, PIMCO Funds (investments), and from 2007 – 2008 Chairman of PIMCO Strategic Global Government Fund, Inc (investments).   11       Board 1 — Independent Director and Chairman of Corporate Governance/Nominating Committee, PS Business Parks, Inc.
 
               
Mark A. Goldfarb 4
1952

(10/09 —present)
  Founder and Managing Director, SS&G Financial Services (financial services firm).   11       Not Applicable.
 
               
Charles A. Ruffel 4
1956

(10/09 —present)
  Advisor, Asset International, Inc. (provider of financial services information). Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Asset International, Inc. Until 2008, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Kudu Advisors, LLC.   11       Not Applicable.
 
               
Interested Trustee:
               
 
               
Walter W. Bettinger II 2
1960

Trustee (10/09 —present)
  As of October 2008, President and Chief Executive Officer, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., principal underwriter to the funds, and The Charles Schwab Corporation. Since May 2008, Director, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and Schwab Holdings, Inc. Since 2006, Director, Charles Schwab Bank.   77       Not Applicable.
 
               
 
  Until October 2008, President and Chief Operating Officer, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and The Charles Schwab Corporation.            
 
               
 
  From 2004 through 2007, Executive Vice President and President, Schwab Investor Services. From 2004 through 2005, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Individual Investor Enterprise, and from 2002 through 2004, Executive Vice President, Corporate Services.            

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NAME, YEAR OF BIRTH, AND    
POSITION(S) WITH THE TRUST;    
(TERM OF OFFICE AND LENGTH OF   PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS DURING THE PAST FIVE
TIME SERVED 3 )   YEARS
OFFICERS
   
 
   
Randall W. Merk
1954
President and Chief Executive Officer
(Officer of Schwab Strategic Trust since 2009.)
  Executive Vice President and President, Investment Management Services, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; Executive Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (2002 — present); President and Chief Executive Officer, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (2007-present); Director, Charles Schwab Asset Management (Ireland) Limited and Charles Schwab Worldwide Funds PLC.
 
   
George Pereira
1964
Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer
(Officer of Schwab Strategic Trust since 2009.)
  Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.; Chief Financial Officer, Laudus Trust and Laudus Institutional Trust; Director, Charles Schwab Worldwide Fund, PLC and Charles Schwab Asset Management (Ireland) Limited. Through June 2007, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, Excelsior Funds Inc., Excelsior Tax-Exempt Funds, Inc., and Excelsior Funds Trust; Chief Financial Officer, Mutual Fund Division, UST Advisers, Inc. From December 1999 to November 2004, Sr. Vice President, Financial Reporting, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
 
   
Koji E. Felton
1961
Secretary and Chief Legal Officer
(Officer of Schwab Strategic Trust since 2009.)
  Senior Vice President, Chief Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.; Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Until 2006, Chief Legal Officer, Laudus Trust and Laudus Institutional Trust. Through June 2007, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, Excelsior Funds Inc., Excelsior Tax-Exempt Funds, Inc., and Excelsior Funds Trust.
 
   
Jeffrey M. Mortimer
1963
Senior Vice President and Chief Investment
Officer — Equities and Fixed Income
(Officer of Schwab Strategic Trust since 2009.)
  Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer — Equities & Fixed Income, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.; President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, Laudus Trust and Laudus Institutional Trust.
 
   
Catherine MacGregor
1964
Vice President
(Officer of Schwab Strategic Trust since 2009.)
  Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., and Laudus Trust and Laudus Institutional Trust. Since 2006, Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Clerk of Laudus Trust and Laudus Institutional Trust; Vice President, Schwab Funds.
 
   
Michael Haydel
1972
Vice President
(Officer of Schwab Strategic Trust since 2009.)
  Vice President, Asset Management Client Services, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; Vice President and AML Officer, Laudus Trust, and Laudus Institutional Trust.
 
1   Each Trustee shall hold office until the election and qualification of his or her successor, or until he or she dies, resigns or is removed. The Trust’s retirement policy requires that independent trustees retire by December 31 of the year in which the Trustee turns 72 or the Trustee’s twentieth year of service as an independent trustee, whichever comes first.
 
2   Mr. Bettinger is an Interested Trustee because he is an employee of Schwab and/or the investment adviser. In addition to his employment with the investment adviser and Schwab, Mr. Bettinger also owns stock of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
 
3   The President, Treasurer and Secretary hold office until their respective successors are chosen and qualified or until he or she sooner dies, resigns, is removed or becomes disqualified. Each of the other officers serves at the pleasure of the Board.
 
4   Member of the Audit and Compliance Committee and Nominating Committee.
Board of Trustees Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight
The Board of Trustees of the trust is responsible for oversight of the management of the funds, which includes oversight of service providers to the funds, such as the funds’ investment adviser. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Walter W. Bettinger, II, is

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Chief Executive Officer of The Charles Schwab Corporation and an interested person of the funds as that term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940. The funds do not have a single lead independent trustee. The Board of Trustees is comprised of a super-majority (75 percent) of trustees who are not interested persons of the funds (i.e., “independent trustees”). There is an Audit and Compliance Committee of the Board that is chaired by an independent trustee and comprised solely of independent trustees. The Audit and Compliance Committee chair presides at Committee meetings, participates in formulating agendas for those meetings, and coordinates with management to serve as a liaison between the independent trustees and management on matters within the scope of the responsibilities of the Committee as set forth in its Board-approved charter. The funds have determined that this leadership structure is appropriate given the specific characteristics and circumstances of the funds. The funds made this determination in consideration of, among other things, the fact that the independent trustees of the funds constitute a super-majority of the Board, the number of funds overseen by the Board, and the total number of trustees on the Board.
The Board of Trustees’ role in the risk oversight of the funds consists of monitoring risks identified during regular and special reports to the Audit and Compliance Committee of the Board, as well as regular and special reports to the full Board. In addition to monitoring such risks, the Audit and Compliance Committee and the Board oversee efforts by management and service providers to manage risks to which the funds may be exposed. For example, the Audit and Compliance Committee meets with the funds’ Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer and receives regular reports regarding operational risks and risks related to the valuation and liquidity of portfolio securities. The full Board meets with portfolio managers and other members of management and receives reports regarding investment risks of the portfolios and risks related to distribution of the funds’ shares. Oversight of compliance risks also is within the purview of the Committee and the full Board. From their review of these reports and discussions with management, the Committee and Board learn in detail about the material risks of the funds, thereby facilitating a dialogue with management about how management and service providers mitigate those risks.
Individual Director Qualifications
The Board has concluded that each of the trustees should initially and continue to serve on the board because of (i) their ability to review and understand information about the funds provided to them by management, to identify and request other information they may deem relevant to the performance of their duties, to question management regarding material factors bearing on the management of the funds, and to exercise their business judgment in a manner that serves the best interests of the funds’ shareholders and (ii) the trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes and skills as described below.
The Board has concluded that Mr. Bettinger should serve as trustee of the funds because of the experience he has gained as president and chief executive officer of The Charles Schwab Corporation, his knowledge of and experience in the financial services industry, and the experience he has gained serving as trustee of the funds since 2009 and of the Schwab Funds since 2008.
The Board has concluded that Mr. Burns should serve as trustee of the funds because of the experience he gained serving as a former managing director of a mutual fund management company and former president and trustee of certain mutual funds managed by that company, his experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry, and the experience he has gained serving as trustee of the funds since 2009.
The Board has concluded that Mr. Goldfarb should serve as trustee of the funds because of the experience he has gained as founder of a financial services and independent public accounting firm, his experience in and knowledge of public company accounting and auditing, and the experience he has gained serving as trustee of the funds since 2009.
The Board has concluded that Mr. Ruffel should serve as trustee of the funds because of the experience he gained as the founder and former chief executive officer of a publisher and information services firm specializing in the retirement plan industry, his experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry, and the experience he has gained serving as trustee of the funds since 2009.
In its periodic assessment of the effectiveness of the Board, the Board considers the complementary individual skills and experience of the individual trustees primarily in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition so that the Board, as a body, possesses the appropriate (and appropriately diverse) skills and experience to oversee the business of the funds. Moreover, references to the qualifications, attributes and skills of trustees are pursuant to requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, do not constitute holding out of the Board or any trustee as having any special expertise or experience, and shall not be deemed to impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such person or on the Board by reason thereof.

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Trustee Committees
The Board of Trustees has established certain committees and adopted Committee charters with respect to those committees, each as described below.
The trust has a standing Audit and Compliance Committee. The members of the Audit and Compliance Committee are identified above. The function of the Audit and Compliance Committee is to provide oversight responsibility for the integrity of the trust’s financial reporting processes and compliance policies, procedures and processes, and for the trust’s overall system of internal controls. The charter directs that the Audit and Compliance Committee must meet 4 times annually, with additional meetings as the Audit and Compliance Committee deems appropriate. The Audit and Compliance Committee met [XXX] times during the most recent fiscal year.
The trust also has a Nominating Committee that is composed of all the Independent Trustees, which meets as often as deemed appropriate by the Nominating Committee for the primary purpose of selecting and nominating candidates to serve as members of the Board of Trustees. The Governance Committee is also responsible for selecting and nominating candidates to serve as Trustees. The Governance Committee does not have a policy with respect to consideration of candidates for Trustee submitted by shareholders. However, if the Governance Committee determined that it would be in the best interests of the trust to fill a vacancy on the Board of Trustees, and a shareholder submitted a candidate for consideration by the Board of Trustees to fill the vacancy, the Governance Committee would evaluate that candidate. The Governance Committee met [XX] times during the most recent fiscal year. The charter directs that the Nominating Committee meet at such times and with such frequency as is deemed necessary or appropriate by the Nominating Committee.
Trustee Compensation
The following table provides estimated trustee compensation for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2010. Certain information provided relates to the Fund Complex, which included XX funds as of                      , 20___.
                                 
    ($)    
    Estimated Aggregate Compensation from the Funds    
                    Schwab    
            Schwab   Intermediate-   ($)
    Schwab U.S.   Short-Term   Term U.S.   Estimated Total
    TIPS   U.S. Treasury   Treasury   Compensation from
Name of Trustee   ETF™   ETF™   ETF™   Fund Complex
Interested Trustee
                               
Walter W. Bettinger II
  $ 0     $ 0     $ 0     $ 0  
Independent Trustees
                               
Robert W. Burns
  $ 6,250     $ 6,250     $ 6,250     $ 50,000  
Mark A. Goldfarb
  $ 6,250     $ 6,250     $ 6,250     $ 50,000  
Charles A Ruffel
  $ 6,250     $ 6,250     $ 6,250     $ 50,000  
Securities Beneficially Owned By Each Trustee
The following tables provide each trustee’s equity ownership of the funds and ownership of all registered investment companies overseen by each trustee in the Family of Investment Companies as of December 31, 2009. As of December 31, 2009, the Family of Investment Companies included 69 funds.
                                 
    Dollar Range of Trustee Ownership    
    of Equity Securities in the fund    
                    Schwab   Aggregate Dollar
            Schwab   Intermediate-   Range of Trustee
    Schwab U.S.   Short-Term   Term U.S.   Ownership in the
    TIPS   U.S. Treasury   Treasury   Family of Investment
Name of Trustee   ETF™   ETF™   ETF™   Companies
Interested Trustee
                               
Walter W. Bettinger II
  None   None   None   Over $100,000
Independent Trustees
                               
Robert W. Burns
  None   None   None   None
Mark A. Goldfarb
  None   None   None   None
Charles A Ruffel
  None   None   None   None

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Code of Ethics
The funds, the investment adviser and the distributor have adopted Codes of Ethics as required under the 1940 Act. Subject to certain conditions or restrictions, the Codes of Ethics permit the trustees, directors, officers or advisory representatives of the funds or the investment adviser or the directors or officers of the distributor to buy or sell directly or indirectly securities for their own accounts. This includes securities that may be purchased or held by the funds. Securities transactions by some of these individuals may be subject to prior approval of each entity’s Chief Compliance Officer or alternate. Most securities transactions are subject to quarterly reporting and review requirements.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
As of                      , 20___, the officers and trustees of the trust, as a group, owned, of record or beneficially, less than 1% of the outstanding voting securities of the funds.
As of                      , 20___, no persons or entities owned, of record or beneficially, more than 5% of the outstanding voting securities of any fund.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES
Investment Adviser
CSIM, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation, 211 Main Street, San Francisco CA 94105, serves as the funds’ investment adviser pursuant to Investment Advisory Agreements (Advisory Agreement) between it and the trust. Charles R. Schwab is the founder, Chairman and Director of the Charles Schwab Corporation. As a result of his ownership and interests in The Charles Schwab Corporation, Mr. Schwab may be deemed to be a controlling person of CSIM.
Advisory Agreement
A fund’s Advisory Agreement must be specifically approved initially for a 2 year term, and after the expiration of the 2 year term, at least annually thereafter (1) by the vote of the trustees or by a vote of the shareholders of the fund, and (2) by the vote of a majority of the trustees who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or “interested persons” of any party (the “Independent Trustees”), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
Each year, the Board of Trustees will call and hold a meeting to decide whether to renew the Advisory Agreement between the trust and CSIM with respect to any existing funds in the trust. In preparation for the meeting, the Board requests and reviews a wide variety of materials provided by the funds’ investment adviser, as well as extensive data provided by third parties.
As described below, the investment adviser is entitled to receive a fee from the funds expressed as a percentage of each fund’s average daily net assets, payable monthly, for its advisory and administrative services to the funds. The funds are new and have not yet paid any fees to CSIM.
         
                                FUND   FEE
Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF™
  XXX
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF™
  XXX
Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF™
  XXX
Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is responsible for substantially all expenses of the funds, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, but excluding interest expense and taxes, brokerage expenses, and extraordinary or non-routine expenses. The funds do not currently expect to incur any interest expense in the first year of operations.
Distributor
SEI Investments Distribution Co. (the “Distributor”) is the principal underwriter and distributor of shares of the funds. Its principal address is 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456. The Distributor has entered into an agreement with the trust pursuant to which it

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distributes shares of the funds (the “Distribution Agreement”). The Distributor continually distributes shares of the funds on a best effort basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of fund shares. The Distribution Agreement will continue for two years from its effective date and is renewable annually thereafter in accordance with the 1940 Act. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the funds through the Distributor only in Creation Units, as described in the funds’ prospectus. Shares in less than Creation Units are not distributed by the Distributor. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The Distributor is not affiliated with the trust, CSIM, or any stock exchange.
The Distribution Agreement provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on at least sixty (60) days prior written notice to the other party. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its “assignment” (as defined in the 1940 Act).
Transfer Agent
State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as the funds’ transfer agent. As part of these services, the firm maintains records pertaining to the sale, redemption and transfer of the funds’ shares.
Custodian and Fund Accountants
State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as custodian and accountant for the funds.
The custodian is responsible for the daily safekeeping of securities and cash held or sold by the funds. The funds’ accountant maintains all books and records related to the funds’ transactions.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The funds’ independent registered public accounting firm,                                           audits and reports on the annual financial statements of the funds and reviews certain regulatory reports and the funds’ federal income tax return. They also perform other professional, accounting, auditing, tax and advisory services when the trust engages them to do so. Their address is                                           .
Legal Counsel
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP represents the trust with respect to certain legal matters.
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
Other Accounts . Each portfolio manager (collectively referred to as the “Portfolio Managers”) is responsible for the day-to-day management of certain other accounts, as listed below. The accounts listed below are not subject to a performance-based advisory fee. The information below is provided as of                      , 2010
                                                 
    Registered Investment        
    Companies        
    (this amount does not include        
    the funds in this Statement of   Other Pooled    
    Additional Information)   Investment Vehicles   Other Accounts
    Number of           Number of   Total   Number of    
Name   Accounts   Total Assets   Accounts   Assets   Accounts   Total Assets
Jeffrey Mortimer
    69     $ 211,423,182,546       0       0       3,719     $ 562,387,755  
Dustin Lewellyn
    0     $ 0       0       0       0       0  
Matthew Hastings
    0     $ 0       0       0       0       0  
Steven Chan
    0     $ 0       0       0       0       0  
Conflicts of Interest . A Portfolio Manager’s management of other accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with its management of the funds’ investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. These other accounts include separate accounts and other mutual funds advised by CSIM (collectively, the “Other Managed Accounts”). The Other Managed Accounts might have similar investment objectives as the funds, track the same index the funds track or otherwise hold, purchase, or sell securities that are eligible to be held, purchased, or sold by the funds. While the Portfolio Managers’ management of Other Managed Accounts may give rise to the potential conflicts of interest listed below, CSIM does not

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believe that the conflicts, if any, are material or, to the extent any such conflicts are material, CSIM believes it has adopted policies and procedures that are designed to manage those conflicts in an appropriate way.
Knowledge of the Timing and Size of Fund Trades . A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the Portfolio Managers’ day-to-day management of the funds. Because of their positions with the funds, the Portfolio Managers know the size, timing, and possible market impact of fund trades. It is theoretically possible that the Portfolio Managers could use this information to the advantage of the Other Managed Accounts they manage and to the possible detriment of the funds. However, CSIM has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to allocate investment opportunities on a fair and equitable basis over time. Moreover, with respect to an index fund, which seeks to track its benchmark index, much of this information is publicly available. When it is determined to be in the best interest of both accounts, the Portfolio Managers may aggregate trade orders for the Other Managed Accounts, excluding Managed Account Connection, with those of the funds. All aggregated orders are subject to CSIM’s aggregation and allocation policy and procedures, which provide, among other things, that (i) a Portfolio Manager will not aggregate orders unless he or she believes such aggregation is consistent with his or her duty to seek best execution; (ii) no account will be favored over any other account; (iii) each account that participates in an aggregated order will participate at the average security price with all transaction costs shared on a pro-rata basis; and (iv) if the aggregated order cannot be executed in full, the partial execution is allocated pro-rata among the participating accounts in accordance with the size of each account’s order.
Investment Opportunities . A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the Portfolio Managers’ management of the funds and Other Managed Accounts which, in theory, may allow them to allocate investment opportunities in a way that favors the Other Managed Accounts over the funds, which conflict of interest may be exacerbated to the extent that CSIM or the Portfolio Managers receive, or expect to receive, greater compensation from their management of the Other Managed Accounts than the funds. Notwithstanding this theoretical conflict of interest, it is CSIM’s policy to manage each account based on its investment objectives and related restrictions and, as discussed above, CSIM has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to allocate investment opportunities on a fair and equitable basis over time and in a manner consistent with each account’s investment objectives and related restrictions. For example, while the Portfolio Managers may buy for an Other Managed Account securities that differ in identity or quantity from securities bought for the fund or refrain from purchasing securities for an Other Managed Account that they are otherwise buying for the fund in an effort to outperform its specific benchmark, such an approach might not be suitable for the fund given its investment objectives and related restrictions.
Compensation. Schwab compensates each CSIM Portfolio Manager for his or her management of the funds. Each portfolio manager’s compensation consists of a fixed annual (“base”) salary and a discretionary bonus. The base salary is determined considering compensation payable for a similar position across the investment management industry and an evaluation of the individual portfolio manager’s overall performance such as the portfolio manager’s contribution to the firm’s overall investment process, being good corporate citizens, and contributions to the firm’s asset growth and business relationships. The discretionary bonus is determined in accordance with the CSIM Equity and Fixed Income Portfolio Management Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), which is designed to reward consistent and superior investment performance relative to established benchmarks and/or industry peer groups. The Plan is an annual incentive plan that, at the discretion of Executive Management, provides quarterly advances against the corporate component of the Plan at a fixed rate that is standard for the portfolio manager’s level. Meanwhile, the portion of the incentive tied to fund performance is paid in its entirety following the end of the Plan year (i.e. the Plan does not provide advances against the portion of the Plan tied to fund performance) at management’s discretion based on their determination of whether funds are available under the Plan as well as factors such as the portfolio manager’s contribution to the firm’s overall investment process, being good corporate citizens, and contribution to the firm’s asset growth and business relationships.
The Plans consist of two independent funding components: fund investment performance and Schwab’s corporate performance. For the Plan, 50% of the funding is based on fund investment performance and 50% of the funding is based on Schwab’s corporate performance. Funding for this Plan is allocated to the portfolio managers by the CSIM senior management. This allocation takes into account fund performance as well as the portfolio manager’s leadership, teamwork, and contribution to CSIM goals and objectives.
  Fund Investment Performance
 
    Investment Performance will be determined based on each fund’s performance relative to an established industry peer group or benchmark. The peer group or benchmark will be determined by the CSIM “Peer Group Committee” comprised of officer representation from CSIM Product Development, Fund Administration and SCFR (Schwab Center for Financial Research) and approved by CSIM’s President and CSIM’s Chief Investment Officer. The peer group is reviewed on a regular basis and is subject to change in advance of each performance period (calendar year). Any changes will be communicated to affected participants as soon as is reasonably possible following the decision to change peer group or benchmark composition.

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Passive Strategies
CSIM Performance Reporting will use gross performance comparisons to benchmark as the basis for the fund investment performance measurement for funds with passive strategies. The methodology will utilize ex-ante tracking-error as set by the CSIM Investment Policy Committee and reflect incentives for minimizing fund tracking-error.
Active Strategies
CSIM Performance Reporting will use either peer group/category rankings or a risk adjusted performance measure as the basis for the fund investment performance measurement for funds with active strategies.
The CSIM Investment Policy Committee reviews peer groups/category rankings on a regular basis in advance of each performance period. Peer group/category rankings will be based on the Z-score relative to the peer group.
The risk adjusted performance measure utilizes annual ex-ante tracking-error guidelines, as set by the CSIM Investment Policy Committee, and then applies an information ratio adjustment to the value. An information ratio is a ratio of portfolio returns above the returns of a benchmark (usually an index) to the volatility of those returns. This ratio typically represents funds that have top third performance among peers in their category.
    Calculations
 
    At the close of the year, each fund’s performance will be determined by its 1-year and/or 1 and 3-year percentile standing (pre-tax) within its designated peer group using standard statistical methods approved by CSIM senior management. Relative position and the respective statistical method used to determine percentile standing will result in a single performance percentile number for each fund to allow for comparisons over time and between funds. As each participant may manage and/or support a number of funds, there will be several fund performance percentiles for each participant that may be considered in arriving at the incentive compensation annual payout.
 
  Schwab Corporate Performance
 
    Schwab’s corporate plan (the “Corporate Plan”) is an annual plan, which provides for discretionary awards aligned with company and individual performance. Funding for the Corporate Plan is determined at the conclusion of the calendar year using a payout rate that is applied to Schwab’s earnings per share operating margin before variable compensation expense. The exact payout rate will vary and will be determined by Executive Management and recommended to the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of Schwab for final approval. Funding will be capped at 200% of the Corporate Plan.
 
  Incentive Allocation
 
    At year-end, the full-year funding for both components of the Plan will be pooled together. This total pool will then be allocated to plan participants by CSIM senior management based on their assessment of a variety of performance factors. Factors considered in the allocation process will include, but are not limited to, fund performance relative to benchmarks, individual performance against key objectives, contribution to overall group results, team work, and collaboration between analysts and portfolio managers.
The Portfolio Managers’ compensation is not based on the value of the assets held in a fund’s portfolio . Mr. Mortimer, Mr. Matthews and Mr. Chan are compensated under the CSIM Equity and Fixed Income Portfolio Management Incentive Plan.
Ownership of Fund Shares. Because the funds had not commenced operations prior to the date of this SAI, no information regarding the Portfolio Managers’ “beneficial ownership” of shares of the funds has been included. This information will appear in a future version of the SAI.
BROKERAGE ALLOCATION AND OTHER PRACTICES
Portfolio Turnover
For reporting purposes, a fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the value of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year, whichever is less, by the monthly average value of portfolio securities the fund owned during the fiscal year. When making the calculation, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less (“short-term securities”) are excluded.
A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all portfolio securities (aside from short-term securities) were sold and either repurchased or replaced once during the fiscal year.

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Typically, funds with high turnover (such as 100% or more) tend to generate higher capital gains and transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions. Since these are new funds there are no portfolio turnover rates.
Portfolio Holdings Disclosure
The funds’ Board of Trustees has approved policies and procedures that govern the timing and circumstances regarding the disclosure of funds’ portfolio holdings information to shareholders and third parties. These policies and procedures are designed to ensure that disclosure of information regarding the funds’ portfolio securities is in the best interests of funds’ shareholders, and include procedures to address conflicts between the interests of the funds’ shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the funds’ investment adviser, principal underwriter or any affiliated person of the fund, its investment adviser, or its principal underwriter, on the other. Pursuant to such procedures, the Board has authorized the president of the funds to authorize the release of the funds’ portfolio holdings, as necessary, in conformity with the foregoing principles.
The Board exercises on-going oversight of the disclosure of fund portfolio holdings by overseeing the implementation and enforcement of each fund’s policies and procedures by the Chief Compliance Officer and by considering reports and recommendations by the Chief Compliance Officer concerning any material compliance matters. The Board will receive periodic updates, at least annually, regarding entities who may receive portfolio holdings information not available to other current or prospective fund shareholders in connection with the dissemination of information necessary for transactions in Creation Units, as contemplated by the exemptive relief and as discussed below.
Each fund discloses its complete portfolio holdings schedule in public filings with the SEC within 60-80 days after the end of each fiscal quarter and will provide that information to shareholders as required by federal securities laws and regulations thereunder. A fund may, however, voluntarily disclose all or part of its portfolio holdings other than in connection with the creation/redemption process, as discussed above, in advance of required filings with the SEC, provided that such information is made generally available to all shareholders and other interested parties in a manner that is consistent with the above policy for disclosure of portfolio holdings information. Such information may be made available through a publicly-available website or other means that make the information available to all likely interested parties contemporaneously.
The funds may disclose portfolio holdings information to certain persons and entities prior to and more frequently than the public disclosure of such information (“early disclosure”). The president of the funds may authorize early disclosure of portfolio holdings information to such parties at differing times and/or with different lag times provided that (a) the president of the funds determines that the disclosure is in the best interests of the funds and that there are no conflicts of interest between the funds’ shareholders and funds’ adviser and distributor; and (b) the recipient is, either by contractual agreement or otherwise by law, required to maintain the confidentiality of the information.
In addition, the funds’ service providers including, without limitation, the investment adviser, distributor, the custodian, fund accountant, transfer agent, auditor, proxy voting service provider, pricing information venders, publisher, printer and mailing agent may receive early disclosure of portfolio holdings information as frequently as daily in connection with the services they perform for the funds. Service providers will be subject to a duty of confidentiality with respect to any portfolio holdings information whether imposed by the provisions of the service provider’s contract with the trust or by the nature of its relationship with the trust.
Further, each business day, each fund’s portfolio holdings information is provided to the Distributor or other agent for dissemination through the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) and/or other fee-based subscription services to NSCC members and/or subscribers to those other fee-based subscription services, including Authorized Participants (as defined below), and to entities that publish and/or analyze such information in connection with the process of purchasing or redeeming Creation Units or trading shares of funds in the secondary market. This information typically reflects each fund’s anticipated holdings on the following business day.
In addition, each fund discloses its portfolio holdings and the percentages they represent of the fund’s net assets at least monthly, and as often as each day the fund is open for business, at www.schwab.com/SchwabETFProspectus.
Portfolio holdings information made available in connection with the creation/redemption process may be provided to other entities that provide services to the funds in the ordinary course of business after it has been disseminated to the NSCC. From time to time, information concerning portfolio holdings other than portfolio holdings information made available in connection with the creation/redemption process, as discussed above, may be provided to other entities that provide services to the funds, including rating or ranking organizations, in the ordinary course of business, no earlier than one business day following the date of the information.

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The funds’ policies and procedures prohibit the fund, the funds’ investment adviser or any related party from receiving any compensation or other consideration in connection with the disclosure of portfolio holdings information.
The funds may disclose non-material information including commentary and aggregate information about the characteristics of the funds in connection with or relating to the funds or its portfolio securities to any person if such disclosure is for a legitimate business purpose, such disclosure does not effectively result in the disclosure of the complete portfolio securities of any fund (which can only be disclosed in accordance with the above requirements), and such information does not constitute material non-public information. Such disclosure does not fall within the portfolio securities disclosure requirements outlined above.
Whether the information constitutes material non-public information will be made on a good faith determination, which involves an assessment of the particular facts and circumstances. In most cases commentary or analysis would be immaterial and would not convey any advantage to a recipient in making a decision concerning the funds. Commentary and analysis includes, but is not limited to, the allocation of the funds’ portfolio securities and other investments among various asset classes, sectors, industries, and countries, the characteristics of the stock components and other investments of the funds, the attribution of fund returns by asset class, sector, industry and country, and the volatility characteristics of the funds.
Portfolio Transactions
The investment adviser makes decisions with respect to the purchase and sale of portfolio securities on behalf of the funds. The investment adviser is responsible for implementing these decisions, including the negotiation of commissions and the allocation of principal business and portfolio brokerage. Purchases and sales of securities on a stock exchange or certain riskless principal transactions placed on NASDAQ are typically effected through brokers who charge a commission for their services. Purchases and sales of fixed income securities may be transacted with the issuer, the issuer’s underwriter, or a dealer. The funds do not usually pay brokerage commissions on purchases and sales of fixed income securities, although the price of the securities generally includes compensation, in the form of a spread or a mark-up or mark-down, which is not disclosed separately. The prices the fund pays to underwriters of newly-issued securities usually include a commission paid by the issuer to the underwriter. Transactions placed through dealers who are serving as primary market makers reflect the spread between the bid and asked prices. The money market securities in which the fund may invest are traded primarily in the over-the-counter market on a net basis and do not normally involve either brokerage commissions or transfer taxes. It is expected that the cost of executing portfolio securities transactions of the fund will primarily consist of dealer spreads.
The investment adviser seeks to obtain the best execution for the funds’ portfolio transactions. The investment adviser may take a number of factors into account in selecting brokers or dealers to execute these transactions. Such factors may include, without limitation, the following: execution price; brokerage commission or dealer spread; size or type of the transaction; nature or character of the markets; clearance or settlement capability; reputation; financial strength and stability of the broker or dealer; efficiency of execution and error resolution; block trading capabilities; willingness to execute related or unrelated difficult transactions in the future; order of call; ability to facilitate short selling; provision of additional brokerage or research services or products. In addition, the investment adviser has incentive sharing arrangements with certain unaffiliated brokers who guarantee market-on-close pricing: on a day when such a broker executes transactions at prices better, on aggregate, than market-on-close prices, that broker may receive, in addition to his or her standard commission, a portion of the net difference between the actual execution prices and corresponding market-on-close prices for that day.
The investment adviser may cause the funds to pay a higher commission than otherwise obtainable from other brokers or dealers in return for brokerage or research services or products if the investment adviser believes that such commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided. In addition to agency transactions, the investment adviser may receive brokerage and research services or products in connection with certain riskless principal transactions, in accordance with applicable SEC and other regulatory guidelines. In both instances, these services or products may include: economic, industry, or company research reports or investment recommendations; subscriptions to financial publications or research data compilations; compilations of securities prices, earnings, dividends, and similar data; computerized databases; quotation equipment and services; research or analytical computer software and services; products or services that assist in effecting transactions, including services of third-party computer systems developers directly related to research and brokerage activities; and effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance and settlement). The investment adviser may use research services furnished by brokers or dealers in servicing all fund accounts, and not all services may necessarily be used in connection with the account that paid commissions or spreads to the broker or dealer providing such services.

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The investment adviser may receive a service from a broker or dealer that has both a “research” and a “non-research” use. When this occurs, the investment adviser will make a good faith allocation, under all the circumstances, between the research and non-research uses of the service. The percentage of the service that is used for research purposes may be paid for with fund commissions or spreads, while the investment adviser will use its own funds to pay for the percentage of the service that is used for non-research purposes. In making this good faith allocation, the investment adviser faces a potential conflict of interest, but the investment adviser believe that the costs of such services may be appropriately allocated to their anticipated research and non-research uses.
The investment adviser may purchase for funds, new issues of securities in a fixed price offering. In these situations, the seller may be a member of the selling group that will, in addition to selling securities, provide the investment adviser with research services, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations permitting these types of arrangements. Generally, the seller will provide research “credits” in these situations at a rate that is higher than that which is available for typical secondary market transactions. These arrangements may not fall within the safe harbor of Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The investment adviser may place orders directly with electronic communications networks or other alternative trading systems. Placing orders with electronic communications networks or other alternative trading systems may enable the funds to trade directly with other institutional holders. At times, this may allow the funds to trade larger blocks than would be possible trading through a single market maker.
The investment adviser may aggregate securities sales or purchases among two or more funds. The investment adviser will not aggregate transactions unless it believes such aggregation is consistent with its duty to seek best execution for each affected fund and is consistent with the terms of the investment advisory agreement for such fund. In any single transaction in which purchases and/or sales of securities of any issuer for the account of a fund are aggregated with other accounts managed by the investment adviser, the actual prices applicable to the transaction will be averaged among the accounts for which the transaction is effected, including the account of the fund.
In determining when and to what extent to use Schwab or any other affiliated broker-dealer as its broker for executing orders for the funds on securities exchanges, the investment adviser follows procedures, adopted by the funds’ Board of Trustees, that are designed to ensure that affiliated brokerage commissions (if relevant) are reasonable and fair in comparison to unaffiliated brokerage commissions for comparable transactions.
PROXY VOTING
The Board of Trustees of the trust has delegated the responsibility for voting proxies to CSIM through their Advisory Agreement. The Trustees have adopted CSIM’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures with respect to proxies voted on behalf of the funds’ portfolios. A description of CSIM’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures is included in Appendix B.
The trust is required to disclose annually each fund’s complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX. The fund’s proxy voting record for the most recent 12 month period ended June 30th will be available by visiting the Schwab website at www.schwab.com/SchwabETFsProspectus. A fund’s Form N-PX will also be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Brokerage Commissions
The funds are new and, therefore, for each of the last three fiscal years, the funds paid no brokerage commissions.
Regular Broker-Dealers
Each fund’s regular broker-dealers during its most recent fiscal year are: (1) the ten broker-dealers that received the greatest dollar amount of brokerage commissions from the fund; (2) the ten broker-dealers that engaged as principal in the largest dollar amount of portfolio transactions; and (3) the ten broker-dealers that sold the largest dollar amount of the fund’s shares. The funds are new and, therefore, have not purchased securities issued by any regular broker-dealers.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
Each fund is a series of Schwab Strategic Trust, an open-end investment management company organized as a Delaware statutory trust on January 27, 2009.
The Declaration of Trust provides for the perpetual existence of the Trust. The Trust may, however, be terminated at any time by vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of each series of the Trust or by the vote of the Trustees.
Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each full share held (with fractional votes for fractional shares held) and will vote (to the extent provided on the Declaration of Trust) in the election of Trustees and the termination of the Trust and on other matters submitted to the vote of shareholders. Shareholders will vote by individual series on all matters except (i) when required by the 1940 Act, shares shall be voted in the aggregate and not by individual series and (ii) when the Trustees have determined that the matter affects only the interests of one or more series, then only shareholders of such series shall be entitled to vote thereon. Shareholders of one series shall not be entitled to vote on matters exclusively affecting another series, such matters including, without limitation, the adoption of or change in any fundamental policies or restrictions of the other series and the approval of the investment advisory contracts of the other series.
There will normally be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing Trustees, except that in accordance with the 1940 Act (i) the Trust will hold a shareholders’ meeting for the election of Trustees at such time as less than a majority of the Trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, and (ii) if, as a result of a vacancy in the Board of Trustees, less than two-thirds of the Trustees holding office have been elected by the shareholders, that vacancy may only be filled by a vote of the shareholders. In addition, Trustees may be removed from office by a written consent signed by the holders of two-thirds of the outstanding shares and filed with the Trust’s custodian or by a vote of the holders of two-thirds of the outstanding shares at a meeting duly called for the purpose, which meeting shall be held upon the written request of the holders of not less than 10% of the outstanding shares. Except as set forth above, the Trustees shall continue to hold office and may appoint successor Trustees. Voting rights are not cumulative.
The Trust may, without shareholder vote, restate, amend or otherwise supplement the Declaration of Trust. Shareholders shall have the right to vote on any amendment that could affect their right to vote, any amendment to the Amendments section, any amendment for which shareholder vote may be required by applicable law or by the Trust’s registration statement filed with the SEC, and on any amendment submitted to them by the Trustees.
Any series of the Trust may reorganize or merge with one or more other series of the Trust or another investment company. Any such reorganization or merger shall be pursuant to the terms and conditions specified in an agreement and plan of reorganization authorized and approved by the Trustees and entered into by the relevant series in connection therewith. In addition, such reorganization or merger may be authorized by vote of a majority of the Trustees then in office and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, without the approval of shareholders of any series.
Shareholders wishing to submit proposals for inclusion in a proxy statement for a future shareholder meeting should send their written submissions to the Trust at 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456. Proposals must be received a reasonable time in advance of a proxy solicitation to be included. Submission of a proposal does not guarantee inclusion in a proxy statement because proposals must comply with certain federal securities regulations.
PURCHASE, REDEMPTION AND PRICING OF SHARES
CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS
The funds are open each day that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open (Business Days). The NYSE’s trading session is normally conducted from 9:30 a.m. Eastern time until 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, although some days, such as in advance of and following holidays, the NYSE’s trading session closes early. The following holiday closings are currently scheduled for 2009-2010: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Only orders that are received and deemed acceptable by the Distributor no later than the time specified by the Trust will be executed that day at the fund’s share price calculated that day. On any day that the NYSE closes early, the funds reserve the right to advance the time by which purchase and redemption orders must be received by the Distributor that day in order to be executed that day at that day’s share price.
Creation . The trust issues and sells shares of the funds only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at the NAV next determined after receipt, on any Business Day, for an order received and deemed acceptable by the Distributor.

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Fund Deposit . The consideration for purchase of Creation Units of the funds may consist of (i) the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities closely approximating the holdings of a fund (the “Deposit Securities”), and an amount of cash denominated in U.S. Dollars (the “Cash Component”) computed as described below. Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of a fund.
The funds may accept a basket of money market instruments, or cash denominated in U.S. dollars that differs from the composition of the published basket. The funds may permit or require the consideration for Creation Units to consist solely of cash . The funds may permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash denominated in U.S. Dollars (i.e., a “cash in lieu” amount) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. For example, the trust reserves the right to permit or require a “cash in lieu” amount where the delivery of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant (as described below) would be restricted under the securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws, or in certain other situations.
The Cash Component is sometimes also referred to as the “Balancing Amount.” The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the value of the Deposit Securities. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the value of the Deposit Securities), the creator will deliver the Cash Component. If the Cash Component is a negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the value of the Deposit Securities), the creator will receive the Cash Component. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty tax or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant.
A fund or its agent, through the NSCC or otherwise, makes available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the NYSE Arca, Inc. Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time), the current Fund Deposit for the fund. Such Deposit Securities are applicable, subject to any adjustments, to effect creations of Creation Units of the fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities is made available.
Procedures for Creation of Creation Units . To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor and to create a Creation Unit of a fund, an entity must be a Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) participant, such as a broker-dealer, bank, trust company, clearing corporation or certain other organization, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC (each a “DTC Participant”). DTC acts as securities depositary for the shares. The DTC Participant must have executed an agreement with the Distributor with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Units (“Participant Agreement”). A DTC Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement is referred to as an “Authorized Participant.” Investors should contact the Distributor for the names of Authorized Participants that have signed a Participant Agreement. All shares of a fund, however created, will be entered on the records of DTC in the name of DTC or its nominee and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC.
All orders to create shares must be placed for one or more Creation Units. Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement. The date on which an order to create Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as discussed below) is placed is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.” Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, as described below. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure, may impede the ability to reach the Distributor or an Authorized Participant.
On days when the New York Stock Exchange or U.S. bond markets close earlier than normal, a fund may require purchase orders to be placed earlier in the day. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities to be delivered, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities, will be determined by the trust, whose determination shall be final and binding.
If the Distributor does not receive both the required Deposit Securities and the Cash Component by the specified time on the settlement date, the trust may cancel or revoke acceptance of such order. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such canceled or revoked order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using the Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of a fund. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the settlement date.
Creation Units may be created in advance of receipt by the trust of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities as described below. In these circumstances, the initial deposit will have a value greater than the NAV of the shares on the date the order is placed since, in addition to available Deposit Securities, U.S. cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) at least 110%, which the trust may change from time to time, of the market value of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the “Additional Cash Deposit”) with the fund pending delivery of any missing Deposit Securities. The Authorized Participant must deposit with the custodian the appropriate amount of federal funds by 10:00 a.m. New York time (or such other time as specified by the trust) on the settlement date. If the Distributor does not receive the Additional Cash Deposit in the appropriate amount by such time, then the order may be deemed to be rejected and the Authorized Participant

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shall be liable to a fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. An additional amount of U.S. cash shall be required to be deposited with the Distributor, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the trust in an amount at least equal to 110%, which the trust may change from time to time, of the daily marked to market value of the missing Deposit Securities. To the extent that missing Deposit Securities are not received by the specified time on the settlement date, or in the event a marked-to-market payment is not made within one Business Day following notification by the Distributor that such a payment is required, the trust may use the cash on deposit to purchase the missing Deposit Securities. The Authorized Participant will be liable to the trust for the costs incurred by the trust in connection with any such purchases. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the market value of such Deposit Securities on the transmittal date plus the brokerage and related transaction costs associated with such purchases. The trust will return any unused portion of the Additional Cash Deposit once all of the missing Deposit Securities have been properly received by the customer or purchased by the trust and deposited into the trust. In addition, a transaction fee, as listed below, will be charged in all cases.
Acceptance of Orders for Creation Units . The trust reserves the absolute right to reject or revoke acceptance of a creation order transmitted to it by the Distributor in respect of a fund. For example, the trust may reject or revoke acceptance of an order, if (i) the order does not conform to the procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement; (ii) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of a fund; (iii) the Deposit Securities delivered are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by a fund as described above; (iv) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to a fund; (v) acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (vi) acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the trust or CSIM, have an adverse effect on the trust or the rights of beneficial owners; or (vii) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the trust, the custodian, the Distributor or CSIM make it for all practical purposes impossible to process creation orders. Examples of such circumstances include natural disaster, war, revolution; public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the trust, CSIM, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, custodian (or sub-custodian) or any other participant in the creation process, and similar extraordinary events. The Distributor shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of the creator of a Creation Unit of its rejection of the order of such person. The trust, custodian (or sub-custodian) and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.
Creation/Redemption Transaction Fee . The funds impose a “Transaction Fee” on investors purchasing or redeeming Creation Units. The Transaction Fee will be limited to amounts that have been determined by CSIM to be appropriate. The purpose of the Transaction Fee is to protect the existing shareholders of the funds from the dilutive costs associated with the purchase and redemption of Creation Units. Where the funds permit cash creations (or redemptions) or cash in lieu of depositing one or more Deposit Securities, the purchaser (or redeemer) may be assessed a higher Transaction Fee to offset the transaction cost to the funds of buying (or selling) those particular Deposit Securities. Transaction Fees will differ for the funds, depending on the transaction expenses related to the funds’ portfolio securities. Every purchaser of a Creation Unit will receive a prospectus that contains disclosure about the Transaction Fee, including the maximum amount of the Transaction Fee charged by the funds, which is four times the Additional Creation/Redemption Transaction Fee, per Creation Unit.
The following table sets forth the standard and additional creation/redemption transaction fee for the funds.
                         
    Approximate Value   Standard   Additional
    of One   Creation/Redemption   Creation/Redemption
Name of Fund   Creation Unit   Transaction Fee   Transaction Fee*
Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF
  $       $xxxx   $xxxx
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF
  $       $xxxx   $xxxx
Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF
  $       $xxxx   $xxxx
 
*   Per Creation Unit
Placement of Redemption Orders . The process to redeem Creation Units works much like the process to purchase Creation Units, but in reverse. Orders to redeem Creation Units of the fund must be delivered through an Authorized Participant. Investors other than Authorized Participants are responsible for making arrangements for a redemption request to be made through an Authorized Participant. Orders must be accompanied or followed by the requisite number of shares of the funds specified in such order, which delivery must be made to the Distributor no later than 10:00 a.m. New York time on the next Business Day following the Transmittal Date. All other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement must be properly followed.
To the extent contemplated by an Authorized Participant’s agreement, in the event the Authorized Participant has submitted a redemption request but is unable to transfer all or part of the Creation Units to be redeemed to the Distributor, the Distributor will nonetheless accept the redemption request in reliance on the undertaking by the Authorized Participant to deliver the missing shares as soon as possible. Such undertaking shall be secured by the Authorized Participant’s delivery and maintenance of collateral consisting

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of cash having a value (marked to market daily) at least equal to 110%, which CSIM may change from time to time, of the value of the missing shares.
The current procedures for collateralization of missing shares require, among other things, that any cash collateral shall be in the form of U.S. dollars in immediately-available funds and shall be held by the custodian and marked to market daily. The fees of the custodian (and any sub-custodians) in respect of the delivery, maintenance and redelivery of the cash collateral shall be payable by the Authorized Participant. The trust, on behalf of the funds, is permitted to purchase the missing shares or acquire the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component underlying such shares at any time and will subject the Authorized Participant to liability for any shortfall between the cost to the trust of purchasing such shares, Deposit Securities or Cash Component and the value of the collateral.
If the requisite number of shares of the funds is not delivered on the Transmittal Date as described above the funds may reject or revoke acceptance of the redemption request. If it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Fund Securities, the trust may in its discretion exercise its option to redeem such shares in U.S. cash and the redeeming Authorized Participant will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash. In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that the fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its shares based on the NAV of shares of a fund next determined after the redemption request is received (minus a redemption transaction fee and additional charge for requested cash redemptions specified above, to offset the trust’s brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Fund Securities). The funds may also, in their sole discretion, upon request of a shareholder, provide such redeemer a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Fund Securities but does not differ in NAV.
Redemptions of shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the funds (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserve the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the trust could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Fund Securities under such laws.
The funds will not suspend or postpone redemption beyond seven days, except as permitted under Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act or pursuant to exemptive relief obtained by the trust. Section 22(e) provides that the right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to the funds (1) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the NYSE is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the shares of a fund’s portfolio securities or determination of its net asset value is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
Pricing of Shares
Each business day, the funds calculate their share price, or NAV, as of the close of the NYSE (generally, 4 p.m. Eastern time). This means that NAVs are calculated using the values of a fund’s portfolio securities as of the close of the NYSE. Such values are required to be determined in one of two ways: securities for which market quotations are readily available are required to be valued at current market value; and securities for which market quotations are not readily available are required to be valued at fair value using procedures approved by the Board of Trustees.
The funds use approved pricing services to provide values for their portfolio securities. Current market values are generally determined by the approved pricing services as follows: generally securities traded on exchanges are valued at the last-quoted sales price on the exchange on which such securities are primarily traded, or, lacking any sales, at the mean between the bid and ask prices; generally securities traded in the over-the-counter market are valued at the last reported sales price that day, or, if no sales are reported, at the mean between the bid and ask prices. Generally securities listed on the NASDAQ National Market System are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. Fixed income securities normally are valued based on valuations provided by approved pricing services. Securities may be fair valued pursuant to procedures approved by the funds’ Board of Trustees when a security is de-listed or its trading is halted or suspended; when a security’s primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; when a security’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or when a security’s value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the security’s primary trading market. The Board of Trustees regularly reviews fair value determinations made by the funds pursuant to the procedures.
NOTE: Transactions in fund shares will be priced at NAV only if you purchase or redeem shares directly from a fund in Creation Units. Fund shares are purchased or sold on a national securities exchange at market prices, which may be higher (premium) or lower (discount) than NAV.

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TAXATION
Federal Tax Information for the Funds
This discussion of federal income tax consequences is based on the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this Statement of Additional Information. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.
It is each fund’s policy to qualify for taxation as a “regulated investment company” (RIC) by meeting the requirements of Subchapter M of the Code. By qualifying as a RIC, each fund expects to eliminate or reduce to a nominal amount the federal income tax to which it is subject. If a fund does not qualify as a RIC under the Code, it will be subject to federal income tax on its net investment income and any net realized capital gains. In addition, each fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a RIC.
Each fund is treated as a separate entity for federal income tax purposes and is not combined with the trust’s other funds. Each fund intends to qualify as a RIC so that it will be relieved of federal income tax on that part of its income that is distributed to shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a RIC, a fund must distribute annually to its shareholders at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (generally, net investment income plus the excess, if any, of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital losses) and also must meet several additional requirements. Among these requirements are the following: (i) at least 90% of a fund’s gross income each taxable year must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock or securities or currencies and net income derived from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership; (ii) at the close of each quarter of a fund’s taxable year, at least 50% of the value of its total assets must be represented by cash and cash items, U.S. Government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount that does not exceed 5% of the value of a fund’s assets and that does not represent more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer; and (iii) at the close of each quarter of a fund’s taxable year, not more than 25% of the value of its assets may be invested in securities (other than U.S. Government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer or of two or more issuers and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses if the fund owns at least 20% of the voting power of such issuers, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
Certain master limited partnerships may qualify as “qualified publicly traded partnerships” for purposes of the Subchapter M diversification rules described above. In order to do so, the master limited partnership must satisfy two requirements during the taxable year. First, the interests of such partnership either must be traded on an established securities market or must be readily tradable on a secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof). Second, the partnership must meet the 90% gross income requirements for the exception from treatment as a corporation with gross income other than income consisting of dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, or gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock securities or currencies.
The Code imposes a non-deductible excise tax on RICs that do not distribute in a calendar year (regardless of whether they otherwise have a non-calendar taxable year) an amount equal to 98% of their “ordinary income” (as defined in the Code) for the calendar year plus 98% of their net capital gain for the one-year period ending on October 31 of such calendar year, plus any undistributed amounts from prior years. The non-deductible excise tax is equal to 4% of the deficiency. For the foregoing purposes, a fund is treated as having distributed any amount on which it is subject to income tax for any taxable year ending in such calendar year. A fund may in certain circumstances be required to liquidate fund investments to make sufficient distributions to avoid federal excise tax liability at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so, and liquidation of investments in such circumstances may affect the ability of a fund to satisfy the requirements for qualification as a RIC.
A fund’s transactions in futures contracts, forward contracts, options and certain other investment and hedging activities may be restricted by the Code and are subject to special tax rules. In a given case, these rules may accelerate income to a fund, defer its losses, cause adjustments in the holding periods of a fund’s assets, convert short-term capital losses into long-term capital losses or otherwise affect the character of a fund’s income. These rules could therefore affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders. Each fund will endeavor to make any available elections pertaining to these transactions in a manner believed to be in the best interest of a fund and its shareholders.
Each fund is required for federal income tax purposes to mark-to-market and recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures contracts as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized during the year. Gain or loss from futures and options contracts on broad-based indexes required to be marked to market will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. Each fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on futures contracts, options contracts and swaps to the extent of any unrecognized gains on offsetting positions held by the fund. It is anticipated that any net gain realized from the closing out of futures or options contracts will be considered gain from the sale of securities and therefore will be qualifying income for purposes of the 90% requirement described above. Each fund distributes to shareholders at least annually any net capital gains that have been recognized

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for federal income tax purposes, including unrealized gains at the end of the fund’s fiscal year on futures or options transactions. Such distributions are combined with distributions of capital gains realized on the fund’s other investments and shareholders are advised on the nature of the distributions.
With respect to investments in zero coupon securities which are sold at original issue discount (“OID”) and thus do not make periodic cash interest payments, a fund will be required to include as part of its current income the imputed interest on such obligations even though the fund has not received any interest payments on such obligations during that period. Because each fund distributes all of its net investment income to its shareholders, a fund may have to sell fund securities to distribute such imputed income which may occur at a time when the adviser would not have chosen to sell such securities and which may result in taxable gain or loss.
Special federal income tax rules apply to the inflation-indexed bonds. Generally, all stated interest on such bonds is taken into income by a fund under its regular method of accounting for interest income. The amount of a positive inflation adjustment, which results in an increase in the inflation-adjusted principal amount of the bond, is treated as OID. The OID is included in a fund’s gross income ratably during the period ending with the maturity of the bond, under the general OID inclusion rules. The amount of a fund’s OID in a taxable year with respect to a bond will increase a fund’s taxable income for such year without a corresponding receipt of cash, until the bond matures. As a result, as noted above, a fund may need to use other sources of cash to satisfy its distributions for such year. The amount of negative inflation adjustment, which results in a decrease in the inflation-adjusted principal amount of the bond, reduces the amount of interest (including stated, interest, OID, and market discount, if any) otherwise includible in a fund’s income with respect to the bond for the taxable year.
Any market discount recognized on a bond is taxable as ordinary income. A market discount bond is a bond acquired in the secondary market at a price below redemption value or adjusted issue price if issued with original issue discount. Absent an election by a fund to include the market discount in income as it accrues, gain on the fund’s disposition of such an obligation will be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain to the extent of the accrued market discount.
Federal Income Tax Information for Shareholders
The discussion of federal income taxation presented below supplements the discussion in each fund’s prospectus and only summarizes some of the important federal tax considerations generally affecting shareholders of the funds. Accordingly, prospective investors (particularly those not residing or domiciled in the United States) should consult their own tax advisors regarding the consequences of investing in the funds.
Any dividends declared by a fund in October, November or December and paid the following January are treated, for tax purposes, as if they were received by shareholders on December 31 of the year in which they were declared. In general, distributions by a fund of investment company taxable income (including net short-term capital gains), if any, whether received in cash or additional shares, will be taxable to you as ordinary income. It is not expected that any portion of these distributions will be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income which is eligible in certain circumstances for reduced maximum tax rates to individuals.
Distributions from net capital gain (if any) that are designated as capital gains dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains without regard to the length of time the shareholder has held shares of a fund. However, if you receive a capital gains dividend with respect to fund shares held for six months or less, any loss on the sale or exchange of those shares shall, to the extent of the capital gains dividend, be treated as a long-term capital loss. Long-term capital gains also will be taxed at a maximum rate of 15%. Absent further legislation, the maximum 15% tax rate on qualified dividend income and long-term capital gains will cease to apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010.
A fund will inform you of the amount of your ordinary income dividends and capital gain distributions, if any, at the time they are paid and will advise you of their tax status for federal income tax purposes, including what portion of the distributions will be qualified dividend income, shortly after the close of each calendar year.
If a fund makes a distribution to a shareholder in excess of a fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits in any taxable year, the excess distribution will be treated as a return of capital to the extent of the shareholder’s tax basis in its shares, and thereafter, as capital gain. A return of capital is not taxable, but reduces a shareholder’s tax basis in its shares, thus reducing any loss or increasing any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition by the shareholder of its shares. For corporate investors in a fund, dividend distributions a fund designates to be from dividends received from qualifying domestic corporations will be eligible for the 70% corporate dividends-received deduction to the extent they would qualify if the fund were a regular corporation. Distributions by a fund also may be subject to state, local and foreign taxes, which may differ from the federal income tax treatment described above.
A sale of shares in a fund may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the

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taxable disposition of shares will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Under current law, the maximum tax rate on long-term capital gains available to non-corporate shareholders is generally 15% for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term, rather than short-term, to the extent of any long-term capital gain distributions received (or deemed received) by the shareholder with respect to the shares. All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares will be disallowed if other substantially identical shares of a fund are purchased within 30 days before or after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly purchased shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses will be treated as short-term capital gains or losses. In some circumstances, a redemption of Creation Units may be treated as resulting in a distribution to which section 301 of the Code applies, potentially causing amounts received by the shareholder in the redemption to be treated as dividend income rather than as a payment in exchange for Creation Units. The rules for determining when a redemption will be treated as giving rise to a distribution under section 301 of the Code and the tax consequences of Code section 301 distributions are complex. Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.
Each fund has the right to reject an order to for Creation Units if the purchaser (or group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the fund and if, pursuant to section 351 of the Code, the respective fund would have a basis in the deposit securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. Each fund also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial Share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination.
Disclosure for Non-U.S. Shareholders - Dividends paid by the funds to shareholders who are nonresident aliens or foreign entities will be subject to a 30% United States withholding tax unless a reduced rate of withholding or a withholding exemption is provided under applicable treaty law to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gain (other than “qualified short-term capital gain” described below) or unless such income is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business carried on through a permanent establishment in the United States. Nonresident shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors concerning the applicability of the United States withholding tax and the proper withholding form(s) to be submitted to the funds. A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide an appropriate Internal Revenue Service Form W-8 may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.
The funds may, under certain circumstances, designate all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” that if received by a nonresident alien or foreign entity generally would be exempt from the 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided that certain other requirements are met. The funds may also, under certain circumstances, designate all or a portion of a dividend as a “qualified short-term capital gain dividend” which if received by a nonresident alien or foreign entity generally would be exempt from the 30% U.S. withholding tax, unless the foreign person is a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year. In the case of Shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the funds designate the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts. The provisions relating to dividends to foreign persons would apply to dividends with respect to taxable years of the funds beginning after December 31, 2004 and before January 1, 2010.
Backup Withholding and Certain Reporting — Each fund will be required in certain cases to withhold at the applicable withholding rate and remit to the U.S. Treasury the withheld amount of taxable dividends paid to any shareholder who (1) fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number certified under penalty of perjury; (2) is subject to withholding by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to properly report all payments of interest or dividends; (3) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is not subject to “backup withholding;” or (4) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s ultimate U.S. tax liability.

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Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the Internal Revenue Service a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC such as a fund are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all RICs. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
Shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisors as to the state and local tax rules affecting investments in the funds.

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APPENDIX A — RATINGS OF INVESTMENT SECURITIES
From time to time, the fund may report the percentage of its assets that fall into the rating categories set forth below.
BONDS
Moody’s Investors Service
Aaa Bonds which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as “gilt edged.” Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues.
Aa Bonds which are rated Aa are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high-grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long term risk appear somewhat larger than the Aaa securities.
A Bonds which are rated A possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper-medium grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate, but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment some time in the future.
Baa Bonds which are rated Baa are considered as medium-grade obligations (i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured). Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well.
Ba Bonds which are rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements; their future cannot be considered as well-assured. Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate and thereby not well safeguarded during both good and bad times over the future. Uncertainty of position characterizes bonds in this class.
B Bonds which are rated B generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment. Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small.
Standard & Poor’s Corporation
Investment Grade
AAA Debt rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by S&P. Capacity to pay interest and repay principal is extremely strong.
AA Debt rated ‘AA’ has a very strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal and differs from the highest rated debt only in small degree.
A Debt rated ‘A’ has a strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal, although it is somewhat more susceptible to adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than debt in higher-rated categories.
BBB Debt rated ‘BBB’ is regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Whereas it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal for debt in this category than in higher rated categories.
Speculative Grade
Debt rated ‘BB’ and ‘B’ is regarded as having predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal. While such debt will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions.

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BB Debt rated ‘BB’ has less near-term vulnerability to default than other speculative grade debt. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions that could lead to inadequate capacity to meet timely interest and principal payments. The ‘BB’ rating category is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied ‘BBB-’ rating.
B Debt rate ‘B’ has greater vulnerability to default but presently has the capacity to meet interest payments and principal repayments. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions would likely impair capacity or willingness to pay interest and repay principal. The ‘B’ rating category also is used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied ‘BB’ or ‘BB-’ rating.
Fitch, Inc.
Investment Grade Bond
     
AAA
  Bonds considered to be investment grade and of the highest credit quality. The obligor has an exceptionally strong ability to pay interest and repay principal, which is unlikely to be affected by reasonably foreseeable events.
 
   
AA
  Bonds considered to be investment grade and of very high credit quality. The obligor’s ability to pay interest and repay principal is very strong, although not quite as strong as bonds rated ‘AAA’. Because bonds rated in the ‘AAA’ and ‘AA’ categories are not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable future developments, short term debt of these issuers is generally rated ‘F1+’.
 
   
A
  Bonds considered to be investment grade and of high credit quality. The obligor’s ability to pay interest and repay principal is considered to be strong, but may be more vulnerable to adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances than bonds with higher ratings.
 
   
BBB
  Bonds considered to be investment grade and of satisfactory credit quality. The obligor’s ability to pay interest and repay principal is considered to be adequate. Adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances, however, are more likely to have adverse impact on these bonds, and therefore impair timely payment. The likelihood that the ratings of these bonds will fall below investment grade is higher than for bonds with higher ratings.
 
   
Speculative grade bond
 
   
BB
  Bonds are considered speculative. The obligor’s ability to pay interest and repay principal may be affected over time by adverse economic changes. However, business and financial alternatives can be identified which could assist the obligor in satisfying its debt service requirements.
 
   
B
  Bonds are considered highly speculative. While bonds in this class are currently meeting debt service requirements, the probability of continued timely payment of principal and interest reflects the obligor’s limited margin of safety and the need for reasonable business and economic activity throughout the life of the issue.
Dominion Bond Rating Service
Bond and Long Term Debt Rating Scale
As is the case with all DBRS rating scales, long term debt ratings are meant to give an indication of the risk that the borrower will not fulfill its full obligations in a timely manner with respect to both interest and principal commitments. DBRS ratings do not take factors such as pricing or market risk into consideration and are expected to be used by purchasers as one part of their investment process. Every DBRS rating is based on quantitative and qualitative considerations that are relevant for the borrowing entity.
AAA: Highest Credit Quality
AA: Superior Credit Quality
A: Satisfactory Credit Quality
BBB: Adequate Credit Quality
BB: Speculative
B: Highly Speculative
CCC: Very Highly Speculative
CC: Very Highly Speculative

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C: Very Highly Speculative
AAA ” Bonds rated “AAA” are of the highest credit quality, with exceptionally strong protection for the timely repayment of principal and interest. Earnings are considered stable, the structure of the industry in which the entity operates is strong, and the outlook for future profitability is favorable. There are few qualifying factors present which would detract from the performance of the entity, the strength of liquidity and coverage ratios is unquestioned and the entity has established a creditable track record of superior performance. Given the extremely tough definition which DBRS has established for this category, few entities are able to achieve a AAA rating.
AA ” Bonds rated “AA” are of superior credit quality, and protection of interest and principal is considered high. In many cases, they differ from bonds rated AAA only to a small degree. Given the extremely tough definition which DBRS has for the AAA category (which few companies are able to achieve), entities rated AA are also considered to be strong credits which typically exemplify above-average strength in key areas of consideration and are unlikely to be significantly affected by reasonably foreseeable events.
A ” Bonds rated “A” are of satisfactory credit quality. Protection of interest and principal is still substantial, but the degree of strength is less than with AA rated entities. While a respectable rating, entities in the “A” category are considered to be more susceptible to adverse economic conditions and have greater cyclical tendencies than higher rated companies.
BBB ” Bonds rated “BBB” are of adequate credit quality. Protection of interest and principal is considered adequate, but the entity is more susceptible to adverse changes in financial and economic conditions, or there may be other adversities present which reduce the strength of the entity and its rated securities.
BB ” Bonds rated “BB” are defined to be speculative, where the degree of protection afforded interest and principal is uncertain, particularly during periods of economic recession. Entities in the BB area typically have limited access to capital markets and additional liquidity support and, in many cases, small size or lack of competitive strength may be additional negative considerations.
B ” Bonds rated “B” are highly speculative and there is a reasonably high level of uncertainty which exists as to the ability of the entity to pay interest and principal on a continuing basis in the future, especially in periods of economic recession or industry adversity.
CCC ” / “ CC ” / “ C ” Bonds rated in any of these categories are very highly speculative and are in danger of default of interest and principal. The degree of adverse elements present is more severe than bonds rated “B”. Bonds rated below “B” often have characteristics which, if not remedied, may lead to default. In practice, there is little difference between the “C” to “CCC” categories, with “CC” and “C” normally used to lower ranking debt of companies where the senior debt is rated in the “CCC” to “B” range.
D ” This category indicates Bonds in default of either interest or principal.
(“ high ”, “ low ”) grades are used to indicate the relative standing of a credit within a particular rating category. The lack of one of these designations indicates a rating which is essentially in the middle of the category. Note that “high” and “low” grades are not used for the AAA category.
COMMERCIAL PAPER AND SHORT-TERM DEBT RATING SCALE
Dominion Bond Rating Service
As is the case with all DBRS rating scales, commercial paper ratings are meant to give an indication of the risk that the borrower will not fulfill its obligations in a timely manner. DBRS ratings do not take factors such as pricing or market risk into consideration and are expected to be used by purchasers as one part of their investment process. Every DBRS rating is based on quantitative and qualitative considerations which are relevant for the borrowing entity.
R-1: Prime Credit Quality
R-2: Adequate Credit Quality
R-3: Speculative
All three DBRS rating categories for short term debt use “high”, “middle” or “low” as subset grades to designate the relative standing of the credit within a particular rating category. The following comments provide separate definitions for the three grades in the Prime Credit Quality area, as this is where ratings for active borrowers in Canada continue to be heavily concentrated.

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R-1 (high) ” Short term debt rated “R-1 (high)” is of the highest credit quality, and indicates an entity which possesses unquestioned ability to repay current liabilities as they fall due. Entities rated in this category normally maintain strong liquidity positions, conservative debt levels and profitability which is both stable and above average. Companies achieving an “R-1 (high)” rating are normally leaders in structurally sound industry segments with proven track records, sustainable positive future results and no substantial qualifying negative factors. Given the extremely tough definition which DBRS has established for an “R-1 (high)”, few entities are strong enough to achieve this rating.
R-1 (middle) ” Short term debt rated “R-1 (middle)” is of superior credit quality and, in most cases, ratings in this category differ from “R-1 (high)” credits to only a small degree. Given the extremely tough definition which DBRS has for the “R-1 (high)” category (which few companies are able to achieve), entities rated “R-1 (middle)” are also considered strong credits which typically exemplify above average strength in key areas of consideration for debt protection.
R-1 (low) ” Short term debt rated “R-1 (low)” is of satisfactory credit quality. The overall strength and outlook for key liquidity, debt and profitability ratios is not normally as favorable as with higher rating categories, but these considerations are still respectable. Any qualifying negative factors which exist are considered manageable, and the entity is normally of sufficient size to have some influence in its industry.
R-2 (high) ”, “ R-2 (middle) ”, “ R-2 (low) ” Short term debt rated “R-2” is of adequate credit quality and within the three subset grades, debt protection ranges from having reasonable ability for timely repayment to a level which is considered only just adequate. The liquidity and debt ratios of entities in the “R-2” classification are not as strong as those in the “R-1” category, and the past and future trend may suggest some risk of maintaining the strength of key ratios in these areas. Alternative sources of liquidity support are considered satisfactory; however, even the strongest liquidity support will not improve the commercial paper rating of the issuer. The size of the entity may restrict its flexibility, and its relative position in the industry is not typically as strong as an “R-1 credit”. Profitability trends, past and future, may be less favorable, earnings not as stable, and there are often negative qualifying factors present which could also make the entity more vulnerable to adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
R-3 (high) ”, “ R-3 (middle) ”, “ R-3 (low) ” Short term debt rated “R-3” is speculative, and within the three subset grades, the capacity for timely payment ranges from mildly speculative to doubtful. “R-3” credits tend to have weak liquidity and debt ratios, and the future trend of these ratios is also unclear. Due to its speculative nature, companies with “R-3” ratings would normally have very limited access to alternative sources of liquidity. Earnings would typically be very unstable, and the level of overall profitability of the entity is also likely to be low. The industry environment may be weak, and strong negative qualifying factors are also likely to be present.
SHORT TERM NOTES AND VARIABLE RATE DEMAND OBLIGATIONS
Moody’s Investors Service
Short term notes/variable rate demand obligations bearing the designations MIG-1/VMIG-1 are considered to be of the best quality, enjoying strong protection from established cash flows, superior liquidity support or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing. Obligations rated MIG-2/VMIG-3 are of high quality and enjoy ample margins of protection although not as large as those of the top rated securities.
Standard & Poor’s Corporation
An S&P SP-1 rating indicates that the subject securities’ issuer has a strong capacity to pay principal and interest. Issues determined to possess very strong safety characteristics are given a plus (+) designation. S&P’s determination that an issuer has a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest is denoted by an SP-2 rating.
Fitch, Inc.
Obligations supported by the highest capacity for timely repayment are rated F1+. An F1 rating indicates that the obligation is supported by a very strong capacity for timely repayment. Obligations rated F2 are supported by a good capacity for timely repayment, although adverse changes in business, economic, or financial conditions may affect this capacity.

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COMMERCIAL PAPER
Moody’s Investors Service
Prime-1 is the highest commercial paper rating assigned by Moody’s. Issuers (or related supporting institutions) of commercial paper with this rating are considered to have a superior ability to repay short term promissory obligations. Issuers (or related supporting institutions) of securities rated Prime-2 are viewed as having a strong capacity to repay short term promissory obligations. This capacity will normally be evidenced by many of the characteristics of issuers whose commercial paper is rated Prime-1 but to a lesser degree.
Standard & Poor’s Corporation
A Standard & Poor’s Corporation (“S&P”) A-1 commercial paper rating indicates a strong degree of safety regarding timely payment of principal and interest. Issues determined to possess overwhelming safety characteristics are denoted A-1+. Capacity for timely payment on commercial paper rated A-2 is satisfactory, but the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues designated A-1.
Fitch, Inc.
F1+ is the highest category, and indicates the strongest degree of assurance for timely payment. Issues rated F1 reflect an assurance of timely payment only slightly less than issues rated F1+. Issues assigned an F2 rating have a satisfactory degree of assurance for timely payment, but the margin of safety is not as great as for issues in the first two rating categories.

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PART C: OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 28. EXHIBITS.
(a) (1)   Certificate of Trust, dated January 27, 2009, of Schwab Strategic Trust (the “Registrant” or the “Trust”) is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(1) of the Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed July 15, 2009.
  (2)   Registrant’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated January 26, 2009, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(2) of the Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed July 15, 2009.
 
  (3)   Registrant’s Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated October 12, 2009, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(3) of Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 27, 2009.
(b)   Registrant’s By-Laws, dated January 26, 2009, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (b) of the Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed July 15, 2009.
 
(c)   Reference in made to Article 5 of the Registrant’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust.
 
(d)   Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. is filed herewith as Exhibit (d).
 
(e)   Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and SEI Investments Distribution Co. is filed herewith as Exhibit (e).
 
(f)   Not applicable.
 
(g) (1)   Custodian Agreement between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (g)(1) of Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 7, 2009.
  (2)   Amendment to the Custodian Agreement between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is filed herewith as Exhibit (g)(2).
(h) (1)   Administration Agreement between the Registrant and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (h)(1).
  (2)   Transfer Agency Agreement between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(2) of Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 7, 2009.
 
  (3)   Authorized Participant Agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(3) of Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 7, 2009.
 
  (4)   Master Fund Accounting and Services Agreement between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(4) of Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 7, 2009.
 
  (5)   Amendment to the Master Fund Accounting and Services Agreement between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is filed herewith as Exhibit (h)(5).
 
  (6)   Sub-Administration Agreement between the Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(6) of Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 7, 2009.
 
  (7)   Amendment of the Sub-Administration Agreement between the Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. and State Street Bank and Trust Company is filed herewith as Exhibit (h)(7).
(i)   Opinion and Consent of Counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP to be filed by amendment.
 
(j) (1)   Not applicable.
  (2)   Power of Attorney of Walter W. Bettinger is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (j)(2) of Pre-Effective Amendment No.2 to Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 27, 2009.

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  (3)   Power of Attorney of Robert W. Burns is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (j)(3) of Pre-Effective Amendment No.2 to Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 27, 2009.
 
  (4)   Power of Attorney of Charles A. Ruffel is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (j)(4) of Pre-Effective Amendment No.2 to Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 27, 2009.
 
  (5)   Power of Attorney of Mark A. Goldfarb is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (j)(5) of Pre-Effective Amendment No.2 to Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 27, 2009.
 
  (6)   Power of Attorney of Randall W. Merk is filed herein as Exhibit (j)(6).
 
  (7)   Power of Attorney of George Pereira is filed herein as Exhibit (j)(7).
(k)   Not applicable.
 
(l)   None.
 
(m)   Not applicable.
 
(n)   Not applicable.
 
(o)   Not applicable.
 
(p) (1)   Joint Code of Ethics for the Registrant and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. is filed herein as Exhibit (p)(1).
 
(p) (2)   Code of Ethics of SEI Investments Distribution Co. is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(2) of Registrant’s Registration Statement, filed October 7, 2009.
ITEM 29. PERSONS CONTROLLED BY OR UNDER COMMON CONTROL WITH THE REGISTRANT.
     Not Applicable.
ITEM 30. INDEMNIFICATION.
     Reference is made to Article VII of Registrant’s Declaration of Trust (Exhibit (a) filed July 15, 2009) and Article 11 of Registrant’s By-Laws (Exhibit (b) filed July 15, 2009).
     Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such trustee, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
ITEM 31. BUSINESS AND OTHER CONNECTIONS OF INVESTMENT ADVISER.
     The Registrant’s investment adviser, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (“CSIM”), a Delaware corporation, organized in October 1989, also serves as the investment manager to the Laudus Institutional Trust, Laudus Trust, Schwab Capital Trust, The

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Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, and Schwab Annuity Portfolios, each an open-end, management investment company. The principal place of business of the investment adviser is 211 Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. The only business in which the investment adviser engages is that of investment adviser and administrator to the Schwab Capital Trust, The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, Schwab Annuity Portfolios and any other investment companies that Schwab may sponsor in the future, investment adviser to the Registrant, Laudus Trust and Laudus Institutional Trust and an investment adviser to certain non-investment company clients.
     The business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each director and/or senior or executive officer of CSIM is or has been engaged during the past two fiscal years is listed below. The name of any company for which any director and/or senior or executive officer of the investment adviser serves as director, officer, employee, partner or trustee is also listed below.
         
Name and Position        
with Adviser   Name of Other Company   Capacity
Charles R. Schwab, Chairman and Director
  Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.   Chairman and Director
 
  The Charles Schwab Bank, N.A.   Chairman, Director
 
  The Charles Schwab Corporation   Chairman
 
  Schwab Holdings, Inc.   Chief Executive Officer
 
  Schwab International Holdings, Inc.   Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
 
  Schwab (SIS) Holdings, Inc. I   Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
 
  Charles Schwab Holdings (UK)   Chairman
 
  United States Trust Company of New York   Chairman, Director
 
  U.S. Trust Corporation   Chairman, Director
 
  All Kinds of Minds   Director
 
  Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation   Director
 
  Stanford University   Trustee
 
       
Randall W. Merk Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
  Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.   Executive Vice President and President, Investment Management Services
 
  Schwab Funds   President, Chief Executive Officer
 
  Laudus Funds   Trustee
 
  Charles Schwab Worldwide Funds, PLC   Director
 
  Charles Schwab Asset Management
(Ireland) Limited
  Director
 
  Excelsior Funds   Trustee
 
       
Koji E. Felton, Senior Vice President, Chief Counsel and Corporate Secretary
  Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.   Senior Vice President, Deputy
General Counsel
 
  Schwab Funds   Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
 
  Excelsior Funds   Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
 
       
Jeffrey M. Mortimer, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Equities and Fixed Income
  Schwab Funds  
Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Equities and Fixed Income
 
  Laudus Funds   President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer
 
       
George Pereira, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
  Laudus Funds   Chief Financial Officer
 
  Excelsior Funds   Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer
 
  Mutual Fund Division, UST Advisers, Inc.   Chief Financial Officer
 
  Charles Schwab Worldwide Funds, PLC   Director
 
  Charles Schwab Asset Management
(Ireland) Limited
  Director
ITEM 32. PRINCIPAL UNDERWRITERS:
(a) SEI Investments Distribution Co. (the “Distributor”) is the principal underwriter of the Trust.
(b) Information with respect to each director, officer or partner of each principal underwriter is as follows. Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each director or officer is 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456.

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    Position and Office   Positions and Offices
Name   with Underwriter   with Registrant
William M. Doran
  Director   None
Edward D. Loughlin
  Director   None
Wayne M. Withrow
  Director   None
Kevin Barr
  President & Chief Executive Officer   None
Maxine Chou
  Chief Financial Officer,Chief
Operations Officer, & Treasurer
  None
Karen LaTourette
  Chief Compliance Officer, Anti-Money
Laundering Officer & Assistant Secretary
  None
John C. Munch
  General Counsel & Secretary   None
Mark J. Held
  Senior Vice President   None
Lori L. White
  Vice President & Assistant Secretary   None
John Coary
  Vice President & Assistant Secretary   None
John Cronin
  Vice President   None
Robert Silvestri
  Vice President   None
(c) None.
ITEM 33. LOCATION OF ACCOUNTS AND RECORDS.
     All accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the 1940 Act, as amended, and the Rules thereunder will be maintained at the offices of:
1)   Schwab Strategic Trust, 211 Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
 
2)   Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., 211 Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
 
3)   Principal Underwriter — SEI Investments Distribution Co., 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456
 
4)   Custodian — State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111
 
5)   Transfer Agent — State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111
ITEM 34. MANAGEMENT SERVICES.
None.
ITEM 35. UNDERTAKINGS.
     Not applicable.

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SIGNATURES
     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, Registrant has duly caused this Post Effective Amendment No. 1 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized, in the District of Columbia, on the 21st day of April, 2010.
         
 
  SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
Registrant
   
 
       
 
  Randall W. Merk*
 
Randall W. Merk, President and Chief Executive Officer
   
     Pursuant to the requirements of the 1933 Act, this Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated this 21st day of April, 2010.
     
Signature   Title
 
Walter W. Bettinger, II*
 
Walter W. Bettinger, II
  Chairman and Trustee 
 
   
Robert W. Burns*
 
Robert W. Burns
  Trustee 
 
   
Mark A. Goldfarb*
 
Mark A. Goldfarb
  Trustee 
 
   
Charles A. Ruffel*
 
Charles A. Ruffel
  Trustee 
 
   
Randall W. Merk*
 
Randall W. Merk
  President and Chief Executive Officer 
 
   
George Pereira*
 
George Pereira
  Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer 
         
*By: 
  /s/ W. John McGuire
 
W. John McGuire, Attorney-in-Fact
Pursuant to Power of Attorney
   


Table of Contents

EXHIBIT INDEX
(d)   Advisory Agreement
 
(e)   Distribution Agreement
 
(g) (2)   Amendment to Custodian Agreement
 
(h) (1)   Administration Agreement
 
(h) (5)   Amendment to Master Fund Accounting and Services Agreement
 
(7)   Amendment to Sub-Administration Agreement
 
(j)  (6)   Power of Attorney of Randall W. Merk
 
(7)   Power of Attorney of George Pereira
 
(p) (1)   SST/CSIM Joint Code of Ethics

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Ex - (d)
ADVISORY AGREEMENT
     ADVISORY AGREEMENT made as of October 12, 2009 between Schwab Strategic Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Adviser”).
W I T N E S S E T H
     WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees (the “Board” or “Trustees”) of the Trust has selected the Adviser to act as investment adviser to the Trust on behalf of the series set forth on Schedule A hereto, which may be amended by the parties pursuant to section 11 of this Agreement to add other series of the Trust (each such series appearing on Schedule A at any time being a “Fund” and all such series at that time being the “Funds” subject to this Agreement at that time), and to provide certain related services, as more fully set forth below, and to perform such services under the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;
     NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and benefits set forth herein, the Trust and the Adviser do hereby agree as follows:
      1. The Adviser’s Services.
     (a) Discretionary Investment Management Services . The Adviser shall act as investment adviser with respect to the Funds. In such capacity, the Adviser shall, subject to the supervision of the Board, regularly provide the Funds with investment research, advice and supervision and shall furnish continuously an investment program for the Funds, consistent with the respective investment objectives and policies of each Fund. The Adviser shall determine, from time to time, what securities shall be purchased for the Funds, what securities shall be held or sold by the Funds and what portion of the Funds’ assets shall be held uninvested in cash, subject always to the provisions of the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust and By-Laws and its registration statement on Form N-1A (the “Registration Statement”) under the 1940 Act, and under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), covering Fund shares, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), and to the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Funds, as each of the same shall be from time to time in effect. To carry out such obligations, the Adviser shall exercise full discretion and act for the Funds in the same manner and with the same force and effect as the Funds themselves might or could do with respect to purchases, sales or other transactions, as well as with respect to all other such things necessary or incidental to the furtherance or conduct of such purchases, sales or other transactions. No reference in this Agreement to the Adviser having full discretionary authority over each Fund’s investments shall in any way limit the right of the Board, in its sole discretion, to establish or revise policies in connection with the management of a Fund’s assets or to otherwise exercise its right to control the overall management of a Fund.

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     (b) Selection of Sub-Adviser(s) . The Adviser shall have the authority hereunder to select and retain sub-advisers, including an affiliated person (as defined under the 1940 Act) of the Adviser, for each of the Funds referenced in Schedule A to perform some or all of the services for which the Adviser is responsible pursuant to this Agreement. The Adviser shall supervise the activities of the sub-adviser(s), and the retention of a sub-adviser by the Adviser shall not relieve the Adviser of its responsibilities under this Agreement. Any such sub-adviser shall be, at all relevant times, registered as an investment adviser with the Commission, not subject to any statutory disqualification, and capable of performing its sub-advisory duties pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement approved by the Trust’s Board and, except as otherwise permitted by the 1940 Act or by rule or regulation, a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the applicable Fund. The Adviser will compensate the sub-adviser for its services to the Funds.
     (c) Compliance . The Adviser agrees to comply with the requirements of the 1940 Act, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”), the 1933 Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the respective rules and regulations thereunder, as applicable, as well as with all other applicable federal and state laws, rules, regulations and case law that relate to the services and relationships described hereunder and to the conduct of its business as a registered investment adviser. The Adviser also agrees to comply with the objectives, policies and restrictions set forth in the Registration Statement, as amended or supplemented from time to time, of the Funds, and with any policies, guidelines, instructions and procedures approved by the Board and provided to the Adviser. In selecting each Fund’s portfolio securities and performing the Adviser’s obligations hereunder, the Adviser shall cause the Fund to comply with the diversification and source of income requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), for qualification as a regulated investment company. The Adviser shall maintain compliance procedures that it reasonably believes are adequate to ensure its compliance with the foregoing. No supervisory activity undertaken by the Board shall limit the Adviser’s full responsibility for any of the foregoing.
     (d) Proxy Voting . The Board has the authority to determine how proxies with respect to securities that are held by the Funds shall be voted, and the Board has initially determined to delegate the authority and responsibility to vote proxies for each Fund’s securities to the Adviser. So long as proxy voting authority for a Fund has been delegated to the Adviser, the Adviser shall exercise its proxy voting responsibilities. The Adviser shall carry out such responsibility in accordance with any instructions that the Board shall provide from time to time, and at all times in a manner consistent with Rule 206(4)-6 under the Advisers Act and its fiduciary responsibilities to the Trust. The Adviser shall provide periodic reports and keep records relating to proxy voting as the Board may reasonably request or as may be necessary for the Funds to comply with the 1940 Act and other applicable law. Any such delegation of proxy voting responsibility to the Adviser may be revoked or modified by the Board at any time.

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     (e) Recordkeeping . The Adviser shall not be responsible for the provision of administrative, bookkeeping or accounting services to the Funds, except as may be otherwise provided or as may be necessary for the Adviser to supply to the Trust or its Board the information required to be supplied under this Agreement.
     The Adviser shall maintain separate books and detailed records of all matters pertaining to Fund assets advised by the Adviser required by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act (other than those records being maintained by any administrator, custodian or transfer agent appointed by the Funds) relating to its responsibilities provided hereunder with respect to the Funds, and shall preserve such records for the periods and in a manner prescribed therefore by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act (the “Funds’ Books and Records”). The Funds’ Books and Records shall be available to the Board at any time upon request, shall be delivered to the Trust upon the termination of this Agreement and shall be available without delay during any day the Trust is open for business.
     (f) Holdings Information and Pricing . The Adviser shall provide regular reports regarding Fund holdings, and may, on its own initiative, furnish the Trust and its Board from time to time with whatever information the Adviser believes is appropriate for this purpose. The Adviser agrees upon request to provide any pricing information of which the Adviser is aware to the Trust, its Board and/or any Fund pricing agent to assist in the determination of the fair value of any Fund holdings for which market quotations are not readily available or as otherwise required in accordance with the 1940 Act or the Trust’s valuation procedures for the purpose of calculating the Fund net asset value in accordance with procedures and methods established by the Board.
     (g) Cooperation with Agents of the Trust . The Adviser agrees to cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to the Trust, any Trust custodian or foreign sub-custodians, any Trust pricing agents and all other agents and representatives of the Trust, provide such information with respect to the Funds as they may reasonably request from time to time in the performance of their obligations, provide prompt responses to reasonable requests made by such persons and establish appropriate interfaces with each so as to promote the efficient exchange of information and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
      2. Code of Ethics. The Adviser has adopted a written code of ethics that it reasonably believes complies with the requirements of Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, which it will provide to the Trust. The Adviser shall ensure that its Access Persons (as defined in the Adviser’s Code of Ethics) comply in all material respects with the Adviser’s Code of Ethics, as in effect from time to time. Upon request made from time to time, the Adviser shall provide the Trust with (i) a copy of the Adviser’s current Code of Ethics, as then in effect, and (ii) certification that it has adopted procedures reasonably necessary to prevent Access Persons from engaging in any conduct prohibited by the Adviser’s Code of Ethics as then in effect. Annually, the Adviser shall furnish a written report, which complies with the requirements of Rule 17j-1, concerning the Adviser’s Code of Ethics to the Trust. The Adviser shall respond to requests for

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information from the Trust as to violations of the Code of Ethics by Access Persons and the sanctions imposed by the Adviser.
      3. Information and Reporting. The Adviser shall provide the Trust and its respective officers with such periodic reports concerning the obligations the Adviser has assumed under this Agreement as the Trust may from time to time reasonably request.
     (a) Compliance Reports . The Adviser may provide a quarterly report regarding each Fund’s compliance with its investment objectives and policies, applicable law, including, but not limited to the 1940 Act and Subchapter M of the Code, and the Fund’s policies, guidelines or procedures as applicable to the Adviser’s obligations under this Agreement. Upon request, the Adviser shall also provide the officers of the Trust with supporting certifications in connection with such certifications of Fund financial statements and disclosure controls pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended. The Adviser will promptly notify the Trust in the event that (i) the Adviser is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board, or body, involving the affairs of the Trust (excluding class action suits in which a Fund is a member of the plaintiff class by reason of the Fund’s ownership of shares in the defendant) or the compliance by the Adviser with the federal or state securities laws or (ii) a change in control of the Adviser resulting in an “assignment” (as defined in of the 1940 Act) has occurred or is otherwise proposed to occur.
     (b) Board and Filings Information . The Adviser will also provide the Trust with any information reasonably requested regarding its management of the Funds required for any meeting of the Board, or for any shareholder report, amended registration statement, proxy statement, prospectus supplement or other report required to be filed by the Trust with the Commission. The Adviser will make its officers and employees available to meet with the Board from time to time on due notice to review its investment management services to the Funds in light of current and prospective economic and market conditions and shall furnish to the Board such information as may reasonably be necessary in order for the Board to evaluate this Agreement or any proposed amendments thereto.
     (c) Transaction Information . The Adviser shall furnish to the Trust such information concerning portfolio transactions as may be necessary to enable the Trust or its designated agent to perform such compliance testing on the Funds and the Adviser’s services as the Trust may, in its sole discretion, determine to be appropriate. The provision of such information by the Adviser to the Trust or its designated agent in no way relieves the Adviser of its own responsibilities under this Agreement.
      4. Brokerage.
     (a) Principal Transactions . In connection with purchases or sales of securities for the account of a Fund, neither the Adviser nor any of its directors, officers or

4


 

employees will act as a principal or agent or receive any commission except as permitted by the 1940 Act.
     (b) Placement of Orders . The Adviser shall arrange for the placing of all orders for the purchase and sale of securities for a Fund’s account with brokers or dealers selected by the Adviser. In the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, the Adviser is directed at all times to seek for the Fund the best execution and net price available under the circumstances. It is also understood that it is desirable for the Fund that the Adviser have access to brokerage and research services provided by brokers who may execute brokerage transactions at a higher cost to the Fund than may result when allocating brokerage to other brokers, consistent with section 28(e) of the 1934 Act and any Commission staff interpretations thereof. Therefore, the Adviser is authorized to place orders for the purchase and sale of securities for a Fund with such brokers, subject to review by the Board from time to time with respect to the extent and continuation of this practice. It is understood that the services provided by such brokers may be useful to the Adviser in connection with its or its affiliates’ services to other clients.
     (c) Aggregated Transactions . On occasions when the Adviser deems the purchase or sale of a security or futures contract to be in the best interest of a Fund as well as other clients of the Adviser, the Adviser may, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulations, aggregate the orders for securities or futures contracts to be sold or purchased. In such event, the Adviser will allocate securities or futures contracts so purchased or sold, as well as the expenses incurred in the transaction, in the manner the Adviser reasonably considers to be equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations to the Fund and to such other clients under the circumstances.
     (d) Affiliated Brokers . The Adviser or any of its affiliates may act as broker in connection with the purchase or sale of securities or other investments for a Fund, subject to: (i) the requirement that the Adviser seek to obtain best execution and price within the policy guidelines determined by the Board and set forth in the Fund’s current prospectus and Statement of Additional Information; (ii) the provisions of the 1940 Act; (iii) the provisions of the Advisers Act; (iv) the provisions of the 1934 Act; and (v) other provisions of applicable law. These brokerage services are not within the scope of the duties of the Adviser under this Agreement. Subject to the requirements of applicable law and any procedures adopted by the Board, the Adviser or its affiliates may receive brokerage commissions, fees or other remuneration from a Fund for these services in addition to the Adviser’s fees for services under this Agreement.
      5. Allocation of Charges and Expenses. The Adviser will bear its own costs of providing services hereunder. The Adviser agrees to pay all expenses incurred by the Trust except for interest, taxes, brokerage and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, extraordinary or non-routine expenses, and distribution fees and expenses paid by the Trust under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.

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      6. Representations, Warranties and Covenants. Each party represents and warrants to the other party that this Agreement has been duly authorized and executed by such party and, assuming due authorization and execution by the other party, constitutes such party’s legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against such party in accordance with its terms. The Adviser further represents and warrants to, and covenants with, the Trust as follows:
     (a) Properly Registered . The Adviser is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act, is subject to no statutory disqualification from such registration, and will remain so registered and will avoid such disqualification for the duration of this Agreement. The Adviser is not prohibited by the Advisers Act or the 1940 Act from performing the services contemplated by this Agreement, and to the best knowledge of the Adviser, there is no proceeding or investigation that is reasonably likely to result in the Adviser being prohibited from performing the services contemplated by this Agreement. The Adviser agrees to promptly notify the Trust of the occurrence of any event that would disqualify the Adviser from serving as an investment adviser to an investment company. The Adviser is in compliance in all material respects with all applicable federal and state law in connection with its investment management operations.
     (b) ADV Disclosure . The Adviser has provided the Trust with a copy of its Part I of Form ADV as most recently filed with the Commission and its current Part II of Form ADV. The Adviser will provide the Trust with a current Form ADV at least once per year. The information contained in the Adviser’s Form ADV as amended from time to time is and will remain accurate and complete in all material respects and does not and will not omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
     (c) Fund Disclosure Documents . The Adviser has reviewed and will in the future review, the Registration Statement, and any amendments or supplements thereto, the annual or semi-annual reports to shareholders, and other reports filed with the Commission (collectively the “Disclosure Documents”) and represents and warrants that, with respect to disclosure about the Adviser, the manner in which the Adviser manages the Fund or information relating directly or indirectly to the Adviser, such Disclosure Documents contain or will contain, as of the date thereof, no untrue statement of any material fact and does not or will not omit, as of the date thereof, any statement of material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements contained therein not misleading.
     (d) Use Of The Name “Schwab”. The Adviser has and shall have the right to use the name “Schwab” in connection with its services to the Trust and, subject to the terms set forth in section 7 of this Agreement, the Trust has and shall have the right to use the name “Schwab” in connection with the management and operation of the Funds. The Adviser is not aware of any threatened or existing actions, claims, litigation or proceedings that would adversely effect or prejudice the rights of the Adviser or the Trust to use the name “Schwab”.

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     (e) Insurance. The Adviser maintains errors and omissions insurance coverage in an appropriate amount and shall provide prior written notice to the Trust (i) of any material changes in its insurance policies or insurance coverage or (ii) if any material claims will be made on its insurance policies. Furthermore, the Adviser shall upon reasonable request provide the Trust with any information it may reasonably require concerning the amount of or scope of such insurance.
     (f) No Detrimental Agreement . The Adviser represents and warrants that it has no arrangement or understanding with any person, other than the Trust, that would influence the decision of the Adviser with respect to its selection of securities for a Fund, and that all selections shall be done in accordance with what is in the best interest of the Fund.
     (g) Conflicts . The Adviser shall act honestly, in good faith and in the best interests of the Trust including requiring any of its personnel with knowledge of Fund activities to place the interest of the Fund first, ahead of their own interests, in all personal trading scenarios that may involve a conflict of interest with the Funds, consistent with fiduciary duties under applicable law.
     (h) Bring-Down . The representations and warranties in this section 6 shall be deemed to be made not only on the date that this Agreement is executed, but also at the time of delivery of the quarterly compliance report required by section 3(a), whether or not specifically referenced in such report.
      7. The Name “Schwab”. The Adviser grants to the Trust a sublicense to use the name “Schwab” (the “Name”) as part of the name of any Fund. The foregoing authorization by the Adviser to the Trust to use the Name as part of the name of any Fund is not exclusive of the right of the Adviser itself to use, or to authorize others to use, the Name; the Trust acknowledges and agrees that, as between the Trust and the Adviser, the Adviser has the right to use, or authorize others to use, the Name. The Trust shall (1) only use the Name in a manner consistent with uses approved by the Adviser, (2) use its best efforts to maintain the quality of the services offered using the Name and (3) adhere to such other specific quality control standards as the Adviser may from time to time promulgate. At the request of the Adviser, the Trust will: (a) submit to Adviser representative samples of any promotional materials using the Name; and (b) change the name of any Fund within three months of its receipt of the Adviser’s request, or such other shorter time period as may be required under the terms of a settlement agreement or court order, so as to eliminate all reference to the Name and will not thereafter transact any business using the Name in the name of any Fund.
      8. Adviser’s Compensation. The Funds shall pay to the Adviser, as compensation for the Adviser’s services hereunder, a fee, determined as described in Schedule A that is attached hereto and made a part hereof. Such fee shall be computed daily and paid not less than monthly in arrears by the Funds. The method for determining net assets of a Fund for purposes hereof shall be the same as the method for determining net assets for purposes of establishing the offering and redemption prices of Fund shares as described in the Fund’s prospectus. In the

7


 

event of termination of this Agreement, the fee provided in this section shall be computed on the basis of the period ending on the last business day on which this Agreement is in effect subject to a pro rata adjustment based on the number of calendar days elapsed in the current month as a percentage of the total number of calendar days in such month.
      9. Independent Contractor. In the performance of its duties hereunder, the Adviser is and shall be an independent contractor and, unless otherwise expressly provided herein or otherwise authorized in writing, shall have no authority to act for or represent the Trust or any Fund in any way or otherwise be deemed to be an agent of the Trust or any Fund. If any occasion should arise in which the Adviser gives any advice to its clients concerning the shares of a Fund, the Adviser will act solely as investment counsel for such clients and not in any way on behalf of the Fund.
      10. No Assignment. This Agreement shall automatically terminate, without payment of penalty in the event of its assignment (as defined in section 2(a)(4) of the 1940 Act); provided that termination shall not relieve the Adviser of any liability incurred hereunder.
      11. Entire Agreement and Amendments.
     (a) This Agreement represents the entire agreement among the parties with regard to the investment management matters described herein and may not be added to or changed orally and may not be modified or rescinded except by a writing signed by the parties hereto except as otherwise noted herein and in accordance with the 1940 Act, as applicable.
     (b) Any amendment to this Agreement shall become effective with respect to a Fund upon the approval of the Adviser, the Board of the Trust, including a majority of Trustees of the Trust who are not “interested person” of the Trust or the Adviser (as defined in the 1940 Act), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting such approval and, if required under the 1940 Act, a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund.
     (c) Any approval, amendment, or termination of this Agreement with respect to a Fund will not require the approval of any other Fund or the approval of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust, unless such approval is required by applicable law.
      12. Duration and Termination.
     (a) Termination of this Agreement pursuant to this section shall be without payment of any penalty. In the event of termination of this Agreement for any reason, the Adviser shall, immediately upon notice of termination or on such later date as may be specified in such notice, cease all activity on behalf of the Fund and with respect to any of its assets, except as otherwise required by any fiduciary duties of the Adviser under applicable law. In addition, the Adviser shall deliver the Fund Books and Records to the

8


 

Trust by such means and in accordance with such schedule as the Trust shall direct and shall otherwise cooperate, as reasonably directed by the Trust, in the transition of portfolio asset management to any successor of the Adviser.
     (b) This Agreement shall become effective as of the date executed and shall remain in full force and effect continually thereafter, subject to renewal as provided in subparagraph (e), unless terminated automatically as set forth in Section 10 hereof or until terminated as provided in subparagraph (c) (d) or (e).
     (c) The Trust may cause this Agreement to terminate either by vote of its Board or, with respect to any Fund, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
     (d) The Adviser may at any time terminate this Agreement by not more than sixty (60) days’ nor less than thirty (30) days’ written notice delivered or mailed by registered mail, postage prepaid, to the Trust.
     (e) This Agreement shall automatically terminate two years from the date of its execution unless its renewal is specifically approved at least annually thereafter by (i) a majority vote of the Trustees, including a majority vote of such Trustees who are not interested persons of the Trust or the Adviser, at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval; or (ii) the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each Fund; provided, however, that if the continuance of this Agreement is submitted to the shareholders of the Funds for their approval and such shareholders fail to approve such continuance of this Agreement as provided herein, then the Adviser may continue to serve hereunder as to the Funds in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
      13. Certain Definitions. For the purposes of this Agreement:
     (a) The expression “affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meaning set forth in the 1940 Act, subject, however, to such exemptions as may be granted by the Commission under the 1940 Act or any interpretations of the Commission staff.
     (b) The terms “interested persons” and “assignment” shall have their respective meanings set forth in the 1940 Act, subject, however, to such exemptions as may be granted by the Commission under the 1940 Act or any interpretations of the Commission staff.
      14. Liability of the Adviser. The Adviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, the Funds and all affiliated persons thereof (within the meaning of section 2(a)(3) of the 1940 Act) and all controlling persons thereof (as described in section 15 of the 1933 Act) against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including reasonable legal and other expenses) incurred in any action, suit, proceeding or investigation as and when incurred by any

9


 

of them by reason of or arising out of willful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence, or by reason of or arising out of any violation of law, by the Adviser in the performance of its duties hereunder. The Adviser will not be liable to the Trust or to any Fund, or to any affiliated person or controlling person of any of them, for any loss, claim, damage or liability incurred by any of them in any action, suit, proceeding or investigation, or otherwise, by reason of or arising out of any investment decision, recommendation or other action taken or omitted by the Adviser under this Agreement lawfully, in good faith and in the absence of gross negligence.
      15. Enforceability. Any term or provision of this Agreement which is invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability without rendering invalid or unenforceable the remaining terms or provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement in any other jurisdiction.
      16. Limitation of Liability. The parties to this Agreement acknowledge and agree that all litigation arising hereunder, whether direct or indirect, and of any and every nature whatsoever, shall be satisfied solely out of the assets of the affected Fund and that no Trustee, officer or employee or holder of shares of beneficial interest of the Fund or the Trust shall be personally liable for any of the foregoing liabilities. The Trust’s Certificate of Trust, as amended from time to time, is on file in the Office of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. Such Certificate of Trust and the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust describe in detail the respective responsibilities and limitations on liability of such Trustees, officers, employees and holders of shares of beneficial interest.
      17. Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive laws of the State of California and the Adviser consents to the jurisdiction of courts, both state or federal, in California, with respect to any dispute under this Agreement.
      18. Paragraph Headings. The headings of paragraphs contained in this Agreement are provided for convenience only, form no part of this Agreement and shall not affect its construction.
      19. Services Not Exclusive. The services of the Adviser to the Trust hereunder are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Adviser shall be free to render similar services to others so long as its services hereunder are not impaired thereby.
      20. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed simultaneously in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
[SIGNATURES FOLLOW ON NEXT PAGE]

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     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this instrument to be signed on their behalf by their duly authorized officers as of the date first above written.
         
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST,    
on behalf of each Fund listed on Schedule A    
 
       
By:
  /s/ George M. Pereira    
 
 
 
Name: George M. Pereira
   
 
  Title: Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer    
 
       
CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC.    
 
       
By:
  /s/ Randall W. Merk    
 
 
 
Name: Randall W. Merk
   
 
  Title: President and Chief Executive Officer    

11


 

SCHEDULE A
to the
ADVISORY AGREEMENT
dated as of October 12, 2009 between
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
and
CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC.
The Trust will pay to the Adviser as compensation for the Adviser’s services rendered, a fee, computed daily, at an annual rate, based on the average daily net assets of the respective Fund, in accordance the following fee schedule:
     
Fund   Rate
Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
  0.08%*
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF
  0.08%*
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF
  0.15%*
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF
  0.15%*
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
  0.15%*
Schwab International Equity ETF
  0.15%*
Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF
  0.35%*
Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF
  0.35%*
 
*   The Adviser will pay the operating expenses of the Fund, excluding interest expense, taxes, any brokerage expenses, future distribution fees or expenses (i.e., Rule 12b-1 fees), and extraordinary or non-routine expenses.

A-1

Ex - (e)
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
THIS DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made as of this 12 th day of October 2009, by and between Schwab Strategic Trust (the “ Company” ), an open-end investment management company organized as a Delaware statutory trust, and SEI Investments Distribution Co. (the “ Distributor ”), a Pennsylvania corporation.
WHEREAS, the Company is registered as an investment company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ SEC ”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “ 1940 Act ”), and its shares of beneficial interest (“ Shares ”) are registered with the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ 1933 Act ”); and
WHEREAS, the Distributor is registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ 1934 Act ”) and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“ FINRA ”); and
WHEREAS, the Company intends to create and redeem groups of Shares of each class or series of the Company identified on Schedule A hereto, which may be amended by the parties pursuant to Section 9.15 of this Agreement to add groups of Shares of other classes or series of the Company (each such class or series appearing on Schedule A at any time being a “ Fund ” and all such classes and series being the “ Funds ” subject to this Agreement at that time) on a continuous basis at their net asset value only in aggregations constituting Creation Units (as defined in the Company’s Registration Statement); and
WHEREAS, the Shares of each Fund will be listed on one or more national securities exchanges (together, the “ Listing Exchanges ”);
WHEREAS, the Company desires to retain the Distributor to act as the distributor with respect to the issuance and distribution of Creation Units of each Fund, hold itself available to receive and process orders for such Creation Units in the manner set forth herein, and to enter into arrangements with broker-dealers who may break apart such Creation Units in order to solicit purchases of Shares as and in the manner provided in the Company’s Registration Statement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants hereinafter contained and intending to be legally bound, the parties hereby agree as follows:
SECTION 1 APPOINTMENT
The Company hereby appoints Distributor as its primary but non-exclusive distributor of Creation Units of the Funds and to provide other services in accordance with the terms set forth in this Agreement. Distributor accepts such appointment and agrees to furnish certain related services as set forth in this Agreement. Company shall timely perform all material obligations identified in this Agreement as obligations of the Company, including, without limitation, providing the Distributor with all marketing materials reasonably requested by the Distributor and giving all necessary consents or approvals in good faith and within a timely manner. Company will notify the Distributor as soon as reasonably practical in advance of any matter which could materially affect the Distributor’s performance of its duties and obligations under this Agreement, including any amendment to the Prospectus or Sales Materials (each as defined in Section 2 , below). Company will provide Distributor with a copy of each Prospectus as soon as reasonably possible prior to or contemporaneously with filing the same with an applicable regulatory body and with all Sales Materials as early as practical prior to their first use. Company will cooperate with requests from government regulators and the Distributor for information relating to customers and/or transactions involving the Creation Units, as permitted by law, in order for the Distributor to comply with its regulatory obligations. In the event Company, in its sole discretion, determines that it is in the interest of the Company to suspend or terminate the sale of any Creation Units, the Company shall promptly notify the Distributor of such fact in advance and in writing prior to the date on which the Company desires to cease offering the Creation Units.
     
Distribution Agreement (Exchange-Traded Fund)
  Page 1
SEI 107938v10 (Rev. 6/2009)
   
THIS DOCUMENT CONSTITUTES CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF
SEI INVESTMENTS DISTRIBUTION CO.

 


 

SECTION 2 SOLICITATION OF SALES AND OTHER SERVICES
     2.01 Solicitation of Sales . The Company grants to Distributor the right to sell its Creation Units authorized for issue at the applicable net asset value, in accordance with the Prospectus, as agent and on behalf of the Company, during the term of this Agreement and subject to the registration requirements of the 1933 Act, the rules and regulations of the SEC and the laws governing the sale of securities in the various states (“ Blue Sky Laws ”). In consideration of these rights granted to the Distributor, the Distributor agrees to use its best efforts in connection with the distribution of Creation Units of the Trust on a continuous basis; provided, however, that the Distributor shall not be prevented from entering into like arrangements with other issuers. As used in this Agreement, the term, “ Prospectus ” means any prospectus, registration statement, statement of additional information, proxy solicitation and tender offer materials, annual or other periodic report of the Company or any Fund of the Company including all amendments or supplements thereto. As used in this Agreement, “ Sales Materials ” means any advertising, marketing, shareholder communication, or promotional material generated by the Company or its investment adviser from time to time.
     2.02 Other Services . Without limiting the foregoing, the Distributor will perform or supervise the performance by others of the services set forth herein, including those set forth in Schedule B hereto. If the Distributor delegates any obligations hereunder, it shall be solely responsible for ensuring all such delegates comply with all relevant terms of this Agreement and any non-compliance of such parties shall constitute a breach by Distributor.
SECTION 3 REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS
     3.01 Representations, Warranties and Covenants of the Company . The Company represents, warrants and covenants that:
          (a) it is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the state of its formation, and has all requisite power under the laws of such state and applicable federal law to conduct its business as now being conducted and to perform its obligations as contemplated by this Agreement;
          (b) this Agreement has been duly authorized by the board of trustees of the Company and, when executed and delivered by the Company, will constitute a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms;
          (c) it is not a party to any, and there are no, pending or threatened legal, administrative, arbitral or other proceedings, claims, actions or governmental or regulatory investigations or inquiries (collectively, “ Actions ”) of any nature against it, its advisor or its properties or assets which are expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material effect upon its ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement;
          (d) it is an investment company that is duly registered under all applicable laws and regulations, including, without limitation the 1940 Act, and each Fund is a separate series of the Company;
          (e) each Prospectus and piece of Sales Material has been prepared in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations and, at the time such Prospectus was filed with the SEC and became effective, no Prospectus will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact that is required to be stated therein so as to make the statements contained in such Prospectus not misleading;
     
Distribution Agreement (Exchange-Traded Fund)
  Page 2
SEI 107938v10 (Rev. 6/2009)
   
THIS DOCUMENT CONSTITUTES CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF
SEI INVESTMENTS DISTRIBUTION CO.

 


 

     3.02 Representations, Warranties and Covenants of Distributor . Distributor hereby represents, warrants and covenants that:
          (a) it has full power, right and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby have been duly and validly approved by all requisite actions on its part, and no other proceedings on its part are necessary to approve this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by it; this Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties;
          (b) all activities by Distributor and its partners, agents, and employees as distributor of the Creation Units of the Company shall comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, including, without limitation, all rules and regulations made or adopted pursuant to the 1940 Act by the SEC;
          (c) it is not a party to any, and there are no, pending or threatened Actions of any nature against it or its properties or assets which are expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material effect upon its ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Actions involving certain leveraged exchange traded funds for whom Distributor serves as distributor and which the parties have discussed;
          (d) it is a member of FINRA and agrees to abide by all of the rules and regulations of FINRA, including, without limitation, its Conduct Rules. The Distributor agrees to comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations. The Distributor agrees to notify the Company immediately in the event of its expulsion or suspension by FINRA. Expulsion of the Distributor by FINRA will automatically terminate this Agreement immediately without notice. Suspension of the Distributor by FINRA will terminate this Agreement effective immediately upon written notice of termination to the Distributor from the Company;
          (e) its anti-money laundering program (“ AML Program ”), at a minimum, (i) designates a compliance officer to administer and oversee the AML Program, (ii) provides ongoing employee training, (iii) includes an independent audit function to test the effectiveness of the AML Program, (iv) establishes internal policies, procedures, and controls that are tailored to its particular business, (v) includes a customer identification program consistent with the rules under Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act, (vi) provides for the filing of all necessary anti-money laundering reports including, but not limited to, currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports, (vii) provides for screening all new and existing customers against the Office of Foreign Asset Control list and any other government list that is or becomes required under the USA PATRIOT Act, and (viii) allows for appropriate regulators to examine its anti-money laundering books and records. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust acknowledges that the Authorized Participants (that is, a person authorized to purchase and redeem aggregations of a specified number of Shares of any Fund in accordance with the exemptive order noted below) are not “customers” for the purposes of 31 CFR 103;
          (f) (i) it has in place compliance policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure compliance with the Federal Securities Laws as that term is defined in Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act; (ii) it will upon request provide reports and certifications in a mutually agreed upon form to the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer regarding the foregoing, and (iii) it will maintain appropriate records in accordance with Rule 38a-1;
          (g) to the extent practicable and to the extent such documents are provided to the Distributor in advance, it will comply with any requirements of the Company’s registration statement, including any exemptive order’s issued to the Company;
     
Distribution Agreement (Exchange-Traded Fund)
  Page 3
SEI 107938v10 (Rev. 6/2009)
   
THIS DOCUMENT CONSTITUTES CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF
SEI INVESTMENTS DISTRIBUTION CO.

 


 

          (h) to the extent practicable and to the extent such document is provided to the Distributor in advance, the Distributor will comply with the Company’s portfolio holdings disclosure policy in the event that the Distributor has access to the Company’s portfolio holdings prior to their public dissemination (such information shall in any event be treated as Confidential Information pursuant to Section 9.11 );
          (i) it is not an “affiliated person” (as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended) with any Listing Exchanges or any underlying index provider for any Fund.
          (j) it shall not give any information or make any representations other than those contained in the current Prospectus or Sales Materials of the Company filed with the SEC or contained in shareholder reports or other material that may be prepared by or on behalf of the Company for the Distributor’s use; and
          (k) it may prepare and distribute sales literature and other material as it may deem appropriate, provided that such literature and materials have been prepared in accordance with applicable rules and regulations, and, if necessary, filed with the appropriate regulatory agency and approved by the Company prior to use. Any use of Company’s names, logos, trademarks, and service marks shall be subject to Company’s prior written authorization, as described in Section 9.01 .
     3.03 Disclaimer . EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN THIS SECTION 3 , EACH PARTY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS AND IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
SECTION 4 REGISTRATION OF SHARES
The Company agrees that it will take all action necessary to register or qualify Shares under the federal and state securities laws so that there will be available for sale the number of Shares necessary in connection with the number of Creation Units the Distributor may reasonably be expected to sell and to pay all fees associated with said registration. The Company will make available to the Distributor such number of copies of its Prospectus and Sales Materials as the Distributor may reasonably request. The Company will furnish to the Distributor copies of all information, financial statements and other papers which the Distributor may reasonably request for use in connection with the distribution of Creation Units of the Company. The Distributor shall deliver copies of the Prospectus of the Company as then amended or supplemented (or where appropriate, the product description, as approved by the Distributor, in lieu of such Prospectus) to authorized participants (and, upon request, copies of the statement of additional information), except where such delivery is not required by applicable law. In addition, the Distributor shall ensure that all requests to the Distributor for prospectuses and statements of additional information are fulfilled by providing information regarding such fulfillment requests to the relevant party designated by the Company.
SECTION 5 AGREEMENTS WITH AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANTS
The Distributor will enter into agreements (each, an “ Authorized Participant Agreement ”) with authorized participants for the creation and redemption of Creation Units of a Fund. Each authorized participant shall be a registered broker/dealer, a clearing agency registered with the SEC or a participant in the system for book-entry of the Depository Trust Company. Distributor shall only enter into Authorized Participant Agreements with participants who have been approved in writing by Company. Each Authorized Participant Agreement will include such terms and conditions as the Distributor and the Company’s investment advisor deem necessary or appropriate from time to time.
     
Distribution Agreement (Exchange-Traded Fund)
  Page 4
SEI 107938v10 (Rev. 6/2009)
   
THIS DOCUMENT CONSTITUTES CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF
SEI INVESTMENTS DISTRIBUTION CO.

 


 

SECTION 6 EXPENSES
     6.01 Company Expenses . The Company will pay or cause its investment advisor to pay all fees and expenses (i) in connection with the preparation, setting in type and filing of any Prospectus or Sales Materials under the 1933 Act and amendments for the issue of its Shares or Creation Units; (ii) in connection with the qualification of Shares for sale in the various states in which the board of trustees of the Company will determine advisable to qualify such Shares for sale; (iii) of preparing, setting in type, printing and mailing any report or other communication to shareholders or authorized participants of the Company in their capacity as such; (iv) in connection with printing and mailing any Prospectus or Sales Materials to Distributor and (v) all other expenses incurred in connection with the issuance of the Shares and the Creation Units and listing of the Shares on the Listing Exchanges.
     6.02 Distributor Expenses . The Distributor shall bear the following costs and expenses relating to the distribution of Creation Units of the Funds: (1) the costs of processing and maintaining records of creations of Creation Units; (2) the costs of maintaining the records required of a broker-dealer under the 1934 Act; (3) the expenses of maintaining its registration or qualification as a dealer or broker under federal or state laws; and (4) all other expenses incurred in connection with the distribution services contemplated herein, except as the parties mutually agree or as specifically provided in this Agreement or the Services Agreement, dated October 9, 2009 (“ Services Agreement ”) between the Distributor and the Company’s investment advisor.
SECTION 7 INDEMNIFICATION AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
     7.01 Third Party Indemnification of Distributor .
          (a) The Company agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless, the Distributor, each of its directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls the Distributor within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act from and against any loss, liability, claim, damages or expense, arising from a claim by a third party based upon (i) any person acquiring any Shares, based upon the ground that the Prospectus, any Sales Materials, a shareholder report or other information filed or made public by the Company (as from time to time amended) included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated or necessary in order to make the statements made not misleading; provided, however, that such indemnification shall not apply to the extent that such statement or omission was made in reasonable reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of the Distributor; or (ii) Company’s breach of this Agreement.
          (b) In no case (i) will this Section apply in any way to protect the Distributor against any liability to the Company or its Shareholders to which the Distributor or such person otherwise would be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of breach of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or (ii) shall the Company have any obligation under this Section with respect to any claim made against the Distributor or any person indemnified unless the Distributor or other person will have notified the Company in writing of the claim within a reasonable time after the summons or other first written notification giving information of the nature of the claim will have been served upon the Distributor or such other person (or after the Distributor or the person will have received notice of service on any designated agent).
          (c) The Company will also not indemnify any indemnitee with respect to any untrue statement or omission made in the registration statement or prospectus with respect to Shares purchased after the effective date of such updated registration statement or prospectus (or an amendment thereof or supplement thereof) if an updated copy of the prospectus (or such amendment or supplement) that does not contain such untrue statement or omission was provided by the Company to the Distributor and the Distributor did not send or give such updated prospectus (or amendment or supplement) to the authorized participant asserting any such loss, liability, claim, damage or expense at or before the written purchase confirmation to such authorized participant in any case where such delivery is required by the 1933 Act
     
Distribution Agreement (Exchange-Traded Fund)
  Page 5
SEI 107938v10 (Rev. 6/2009)
   
THIS DOCUMENT CONSTITUTES CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF
SEI INVESTMENTS DISTRIBUTION CO.

 


 

and the Company had notified the Distributor of the amendment or supplement within a reasonable period of time prior to the sending of the confirmation.
          (d) With respect to each Action for which the Company indemnifies the Distributor pursuant to this Section, the Company will assume all costs and expenses in the defense and shall have sole control of the defense and settlement negotiations. Distributor shall reasonably cooperate with Company in the defense, at Company’s sole expense. The indemnifying party shall not enter into any stipulated judgment or settlement that purports to bind the indemnified party without the indemnified party’s express written authorization, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. In the event that the Company fails to retain counsel in connection with the defense of a matter entitled to indemnification hereunder or the counsel retained is unwilling or unable to represent both the Company and the Distributor, either (a) the Company will select new counsel that is capable of representing both the Company and the Distributor or (b) the Distributor shall be entitled to retain separate counsel, at the Company’s expense, in connection with the Distributor’s defense of the applicable Action.
          (e) The Distributor agrees to notify the Company promptly of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against it or any of its officers in connection with the issue and sale of any of the Company’s Shares.
     7.02 Third Party Indemnification of the Company .
          (a) The Distributor agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Company, each of its trustees and officers and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act, from and against any loss, liability, damages, claim or expense, arising from a claim by a third party based upon (i) the 1933 Act or any other statute or common law and arising by reason of any person acquiring any Shares and alleging a wrongful act of the Distributor or any of its employees or alleging that the Prospectus, any Sales Materials, a shareholder report or other information filed or made public by the Company (as from time to time amended) included an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated or necessary in order to make the statements not misleading, insofar as the statement or omission was made in reasonable reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of the Distributor; or (ii) Distributor’s breach of this Agreement.
          (b) In no case (i) will this Section apply in any way to protect the Company or any other person against any liability to which the Company or such other person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its breach of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or (ii) shall the Distributor have any obligation under this Section with respect to any claim made against the Company or any person indemnified unless the Company or person, as the case may be, will have notified the Distributor in writing of the claim within a reasonable time after the summons or other first written notification giving information of the nature of the claim will have been served upon the Company or upon any person (or after the Company or such person will have received notice of service on any designated agent).
          (c) With respect to each Action for which the Distributor indemnifies the Company pursuant to this Section, the Distributor will assume all costs and expenses in the defense and shall have sole control of the defense and settlement negotiations. Company shall reasonably cooperate with Distributor in the defense, at Distributor’s sole expense. The indemnifying party shall not enter into any stipulated judgment or settlement that purports to bind the indemnified party without the indemnified party’s express written authorization, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. In the event that the Distributor fails to retain counsel in connection with the defense of a matter entitled to indemnification hereunder or the counsel retained is unwilling or unable to represent both the Distributor and the Company, either (a) the Distributor will select pew counsel that is capable of representing both the Distributor and the Company or (b) the Company shall be entitled to retain separate counsel, at the Distributor’s expense, in connection with the Company’s defense of the applicable Action.
     
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          (d) The Company agrees to notify the Distributor promptly of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against it or any of its officers or trustees in connection with the issuance or sale of any of its Shares.
     7.03 Consequential Damages . Except with regard to a breach of Section 9.11 , in no event and under no circumstances will either party to this Agreement be liable to anyone, including, without limitation, the other party, for consequential damages for any act or failure to act under any provision of this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, consequential damages awarded to or agreed to in settlement by the indemnifying party with a third party in connection with an indemnity obligation under this Agreement shall be deemed “direct damages” for purposes of this Section 7.03 .
SECTION 8 TERM AND TERMINATION
     8.01 Term . This Agreement will be effective upon its execution, and, unless terminated as provided, will continue in force for two years and thereafter from year to year, provided that such annual continuance is approved by (i) either the vote of a majority of the board of trustees of the Company or the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each Fund and (ii) the vote of a majority of those trustees of the Company who are not parties to this Agreement, to any other distribution agreement relative to any securities of any Fund, or to the Company’s distribution plan for any Fund, or interested persons of any such party (the “ Qualified Trustees ”) cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the approval.
     8.02 Termination . This Agreement may be terminated at any time without penalty by a vote of a majority of the Qualified Trustees or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company upon not less than sixty days prior written notice to the other party. This Agreement shall automatically terminate upon its assignment. As used in this paragraph, the terms “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities,” “assignment” and “interested person” will have the respective meanings specified in the 1940 Act. In the event the Company gives notice of termination, all expenses associated with the movement (or duplication) of records and materials and conversion thereof to a successor service provider, and all trailing expenses incurred by Distributor, will be borne by the Company. This Agreement may be terminated by the Distributor without penalty only upon termination of the Services Agreement in accordance with its terms. Either party may terminate this Agreement on written notice to the other party if the other party is in material breach of its obligations hereunder and fails to cure the breach within thirty (30) days of such written notice. In addition, either party may, in its sole discretion, elect to terminate this Agreement on written notice to the other party upon the bankruptcy or insolvency of the other party or upon the commencing voluntary or involuntary winding up, or upon the filing of any petition seeking the winding up of the other party. The following Sections shall survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement: 7, 8, and 9.
SECTION 9 MISCELLANEOUS
     9.01 Publicity . During the term and at all times after the termination or expiration of this Agreement, Distributor shall not make any media release or other public announcement relating to or referring to this Agreement without the written consent of Company. Distributor shall acquire no right to use, and shall not use, without Company’s prior written consent, the terms or existence of this Agreement, the names, trade names, trademarks, service marks, artwork, designs, or copyrighted materials, of Company, its related or subsidiary companies, parent, employees, trustees, shareholders, assigns, successors or licensees: (a) in any advertising, publicity, press release, client list, presentation or promotion; (b) to express or to imply any endorsement of Distributor or Distributor’s services; or (c) in any manner other than expressly in accordance with this Agreement. The foregoing shall not limit disclosures that may be mandated by applicable law, but only to the extent such disclosure is expressly required for compliance.
     9.02 Records . The books and records pertaining to the Company, which are in the
     
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possession or under the control of Distributor, will be the property of the Company. Such books and records will be prepared and maintained as required under the 1940 Act and other applicable securities laws, rules and regulations. The Company and its authorized persons will have access to such books and records at all times during the Distributor’s normal business hours. Upon the reasonable request of the Company, the Distributor will provide copies of such books and records to the Company or its authorized persons, at the Company’s expense. Distributor agrees to cooperate with the Company to assist Company in providing materials for and preparing, upon Company’s reasonable request, materials related to the services provided by the Distributor herein that are required by applicable law or regulation to be presented to the Company’s board of trustees.
     9.03 Independent Contractor . The Distributor will undertake and discharge its obligations hereunder as an independent contractor. Neither Distributor nor any of its officers, directors, employees or representatives is or will be an employee of a Fund in connection with the performance of Distributor’s duties hereunder. Distributor will be responsible for its own conduct and the employment, control, compensation and conduct of its agents and employees, and for any injury to such agents or employees or to others through its agents and employees. Any obligations of Distributor hereunder may be performed by one or more third parties or affiliates of Distributor.
     9.04 Notices . All notices provided for or permitted under this Agreement will be deemed effective upon receipt, and will be in writing and (a) delivered personally, (b) sent by commercial overnight courier with written verification of receipt, or (c) sent by certified or registered U.S. mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested, to the party to be notified, at the address for such party set forth below. Notices to the Distributor will be sent to the attention of: General Counsel, SEI Investments Distribution Co., 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, Pennsylvania 19456. Notices to the Company will be sent to the attention of: George M. Pereira, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer, Schwab Strategic Trust, 211 Main Street, San Francisco, California 94105, with a copy to Koji E. Felton, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Charles Schwab & Co., 211 Main Street, San Francisco, California 94105.
     9.05 Dispute Resolution . Whenever either party desires to institute legal proceedings against the other party concerning this Agreement, it will provide written notice to that effect to such other party. The party providing such notice will refrain from instituting said legal proceedings for a period of thirty (30) days following the date of provision of such notice. During such period, the parties will attempt in good faith to amicably resolve their dispute by negotiation among their executive officers.
     9.06 Entire Agreement; Amendments . This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties hereto and supersedes any prior agreement, draft or agreement or proposal with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement or any part hereof may be amended or waived only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of such amendment or waiver is sought.
     9.07 Governing Law . This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Delaware without giving effect to any conflict of laws or choice of laws rules or principles thereof. To the extent that the applicable laws of the state of Delaware, or any of the provisions of this Agreement, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter will control.
     9.08 Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which will constitute one and the same instrument. Each such counterpart will be deemed an original, and it will not be necessary in making proof of this Agreement to produce or account for more than one such counterpart. This Agreement will be deemed executed by both parties when any one or more counterparts hereof or thereof, individually or taken together, bears the original, scanned or facsimile signatures of each of the parties.
     9.09 Force Majeure . No breach of any obligation of a party to this Agreement (other than obligations to pay amounts owed) will constitute an event of default or breach to the extent it arises out of
     
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a cause, existing or future, that is beyond the control and without negligence of the party otherwise chargeable with breach or default, including without limitation: war; act of terrorism, earthquake or natural disaster. Either party desiring to rely upon any of the foregoing as an excuse for default or breach will, when the cause arises, give to the other party prompt notice of the facts which constitute such cause; and, when the cause ceases to exist, give prompt notice thereof to the other party. If a force majeure prevents Distributor’s performance hereunder for more than thirty (30) days, Company may terminate this Agreement on written notice to Distributor.
     9.10 Severability . Any provision of this Agreement that is determined to be invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction will be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability in such jurisdiction, without rendering invalid or unenforceable the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction. If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provision of this Agreement to be invalid or unenforceable, the parties agree that the court making such determination will have the power to reduce the scope, duration, or area of the provision, to delete specific words or phrases, or to replace the provision with a provision that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to expressing the original intention of the parties, and this Agreement will be enforceable as so modified.
     9.11 Confidential information .
          (a) General . The Distributor and the Company (in such capacity, the “ Receiving Party ”) acknowledge and agree to maintain the confidentiality of Confidential Information (as hereinafter defined) provided by the Distributor and the Company (in such capacity, the “ Disclosing Party ”) in connection with this Agreement. The Receiving Party wilt not disclose or disseminate the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information to any Person other than those employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, subcontractors and licensees of the Receiving Party who have a need to know it in order to assist the Receiving Party in performing its obligations, or to permit the Receiving Party to exercise its rights under this Agreement. In addition, the Receiving Party (a) will take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access to the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, and (b) will not use the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, or authorize other persons to use the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, for any purposes other than in connection with performing its obligations or exercising its rights hereunder. As used herein, “reasonable steps” means steps that a party takes to protect its own, similarly confidential or proprietary information of a similar nature, which steps will in no event be less than a reasonable standard of care.
          (b) Confidential Information . The term “ Confidential Information ,” as used herein, will mean all business strategies, plans and procedures, proprietary information, methodologies, data and trade secrets, and other confidential information and materials (including, without limitation, any non-public personal information as defined in Regulation S-P) of the Disclosing Party, its affiliates, their respective clients or suppliers, or other Persons with whom they do business, that may be obtained by the Receiving Party from any source or that may be developed as a result of this Agreement.
          (c) Exclusions . The provisions of this Section respecting Confidential Information will not apply to the extent, but only to the extent, that such Confidential Information is: (a) already known to the Receiving Party free of any restriction at the time it is obtained from the Disclosing Party, (b) subsequently learned from an independent third party free of any restriction and without breach of this Agreement; (c) or becomes publicly available through no wrongful act of the Receiving Party or any third party; (d) independently developed by or for the Receiving Party without reference to or use of any Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party; or (e) required to be disclosed pursuant to an applicable law, rule, regulation, government requirement or court order, or the rules of any stock exchange (provided, however, that the Receiving Party will advise the Disclosing Party (unless precluded by the applicable process from giving such notice) of such required disclosure promptly upon learning thereof in order to afford the Disclosing Party a reasonable opportunity to contest, limit and/or assist the Receiving Party in crafting such disclosure).
     
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          (d) Duties . The Receiving Party will advise its employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors and licensees, and will require its agents and affiliates to advise their employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors and licensees, of the Receiving Party’s obligations of confidentiality and non-use under this Section, and will be responsible for ensuring compliance by its and its affiliates’ employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors and licensees with such obligations. In addition, the Receiving Party will require all persons that are provided access to the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, other than the Receiving Party’s accountants and legal counsel, to execute confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements containing provisions substantially similar to those set forth in this Section. The Receiving Party will promptly notify the Disclosing Party in writing upon learning of any unauthorized disclosure or use of the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information by such persons.
          (e) Treatment of Confidential Information Upon Termination . Upon the Disclosing Party’s written request following the termination of this Agreement, the Receiving Party promptly will return to the Disclosing Party, or destroy, all Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party provided under or in connection with this Agreement, including all copies, portions and summaries thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, (a) the Receiving Party may retain one copy of each item of the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information for purposes of identifying and establishing its rights and obligations under this Agreement, for archival or audit purposes and/or to the extent required by applicable law, and (b) the Distributor will have no obligation to return or destroy Confidential Information of the Company that resides in save tapes of Distributor; provided, however, that in either case all such Confidential information retained by the Receiving Party will remain subject to the provisions of Section 9.11 for so long as it is so retained. If requested by the Disclosing Party, the Receiving Party will certify in writing its compliance with the provisions of this paragraph.
     9.12 Ownership . “ Company Intellectual Property ” shall mean any intellectual property provided by Company or its agents to Distributor for use in connection with this Agreement, including, but not limited to, any data, images, programming, computer code, photographs, illustrations, graphics, audio clips, video clips, or text. Distributor shall only use the Company Intellectual Property in the form provided by Company. Company hereby grants to Distributor, solely for the performance of this Agreement for Company’s benefit a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right to access, operate, and use the Company Intellectual Property. Except for the foregoing limited license, nothing contained herein shall be construed as granting Distributor any right, title, or interest, express or implied, in or to any Company intellectual Property. Company reserves all rights in the Company intellectual Property.
     9.13 Insurance . The Distributor agrees to maintain liability insurance coverage which is, in scope and amount, consistent with coverage customary in the industry for distribution activities similar to the distribution activities provided to the Company hereunder. The Distributor will notify the Company upon receipt of any notice of material, adverse change in the terms or provisions of its insurance coverage that may materially and adversely affect the Company’s rights hereunder. Such notification will include the date of change and the reason or reasons therefore. The Distributor will notify the Company of any material claims against it, whether or not covered by insurance that may materially and adversely affect the Company’s rights hereunder.
     9.14 Trustees’ Limitation of Liability . The names “Schwab Strategic Trust” and “Trustees of Schwab Strategic Trust” refer respectively to the Delaware statutory trust created (the “ Trust ”) and the Trustees, as trustees but not individually or personally, acting from time to time under a Declaration of Trust dated as of January 26, 2009 to which reference is hereby made and a certificate of the Trust is on file at the office of the Secretary of State of Delaware and elsewhere as required by law, and to any and all amendments thereto. The obligations of “Schwab Strategic Trust” entered into in the name or on behalf thereof by any of the Trustees, representatives or agents are made not individually, but in such capacities, and are not binding upon any of the Trustees, shareholders or representatives of the Trust personally, but bind only the assets of the Trust, and all persons dealing with any series of shares of the Trust must look solely to the assets of the Trust belonging to such series for the enforcement of any claims against the Trust.
     
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     9.15 Additional Funds . In the event that the Company establishes one or more classes or series of exchange-traded funds in addition to the Funds listed on Schedule A , with respect to which the Company desires to have the Distributor render services under the terms hereof, it shall so notify the Distributor in writing; and, if the Distributor agrees in writing to provide such services, then each such additional class or series shall become a Fund hereunder, and Schedule A shall thereupon be amended to add the name of each such new Fund.
     9.16 Use of Distributor’s Name . The Company will not use the name of the Distributor, or any of its affiliates, in any Prospectus, Sales Materials, and other material relating to the Company in any manner without the prior written consent of the Distributor (which will not be unreasonably withheld); provided, however, that the Distributor hereby approves all lawful uses of the names of the Distributor and its affiliates in the Prospectus and Sales Materials of the Company and in all other materials which merely refer in accurate terms to their appointment hereunder or which are required by applicable law, regulations or otherwise by the SEC, FINRA, or any state securities authority.
     9.17 Non-Solicitation . During the term of this Agreement and continuing through the first anniversary of the termination of this Agreement, neither party shall actively solicit any employee of the other party who has performed any material obligations under this Agreement, and with whom the hiring party has had direct contact under this Agreement, without the other party’s written consent. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither party shall be precluded from (i) hiring an employee of the other party who independently approaches the party, or (ii) conducting general recruiting activities, such as participation in job fairs or publishing advertisements in publications or on Web sites for general circulation. In the event of a violation of this provision, the hiring party’s sole and exclusive obligation, and the other party’s sole and exclusive remedy, shall be a one-time payment in the amount of twenty-five percent (25%) of the employee’s first year base salary.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company and Distributor have each duly executed this Agreement, as of the day and year above written.
                     
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST       SEI INVESTMENTS DISTRIBUTION CO.    
 
                   
By:
Name:
  /s/ Randall W. Merk
 
Randall W. Merk
      By:
Name:
  /s/ Maxine J. Chou
 
Maxine J. Chou
   
Title:
  CEO, CSIM       Title:   CFO & COO    
     
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SCHEDULE A
List of Funds
Schwab U.S Large-Cap ETF
Schwab U.S Large-Cap Value ETF
Schwab U.S Large-Cap Growth ETF
Schwab U.S Small-Cap ETF
Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF
Schwab International Equity ETF
Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF
Schwab U.S Broad Markets ETF
This Schedule A shall include any additional Funds launched throughout the term for which substantially similar services are provided by the Distributor.
     
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SCHEDULE B
List of Services
Contract Management
  Coordinate and execute Authorized Participant Agreements pursuant to Section 5 of this Agreement
FINRA Review
  Conduct timely FINRA filing of materials
 
  Respond timely to FINRA comments on marketing materials
 
  Provide copy of such FINRA comments to Company promptly upon receipt
Other Services
  Forward any complaints concerning the Company received by the Distributor to the Company, assist in resolving such complaints, and maintain a log of such complaints as required by applicable law;
 
  Keep and maintain all books and records relating to the services provided by the Distributor in accordance with applicable law.
     
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Ex - (g)(2)
Amendment to Amended and Restated Master Custodian Agreement
     This Amendment to Amended and Restated Master Custodian Agreement is made as of October 8, 2009 (the “Amendment Effective Date”) by and among each management investment company identified on Appendix A hereto (each such investment company shall hereinafter be referred to as a “Fund” ) and State Street Bank and Trust Company, a Massachusetts trust company (the “Custodian” ). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in that certain Amended and Restated Master Custodian Agreement made as of October 17, 2005 (the “Custodian Agreement” ).
Witnesseth:
      Whereas, certain of the Funds and the Custodian entered into the Custodian Agreement pursuant to which the Custodian provides certain custodial services to such Funds;
      Whereas, the Funds listed on Appendix B hereto (collectively, the “Schwab ETFs” ), which are exchange traded funds, will issue and redeem shares of each Portfolio only in aggregations of Shares known as “Creation Units,” generally in exchange for a basket of certain equity or fixed income securities and a specified cash payment, as more fully described in the currently effective prospectus and statement of additional information of the Schwab ETF Fund related to the Portfolio (collectively, the “Prospectus” );
      Whereas, each of the Schwab ETFs desires to become a party to the Custodian Agreement and the Custodian desires to provide the services set forth in the Custodian Agreement to each of the Schwab ETFs; and
      Whereas, the nature of the Schwab ETFs requires that certain provisions of the Custodian Agreement be modified for the Schwab ETFs only.
      Now Therefore, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements hereinafter contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. For purposes of the Schwab ETFs only, Section 2 of the Custodian Agreement is amended by adding the following Section 2.14:
      Section 2.14 Determination of Fund Deposit, etc. Subject to and in accordance with directions from the investment adviser for the Portfolios, the Custodian will determine for each Portfolio after the end of each trading day on the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE ), in accordance with the respective Portfolio’s policies as adopted from time to time by the Board and in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, (i) the identity and


 

weighting of the securities in the Deposit Securities and the Fund Securities, (ii) the cash component, and (iii) the amount of cash redemption proceeds (all as further described in the Statement of Additional Information) required for the issuance or redemption, as the case may be, of Shares in Creation Unit aggregations of the Portfolio on such date.
The Custodian will provide (or cause to be provided) this information to such persons as instructed according to the policies established by the Board, and will disseminate such information prior to the opening of trading on the NYSE on each day that the NYSE is open, including through the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“ NSCC ”).
2. For purposes of the Schwab ETFs only, Section 2 of the Custodian Agreement is amended by adding the following Section 2.15:
     Section 2.15. Allocation of Deposit Security Shortfalls . The Fund acknowledges that the Custodian maintains only one account on the books of the NSCC for the benefit of all exchange traded funds for which the Custodian serves as custodian, including the Fund (collectively, the “ETF Custody Clients” ). In the event that (a) two or more ETF Custody Clients require delivery of the same Deposit Security in order to purchase a Creation Unit, and (b) the NSCC, pursuant to its Continuous Net Settlement system, delivers to the Custodian’s NSCC account less than the full amount of such Deposit Security necessary to satisfy in full each affected ETF Custody Client’s required amount (a “Common Deposit Security Shortfall” ), then, until all Common Deposit Security Shortfalls for a given Deposit Security are satisfied in full, the Custodian will allocate to each affected ETF Custody Client, on a pro rata basis, securities and/or cash received in the Custodian’s NSCC account relating to such shortfall, first to satisfy any prior unsatisfied Common Deposit Security Shortfall, and then to satisfy the current Common Deposit Security Shortfall.
3. For purposes of the Schwab ETFs only, Section 6 of the Custodian Agreement is hereby amended in its entirety and the following Section 6 is inserted in lieu thereof:
Section 6. Payments for Sales or Repurchases or Redemptions of Shares .
The Custodian shall receive from the Portfolio’s distributor of the Shares or from the Transfer Agent, as the case may be, and deposit into the account of the appropriate Portfolio such payments as are received for Shares (in Creation Unit aggregations) issued or sold from time to time by the applicable Fund. The Custodian will provide timely notification to

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such Fund on behalf of each such Portfolio and the Transfer Agent of any receipt by it of payments for Shares of such Portfolio.
Subject to the directions of the investment adviser for the Portfolios and the procedures set forth in the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, the Custodian shall, upon receipt of instructions from the Transfer Agent, make funds and securities available (from such funds and securities as may be available for such purpose) for payment to, or in accordance with the instructions of, Authorized Participants (as defined in the Prospectus) who have delivered to the Transfer Agent proper instructions for the redemption or repurchase of their Shares, in Creation Unit aggregations, which shall have been accepted by the Transfer Agent, the applicable Fund Securities (as further described in the Statement of Additional Information) (or such securities in lieu thereof as may be designated by the investment adviser of the Fund in accordance with the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information) for such Portfolio and the cash redemption amount (as further described in the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information), if applicable, less any applicable redemption transaction fee (as further described in the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information). The Custodian will transfer the applicable Fund Securities to or on the order of the Authorized Participant. Any cash redemption payment (less any applicable redemption transaction fee) due to the Authorized Participant on redemption shall be effected through the DTC (as defined in the Prospectus) system or through wire transfer in the case of redemptions effected outside of the DTC system.
4. For purposes of the Schwab ETFs only, Section 16 of the Custodian Agreement is hereby amended as follows:
          (A) Section 16(a) of the Custodian Agreement is hereby amended in its entirety and the following Section 16(a) is inserted in lieu thereof:
SECTION 16. EFFECTIVE PERIOD, TERMINATION AND AMENDMENT
     a. This Agreement shall become effective as of October 8, 2009 and shall remain in full force and effect for a period of three (3) years from such effective date (the “Initial Term”), and thereafter shall automatically continue in full force and effect unless either party terminates this Agreement by written notice to the other party at least ninety (90) days prior to the date of termination.
          (B) Section 16(c) of the Custodian Agreement is hereby amended by the insertion of the following new Section 16(c)(I):

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(I) With respect to a Schwab ETF, in the event that such Schwab ETF ceases operating as and under the name of such Schwab ETF for any reason, which may (but need not) be in connection with a merger, reorganization, transfer or liquidation of assets, stock exchange delisting or other extraordinary event. For the avoidance of doubt, upon termination of this Agreement under this Section 16(c)(I), such Schwab ETF shall pay to the Custodian such compensation (including any applicable fees) and any reimbursable expenses as may be due and undisputed under the terms hereof to the date of such termination, including reasonable out-of-pocket expenses associated with such termination, and no other compensation, fees, charges or expenses will be assessed or will accrue with respect to said Schwab ETF after said termination. All out-of-pocket expenses for which the Custodian seeks reimbursement under this Section 16(c)(I) must be pre-approved by the Schwab ETF in writing, provided that such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
For the avoidance of doubt, the remainder of Section 16 of the Custodian Agreement, including Section 16(c)(H) thereof relating to terminations in connection with material breaches by the Custodian, shall remain in effect for all Funds and Schwab ETFs.
5. In the event that any exchange traded fund in addition to those listed on Appendix B hereto desires to have the Custodian render services as custodian under the terms of the Custodian Agreement and this Amendment, it shall so notify the Custodian in writing, and if the Custodian agrees in writing to provide such services, such exchange traded fund shall become a Fund and a Schwab ETF under the Custodian Agreement and this Amendment and be bound by all terms and conditions and provisions of the Custodian Agreement and this Amendment including, without limitation, the representations and warranties set forth in Section 18.7 of the Custodian Agreement.
6. Except as modified hereby, all other terms and conditions of the Custodian Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
7. This Amendment may be executed in multiple counterparts, which together shall constitute one instrument.
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Signature Page
In Witness Whereof, each of the parties has caused this instrument to be executed in its name and behalf by its duly authorized representative and its seal to be hereunder affixed as of the date first above-written.
                 
Signature Attested to By:       CHARLES SCHWAB CORPORATION
 
               
By: /s/ Koji E. Felton
      By: /s/ Joseph Martinetto
 
     
 
Name: Koji E. Felton       Name: Joseph Martinetto
Title: SVP, Chief Counsel &
Corp. Secretary, Charles Schwab
Investment Management, Inc.
      Title: EVP Finance & Risk Management
 
               
CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC.             SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
 
               
By: /s/ Randy Merk
           By: /s/ George M. Pereira
 
     
 
Randy Merk            George M. Pereira
EVP & President, Investment
Management Services
           CFO & Treasurer
 
               
Signature Attested to By:       State Street Bank and Trust Company
 
               
By: /s/ Mary Moran Zeven
      By: /s/ Joseph C. Antonellis
 
     
 
Name: Mary Moran Zeven       Name: Joseph C. Antonellis
Title: Senior Vice President       Title: Vice Chairman
Amendment to Amended and Restated Master Custodian Agreement


 

APPENDIX A
TO
MASTER CUSTODIAN AGREEMENT
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES REGISTERED WITH THE SEC
AND PORTFOLIOS THEREOF, IF ANY
THE CHARLES SCHWAB FAMILY OF FUNDS
Schwab Money Market Fund
Schwab Value Advantage Money Fund
Schwab Retirement Advantage Money Fund
Schwab Investor Money Fund
Schwab Government Money Fund
Schwab U.S. Treasury Money Fund
Schwab Municipal Money Fund
Schwab California Municipal Money Fund
Schwab New York AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly NY Muni Money Fund)
Schwab AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly Florida Muni Money Fund)
Schwab California AMT Tax-Free Money Fund
Schwab Massachusetts AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly MA Muni Money Fund)
Schwab Pennsylvania Municipal Money Fund
Schwab New Jersey AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly NJ Muni Money Fund)
Schwab Cash Reserves
Schwab Advisor Cash Reserves
SCHWAB INVESTMENTS
Schwab 1000 Index Fund
Schwab YieldPlus Fund
Schwab Short-Term Bond Market Fund
Schwab Total Bond Market Fund
Schwab GNMA Fund
Schwab Tax-Free YieldPlus Fund
Schwab Tax-Free Bond Fund
Schwab California Tax-Free YieldPlus Fund
Schwab California Tax-Free Bond Fund
Schwab Inflation Protected Fund
Schwab Premier Income Fund
SCHWAB CAPITAL TRUST
Schwab Core Equity Fund
Schwab Hedged Equity Fund
Schwab Premier Equity Fund
Laudus International MarketMasters Fund
Laudus Small-Cap MarketMasters Fund
Schwab Balanced Fund (formerly Schwab Viewpoints Fund)
Schwab Fundamental US Small-Mid Company Index Fund

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Schwab Fundamental US Large Company Index Fund
Schwab Monthly Income Fund - Moderate Payout
Schwab Monthly Income Fund - Enhanced Payout
Schwab Monthly Income Fund - Maximum Payout
Schwab International Core Equity Fund
SCHWAB ANNUITY PORTFOLIOS
Schwab Money Market Portfolio
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
Schwab International Equity ETF
Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF
Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF

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APPENDIX B
List of Schwab ETFs
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
Schwab International Equity ETF
Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF
Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF

Ex - (h)(1)
ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT
     THIS ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made as of the 12th day of October 2009 (the “ Effective Date ”), by and between Schwab Strategic Trust, a statutory trust formed under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ Company ”), and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation, (the “ Administrator ”).
     WHEREAS, the Company is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “ 1940 Act ”), consisting of the series portfolios, including ETF Portfolios (as defined herein), set forth in Schedule I (“ Portfolios ”), attached hereto;
     WHEREAS, the Company on behalf of each Portfolio has separately appointed the Administrator as its investment adviser; and
     WHEREAS, the Company desires the Administrator to provide, and the Administrator is willing to provide, administrative and accounting services to the Company on the terms and conditions set forth herein;
     NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants contained herein, the Company and the Administrator hereby agree as follows:
SECTION 1 DEFINITIONS
  1.01   1940 Act ” shall have the meaning given to such term in the recitals of this Agreement.
 
  1.02   Adviser ” means Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., (“ CSIM ”) or any other Person acting as an “adviser” to the Company within the meaning of the 1940 Act.
 
  1.03   Authorized Participant ” means a Person that has entered into an Authorized Participant Agreement with the Company and the ETF Portfolio Distributor that is authorized to purchase and redeem Creation Units of the ETF Portfolio.
 
  1.04   Board ” means the board of trustees of the Company.
 
  1.05   Confidential Information ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 11.01 of this Agreement.
 
  1.06   Creation Unit ” means an aggregation of a specified number of ETF Portfolio Shares that is purchased and/or redeemed by an Authorized Participant as described in the ETF Portfolio’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and in accordance with any terms and procedures set forth in the by the Distributor.
 
  1.07   Disclosing Party ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 11.01 of this Agreement.
 
  1.08   Distributor ” means a Person that has entered into an agreement with the distribution, marketing and sale of Shares of a Portfolio.
 
  1.09   ETF Portfolio ” shall mean an exchange traded fund issued and offered by the Company that is an investment company legally classified as an open-end company or unit investment trust.

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1.10   Initial Term ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 9.01 of this Agreement.
 
1.11   Interested Party ” or “ Interested Parties ” means the Administrator, its subsidiaries and its affiliates and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, delegates and associates.
 
1.12   Investments ” shall mean such cash, securities and all other assets and property of whatsoever nature now owned or subsequently acquired by or for the account of the Company or a Portfolio.
 
1.13   Organizational Documents ” means, as applicable, the articles of incorporation, declaration of trust, certificate of formation, memorandum of association, partnership agreement, bylaws or other similar documentation setting forth the respective rights and obligations of directors, trustees, officers, shareholders and Authorized Participants in the Company.
 
1.14   PCF File ” means Portfolio Composition File.
 
1.15   Person ” shall mean any natural person, partnership, estate, association, custodian, nominee, limited liability company, corporation, trust or other legal entity.
 
1.16   Portfolio ” shall have the meaning given to such term in the recital to this Agreement.
 
1.17   Pricing Sources ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 6.
 
1.18   Receiving Party ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 11.01, of this Agreement.
 
1.19   Renewal Term ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 9.01 of this Agreement.
 
1.20   Services ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 2.01 of this Agreement.
 
1.21   Shares ” means any unit of beneficial interest in a Portfolio.
 
1.22   Unless the context otherwise requires and except as otherwise specified in this Agreement, the term the “ Company ” shall include, as applicable, a sponsor, general partner, trustee or other Person having similar status or performing similar functions, as the case may be, acting on behalf of the Company.
 
1.23   Company Data ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 2.04 of this Agreement.
 
1.24   Company Materials ” means any prospectus, registration statement, statement of additional information, proxy solicitation and tender offer materials, annual or other periodic report of the Company or any advertising, marketing, shareholder communication, or promotional material generated by the Company or its investment adviser from time to time, as appropriate, including all amendments or supplements thereto.

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SECTION 2 APPOINTMENT AND CONTROL
  2.01   Services. The Company hereby appoints the Administrator to be, and the Administrator agrees to act as, the administrative agent of the Company for the term and subject to the provisions hereof. The Administrator shall perform (and may delegate or sub-contract, as provided below) the services set forth in this Agreement, including the services set forth on Schedule II, which may be amended from time to time in writing by the parties (collectively, the “ Services ”). In performing its duties under this Agreement, the Administrator will act in all material respects in accordance with the Organizational Documents and Company Materials as they may be amended (to the extent that copies of such documents are delivered to the Administrator). The Company will initially consist of the Portfolios set forth in Schedule I. In the event that the Company establishes one or more additional Portfolios with respect to which it wishes to retain the Administrator to act as administrator hereunder, the Company shall notify the Administrator in writing. Upon written acceptance by the Administrator, such Portfolio shall become subject to the provisions of this Agreement to the same extent as the existing Portfolios, except to the extent that such provisions (including those relating to the compensation and expenses payable by the Company and its Portfolios) may be modified with respect to each additional Portfolio in writing by the Company and the Administrator at the time of the addition of the Portfolio.
 
  2.02   Authority . Each of the activities engaged in under the provisions of this Agreement by the Administrator on behalf of the Company shall be subject to the overall direction and control of the Company or any Person authorized to act on the Company’s behalf (including, without limitation, the Company’s Board); provided, however, that the Administrator shall have the general authority to do all acts deemed in the Administrator’s good faith belief to be necessary and proper to perform its obligations under this Agreement. In performing its duties hereunder, the Administrator shall observe and generally comply with the Company Materials, all applicable resolutions and/or directives of the Board of which it has notice, and applicable laws which may from time to time apply to the Services rendered by the Administrator. The Administrator, in such capacity, (i) shall not have or be required to have any authority to supervise the investment or reinvestment of the Creation Units, underlying securities or other properties which comprise the assets of the Company and (ii) shall not provide any investment advisory services to the Company, and shall have no liability related to the foregoing; provided however, that nothing herein shall preclude CSIM from undertaking any or all such authority or responsibility to provide such services and accept such liability in a separate agreement with the Company.
 
  2.03   Third Parties; Affiliated Persons . The Administrator may delegate to, or sub-contract with, third parties or affiliated person(s) (as defined in Section 2(a)(3)(A)-(C) of the 1940 Act) administrative or other functions it deems necessary to perform its obligations under this Agreement; provided, however, all fees and expenses incurred in any delegation or sub-contract shall be paid by CSIM and the Administrator shall remain responsible to the Company for the acts and omissions of such other entities as if such acts or omissions were the acts or omissions of the Administrator. The Company acknowledges that during the term of this Agreement, the services to be performed by the Administrator may be completed by one or more of the Administrator’s affiliated person(s) or third parties located in or outside of the United States of America. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the term “Administrator” as used in this Agreement shall exclude CSIM acting in any capacity with respect to the

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      Company or any Portfolio other than that of Administrator hereunder and, in particular, shall exclude CSIM acting in its capacity as Adviser.
 
  2.04   Company Data . As between the Company and the Administrator, the Company shall be solely responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of all data and other information provided to the Administrator by or on behalf of the Company pursuant to this Agreement (including, without limitation, (i) prices, (ii) sufficient transaction supporting documentation, (iii) detailed accounting methodologies with respect to the Company’s Investments as approved by the Company’s auditors, (iv) the terms of any agreement between the Company and an investor or Authorized Participant regarding any special fee or specific fee arrangement or access to portfolio information that may impact or affect the Services, and (v) trade and settlement information from prime brokers and custodians) (collectively, “ Company Data ”). All Company Data shall be provided to the Administrator on a timely basis and in a format and medium reasonably requested by the Administrator from time to time. The Company shall have an ongoing obligation to promptly update all Company Data so that such information remains complete and accurate. All Company Data shall be prepared and maintained, by or on behalf of the Company, in accordance with applicable law, Company Materials and generally acceptable accounting principles. The Administrator shall be entitled to rely on all the Company Data and shall have no liability for any loss, damage or expense incurred by the Company or any other Person to the extent that such loss, damage or expense arises out of or is related to the Company Data that is not timely, current, complete and accurate.
SECTION 3 REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY
  3.01   The Company represents and warrants to the Administrator that:
  3.01.01.   it issues and offers shares of an exchange traded fund that is registered under the 1940 Act as an open-end fund and that issues and redeems its shares at their net asset value;
 
  3.01.02.   shares of an ETF Portfolio in the Company are available for purchase and redeemable only by Authorized Participants and only in Creation Units;
 
  3.01.03.   it has full power, right and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby have been duly and validly approved by all requisite actions on its part, and no other proceedings on its part are necessary to approve this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by it; this Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms;
 
  3.01.04.   as of the close of business on the Effective Date, each Portfolio that is in existence as of the Effective Date has authorized the issuance of an indefinite number of shares and has elected to register an indefinite number of shares in accordance with Rule 24f-2 under the 1940 Act;

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  3.01.05.   it has obtained all consents and given all notices (regulatory or otherwise), made all required regulatory filings and is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations;
 
  3.01.06.   it has a valid engagement with an independent auditor, custodian and distributor and will provide additional information regarding such service providers, including information regarding the terms of its agreement with such service providers, upon request;
 
  3.01.07.   it has notified the Administrator of any and all separate agreements between the Company and any third party that could impact the Administrator’s performance of its obligations pursuant to this Agreement; and
 
  3.01.08.   it has disclosed the terms of any agreement between the Company and an investor or Authorized Participant regarding any special fee or specific fee arrangement or access to portfolio information that may impact or affect the Services.
  3.02   The Company covenants and agrees with the Administrator that:
  3.02.01.   it will furnish the Administrator from time to time with complete copies, authenticated or certified, of each of the following:
  (a)   Copies of the following documents:
  (1)   Copies of the Company’s current Organizational Documents and of any amendments thereto, certified by the proper official of the state in which such document has been filed; and
 
  (2)   Certified copies of resolutions of the Board covering the approval of this Agreement, authorization of a specified officer of the Company to execute and deliver this Agreement and authorization for specified officers of the Company to instruct the Administrator.
  (b)   A list of all the officers of the Company, together with specimen signatures of those officers who are authorized to instruct the Administrator in all matters.
 
  (c)   Copies of all Company Materials, including the current prospectus and statement of additional information for the Company.
 
  (d)   A list of all issuers the Company is restricted from purchasing.
 
  (e)   A list of all issuers and/or indices that any ETF Portfolio in the Company will invest in and/or track.

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  (f)   A list of all affiliated persons (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company that are broker-dealers.
 
  (g)   The identity of the Company’s auditors along with contact information.
 
  (h)   The expense budget for each Portfolio for the current fiscal year.
 
  (i)   A list of contact persons (primary, backup and secondary backup) of the Company’s investment adviser and, if applicable, sub-adviser, who can be reached until 6:30 p.m. ET with respect to valuation matters.
 
  (j)   Copies of all the Company Data reasonably requested by the Administrator or necessary for the Administrator to perform its obligations pursuant to this Agreement.
      The Company shall promptly provide the Administrator with written notice of any updates of or changes to any of the foregoing documents or information, including an updated written copy of such document or information. Until the Administrator receives such updated information or document, the Administrator shall have no obligation to implement or rely upon such updated information or document.
 
  3.02.02.   it shall timely perform or oversee the performance of all obligations identified in this Agreement as obligations of the Company, including, without limitation, providing the Administrator with all the Company Data and Organizational Documents reasonably requested by the Administrator;
 
  3.02.03.   it will promptly notify the Administrator of any matter which could materially affect the Administrator’s performance of its duties and obligations under this Agreement, including any amendment to the documents referenced in Section 3.02.01 above;
 
  3.02.04.   it will comply in all material respects with all applicable requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “ 1933 Act ”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the 1940 Act, and any laws, rules and regulations of governmental authorities having jurisdiction;
 
  3.02.05.   it shall be solely responsible for its compliance with applicable investment policies, Company Materials, and any laws and regulations governing the manner in which its assets may be invested, and shall be solely responsible for any losses attributable to non-compliance with Company Materials, and applicable policies, laws and regulations governing the Company, its activities or the duties, actions or omissions of its investment adviser (if other than CSIM); and
 
  3.02.06.   it will promptly notify the Administrator of acts, omissions, occurrences and contingencies that would have rendered its representations and

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        warranties hereunder inaccurate.
SECTION 4 REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
  4.01   The Administrator represents and warrants that:
  4.01.01.   it has full power, right and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby have been duly and validly approved by all requisite action on its part, and no other proceedings on its part are necessary to approve this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by it; this Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms.
SECTION 5 LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION
  5.01   THE DUTIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR SHALL BE CONFINED TO THOSE EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT, AND NO IMPLIED DUTIES ARE ASSUMED BY OR MAY BE ASSERTED AGAINST THE ADMINISTRATOR. In the absence of willful misfeasance, gross negligence, bad faith or fraud in the performance of the Services, or reckless disregard of its duties under this Agreement, the Administrator shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in carrying out its duties under this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the Administrator shall not be responsible for any breach in the performance of its obligations under this Agreement due to (i) the failure or delay of the Company or its agents (other than CSIM itself) to perform its obligations under this Agreement or (ii) the Administrator’s reliance on the Company Data. Each party shall have the duty to mitigate its damages for which another party may become responsible. As used in this Section 5, the term “ Administrator ” shall include the officers, directors, employees, affiliates and agents of the Administrator as well as that entity itself. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT TO THE CONTRARY, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE ADMINISTRATOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER NON-DIRECT DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY IS PREDICATED ON CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE TRUST IS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY SUCH DAMAGES.
 
  5.02   The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the Administrator from and against, and the Administrator shall have no liability in connection with, any and all actions, suits and claims, whether groundless or otherwise, and from and against any and all losses, damages, costs, charges, payments, expenses and liabilities (including reasonable counsel fees and disbursements) arising directly or indirectly out of: (i) any act or omission of the Administrator in carrying out its duties hereunder or as a result of the Administrator’s reliance upon any instructions, notice or instrument

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      that the Administrator believes is genuine and signed or presented by an authorized Person of the Company; provided that this clause(i) shall not apply if any such loss, damage, cost, charge or expense is caused by or arises from the Administrator’s willful misfeasance, gross negligence, bad faith or fraud in the performance of the Services, or the Administrator’s reckless disregard of its duties under this Agreement; (ii) any violation by the Company or any agent of the Company of any applicable investment policy, law or regulation, (iii) any misstatement or omission in Company Materials or any Company Data; (iv) any breach by the Company of any representation, warranty or agreement contained in this Agreement; (v) any act or omission of the Company, the Company’s other service providers (such as custodians, prime brokers, transfer agents, investment advisers and sub-adviser(s)); (vi) any pricing error caused by the failure of the Company’s investment adviser or sub-adviser to provide a trade ticket or for incorrect information included in any trade ticket; or (vii) any act or omission of the Administrator as a result of the Administrator’s compliance with the Regulations, as defined in Section 12.12, including, but not limited to, returning an investor or Authorized Participant’s investment or restricting the payment of redemption proceeds.
 
  5.03   The Administrator may apply to the Company, the Company’s sponsor or any Person acting on the Company’s behalf at any time for instructions and may consult counsel for the Company or the Company’s sponsor or with accountants, counsel and other experts with respect to any matter arising in connection with the Administrator’s duties hereunder, and the Administrator shall not be liable or accountable for any action taken or omitted by it in good faith in accordance with such instruction or upon the advice of counsel, accountants or other experts. Also, the Administrator shall not be liable for actions taken pursuant to any document which it reasonably believes to be genuine and to have been signed by the proper Person or Persons. The Administrator shall not be held to have notice of any change of authority of any officer, employee or agent of the Company until receipt of written notice thereof. To the extent that the Administrator consults with Company counsel pursuant to this provision, any such expense shall be borne by the Company.
 
  5.04   The Administrator shall have no liability for its reliance on the Company Data or the performance or omissions of unaffiliated third parties such as, by way of example and not limitation, transfer agents, sub-transfer agents, custodians, prime brokers, placement agents, third party marketers, asset data service providers, investment advisers (including, without limitation, the sponsor) or sub-advisers, current or former third party service providers, Pricing Sources, software providers, printers, postal or delivery services, prior administrators, telecommunications providers and processing and settlement services. The Administrator may rely on and shall have no duty to investigate or confirm the accuracy or adequacy of any information provided by any of the foregoing third parties.
 
  5.05   The Administrator shall have no obligation with respect to any laws relating to the distribution, purchase or sale of Shares or Creation Units. Further, the Company assumes full responsibility for the preparation, contents and distribution of its Company Materials and its compliance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
 
  5.06   The indemnification rights hereunder shall include the right to reasonable advances of defense expenses in the event of any pending or threatened legal, administrative,

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      arbitral or other proceedings, claims, actions or governmental or regulatory investigations or inquiries with respect to which indemnification hereunder may ultimately be merited. If in any case the Company is asked to indemnify or hold the Administrator harmless, the Administrator shall promptly advise the Company of the pertinent facts concerning the situation in question, and the Administrator will use all reasonable care to identify and notify the Company promptly concerning any situation which presents or appears likely to present the probability of such a claim for indemnification, but failure to do so shall not affect the rights hereunder.
 
  5.07   The Company shall be entitled to participate at its own expense or, if it so elects, to assume the defense of any suit brought involving any claims subject to this indemnity provision. If the Company elects to assume the defense of any such claim, the defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by the Company and satisfactory to the Administrator, whose approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. In the event that the Company elects to assume the defense of any suit and retains counsel, the Administrator shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained by it. If the Company does not elect to assume the defense of a suit, it will reimburse the Administrator for the fees and expenses of any counsel retained by the Administrator. None of the parties hereto shall settle or compromise any action, suit, proceeding or claim if such settlement or compromise provides for an admission of liability on the part of the indemnified party without such indemnified party’s written consent.
 
  5.08   The rights afforded to the Administrator under this Section 5 shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to all directors, officers, employees, representatives and other agents of the Administrator and to every Person who controls the Administrator within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act, all of whom are intended beneficiaries of this Section of the Agreement.
 
  5.09   The provisions of this Section 5 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
SECTION 6 VALUATION
      The Administrator is entitled to rely on the price and value information (hereinafter “ Valuation Information ”) provided by brokers and custodians, the Adviser, an underlying fund in which the Company invests, if applicable, and any third-party pricing services selected by the Administrator, the Adviser or the Company (collectively hereinafter referred to as the “ Pricing Sources ”) in order to calculate the Company’s aggregate NAV (and the value of Authorized Participants’ capital accounts based upon such valuation). The Administrator shall have no obligation to obtain Valuation Information from any sources other than the Pricing Sources. The Administrator shall have no liability or responsibility for the accuracy of the Valuation Information provided by a Pricing Source or the delegate of a Pricing Source and the Company shall indemnify and defend the Administrator against any loss, damages, costs, charges or reasonable counsel fees and expenses in connection with any inaccuracy of such Valuation Information. The Company shall not use Valuation Information for any purpose other than in connection with the Services and in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

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SECTION 7 ALLOCATION OF CHARGES AND EXPENSES
  7.01   The Administrator . The Administrator shall furnish at its own expense the personnel necessary to perform its obligations under this Agreement.
 
  7.02   Portfolio Expenses. The Company or the Adviser assumes and shall pay or cause to be paid all expenses of the Company (including any Portfolio of the Company) not otherwise allocated in this Agreement, including, without limitation, organizational costs; taxes; expenses for legal and auditing services; the expenses of preparing (including typesetting), printing and mailing reports, Company Materials, proxy solicitation and tender offer materials and notices to existing shareholders; all expenses in connection with issuing and redeeming Creation Units; the costs of Pricing Sources; the costs of escrow and custodial services; the cost of document retention and archival services, the costs of responding to document production requests; the cost of initial and ongoing registration of the shares under Federal and state securities laws; fees and out-of-pocket expenses of Board members; the costs of Board meetings; insurance; interest; brokerage costs; litigation and other extraordinary or nonrecurring expenses; and all fees and charges of service providers to the Company. The Company or the Adviser shall reimburse the Administrator for its reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including all reasonable charges for printing, financial reporting software/typesetting fees, copying, postage, telephone, and fax charges incurred by the Administrator in the performance of its duties.
SECTION 8 COMPENSATION
      The Company shall pay to the Administrator compensation for the services performed and the facilities and personnel provided by the Administrator pursuant to this Agreement, the fees set forth in Schedule III to this Agreement.
SECTION 9 DURATION AND TERMINATION
  9.01   Term and Renewal. This Agreement shall become effective as of the Effective Date and shall remain in effect with respect to a Portfolio for so long as the investment management agreement between CSIM and such Portfolio remains in effect, unless terminated by any party giving ninety (90) days written notice of termination to the each other party hereto.
 
  9.02   Effect of Termination .
  9.02.01.   The termination of this Agreement shall be without prejudice to any rights that may have accrued hereunder to any party hereto prior to such termination.
 
  9.02.02.   After termination of this Agreement and upon payment of all accrued fees, reimbursable expenses and other moneys owed to the Administrator, the Administrator shall deliver to the Company, or as it shall direct, all books of account, records, registers, correspondence, documents and assets relating to the affairs of or belonging to the Company in the possession of or under the control of the Administrator or any of its agents or delegates.

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  9.02.03.   In the event any and all accrued fees, reimbursable expenses and other moneys owed to the Administrator hereunder remain unpaid in whole or in part for more than thirty days past due, the Administrator, without further notice, may take any and all actions it deems necessary to collect such amounts due, and any and all of its collection expenses, costs and fees shall be paid by the Company, including, without limitation, administrative costs, attorneys fees, court costs, collection agencies or agents and interest.
 
  9.02.04.   Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event this Agreement is terminated and for any reason the Administrator, with the written consent of the Company, in fact continues to perform any one or more of the Services contemplated by this Agreement, the pertinent provisions of this Agreement, including without limitation, the provisions dealing with payment of fees and indemnification shall continue in full force and effect. The Administrator shall be entitled to collect from the Company, in addition to the compensation described in Schedule III, the amount of all of the Administrator’s expenses in connection with the Administrator’s activities following such termination, including without limitation, the delivery to the Company and/or designees of the Company’s property, records, instruments and documents.
SECTION 10 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
  10.01   Non-Exclusive . The services of the Administrator rendered to the Company are not deemed to be exclusive. The Administrator is free to render such services to others. The Administrator shall not be deemed to be affected by notice of, or to be under any duty to disclose to the Company or Person acting on the Company’s behalf, information which has come into its possession or the possession of an Interested Party in the course of or in connection with providing administrative or other services to any other person or in any manner whatsoever other than in the course of carrying out its duties pursuant to this Agreement.
 
  10.02   Rights of Interested Parties . Subject to applicable law, nothing herein contained shall prevent:
  10.02.01.   an Interested Party from buying, holding, disposing of or otherwise dealing in any shares or Creation Units for its own account or the account of any of its customers or from receiving remuneration in connection therewith, with the same rights which it would have had if the Administrator were not a party to this Agreement; provided, however, that the prices quoted by the Administrator are no more favorable to the Interested Party than to a similarly situated investor in or redeeming holder of shares or Creation Units;
 
  10.02.02.   an Interested Party from buying, holding, disposing of or otherwise dealing in any securities or other investments for its own account or for the account of any of its customers and receiving remuneration in connection therewith, notwithstanding that the same or similar securities or other investments may be held by or for the account of the Company;

11


 

  10.02.03.   an Interested Party from receiving any commission or other remuneration which it may negotiate in connection with any sale or purchase of shares or Creation Units or Investments effected by it for the account of the Company; provided, however, that the amount of such commission or other remuneration is negotiated at arm’s length; and
 
  10.02.04.   an Interested Party from contracting or entering into any financial, banking or other transaction with the Company or from being interested in any such contract or transaction; provided, however, that the terms of such transaction are negotiated at arm’s length.
SECTION 11 CONFIDENTIALITY
  11.01   Confidential Information. The Administrator and the Company (in such capacity, the “ Receiving Party ”) acknowledge and agree to maintain the confidentiality of Confidential Information (as hereinafter defined) provided by the Administrator and the Company (in such capacity, the “ Disclosing Party ”) in connection with this Agreement. The Receiving Party shall not disclose or disseminate the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information to any Person other than those employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors and licensees of the Receiving Party, or with respect to the Administrator as a Receiving Party, to those employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors and licensees of any agent or affiliate, who have a need to know it in order to assist the Receiving Party in performing its obligations, or to permit the Receiving Party to exercise its rights under this Agreement. In addition, the Receiving Party (a) shall take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access to the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, and (b) shall not use the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, or authorize other Persons to use the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, for any purposes other than in connection with performing its obligations or exercising its rights hereunder. As used herein, “reasonable steps” means steps that a party takes to protect its own, similarly confidential or proprietary information of a similar nature, which steps shall in no event be less than a reasonable standard of care.
 
      The term “ Confidential Information ,” as used herein, shall mean all business strategies, plans and procedures, proprietary information, methodologies, data and trade secrets, and other confidential information and materials (including, without limitation, any non-public personal information as defined in Regulation S-P) of the Disclosing Party, its affiliates, their respective clients or suppliers, or other Persons with whom they do business, that may be obtained by the Receiving Party from any source or that may be developed as a result of this Agreement.
 
  11.02   Exclusions. The provisions of this Section 11 respecting Confidential Information shall not apply to the extent, but only to the extent, that such Confidential Information: (a) is already known to the Receiving Party free of any restriction at the time it is obtained from the Disclosing Party, (b) is subsequently learned from an independent third party free of any restriction and without breach of this Agreement; (c) is or becomes publicly available through no wrongful act of the Receiving Party or any third party; (d) is independently developed by or for the Receiving Party without reference to or use of any Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party; or (e) is required to be disclosed pursuant to an applicable law, rule, regulation,

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      government requirement or court order, or the rules of any stock exchange (provided, however, that the Receiving Party shall advise the Disclosing Party of such required disclosure promptly upon learning thereof in order to afford the Disclosing Party a reasonable opportunity to contest, limit and/or assist the Receiving Party in crafting such disclosure).
 
  11.03   Permitted Disclosure. The Receiving Party shall advise its employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors and licensees, and shall require its affiliates to advise their employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors and licensees, of the Receiving Party’s obligations of confidentiality and non-use under this Section 11 and shall be responsible for ensuring compliance by its and its affiliates’ employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors and licensees with such obligations. In addition, the Receiving Party shall require all Persons that are provided access to the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information, other than the Receiving Party’s accountants and legal counsel, to execute confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements containing provisions substantially similar to those set forth in this Section 11. The Receiving Party shall promptly notify the Disclosing Party in writing upon learning of any unauthorized disclosure or use of the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information by such Persons.
 
  11.04   Effect of Termination. Upon the Disclosing Party’s written request following the termination of this Agreement, the Receiving Party promptly shall return to the Disclosing Party, or destroy, all Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party provided under or in connection with this Agreement, including all copies, portions and summaries thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, (a) the Receiving Party may retain one copy of each item of the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information for purposes of identifying and establishing its rights and obligations under this Agreement, for archival or audit purposes and/or to the extent required by applicable law, and (b) the Administrator shall have no obligation to return or destroy Confidential Information of the Company that resides in saved tapes of Administrator; provided, however, that in either case all such Confidential Information retained by the Receiving Party shall remain subject to the provisions of Section 11 for so long as it is so retained. If requested by the Disclosing Party, the Receiving Party shall certify in writing its compliance with the provisions of this paragraph.
SECTION 12 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
  12.01   Internet Access . Data and information may be made electronically accessible to the Company, its investment adviser and/or sub-adviser(s) and its investors or Authorized Participants through Internet access to one or more web sites provided by the Administrator (“ Web Access ”). As between the Company and Administrator, the Administrator shall own all right, title and interest to such Web Access, including, without limitation, all content, software, interfaces, documentation, data, trade secrets, design concepts, “look and feel” attributes, enhancements, improvements, ideas and inventions and all intellectual property rights inherent in any of the foregoing or appurtenant thereto including all patent rights, copyrights, trademarks, know-how and trade secrets (collectively, the “Proprietary Information”). The Company recognizes that the Proprietary Information is of substantial value to the Administrator and shall not use or disclose the Proprietary Information except as specifically authorized in writing by the Administrator. All

13


 

      Proprietary Information shall be deemed Confidential Information of the Administrator. Use of the Web Access by the Company or its agents or investors will be subject to any additional terms of use set forth on the web site. Unless provided otherwise in such additional terms, the Company shall have a non-exclusive, non-transferable, terminable at-will license to use the Web Access solely in connection with this Agreement. All Web Access and the information (including text, graphics and functionality) on the web sites related to such Web Access is presented “As Is” and “As Available” without express or implied warranties including, but not limited to, implied warranties of non-infringement, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The Administrator neither warrants that the Web Access will be uninterrupted or error free, nor guarantees the accessibility, reliability, performance, timeliness, sequence, or completeness of information provided on the Web Access.
 
  12.02   Independent Contractor . In making, and performing under, this Agreement, the Administrator shall be deemed to be acting as an independent contractor of the Company and neither the Administrator nor its employees shall be deemed an agent, affiliate, legal representative, joint venturer or partner of the Company. No party is authorized to bind any other party to any obligation, affirmation or commitment with respect to any other Person.
 
  12.03   Assignment; Binding Effect . The Company may not assign, delegate or transfer, by operation of law or otherwise, this Agreement (in whole or in part), or any of the Company’s obligations hereunder, without the prior written consent of the Administrator, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. The Administrator may assign, delegate or transfer, by operation of law or otherwise, all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to an affiliate of the Administrator or to any person or entity who purchases all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Administrator to which this Agreement relates, provided that such affiliate, person or entity agrees in advance and in writing to be bound by the terms, conditions and provisions of this Agreement. Subject to the foregoing, all of the terms, conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of each party’s successors and permitted assigns. Any assignment, delegation, or transfer in violation of this provision shall be void and without legal effect.
 
  12.04   Agreement for Sole Benefit of the Administrator and the Company. This Agreement is for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Administrator and the Persons identified in Section 5.09 (to the extent set forth therein) and will not be deemed to be for the direct or indirect benefit of either (i) the clients or customers of the Administrator or the Company, (ii) the sponsor, or (iii) any service provider to the Company unaffiliated with the Administrator. The clients or customers of the Administrator or the Company will not be deemed to be third party beneficiaries of this Agreement nor to have any other contractual relationship with the Administrator by reason of this Agreement and each party hereto agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the other party from any claims of its clients or customers against the other party including any attendant expenses and attorneys’ fees, based on this Agreement or the services provided hereunder.
 
  12.05   Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without giving effect to any conflict of laws

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      or choice of laws rules or principles thereof. To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of California, or any of the provisions of this Agreement, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the 1933 Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the latter shall control.
 
  12.06   Equitable Relief. Each party agrees that any other party’s violation of the provisions of Section 11 may cause immediate and irreparable harm to the other party for which money damages would not constitute an adequate remedy at law. Therefore, the parties agree that, in the event either party breaches or threatens to breach said provision or covenant, the other party shall have the right to seek an injunction to restrain said breach or threatened breach, without posting any bond or other security.
 
  12.07   Dispute Resolution. Whenever either party desires to institute legal proceedings against the other concerning this Agreement, it shall provide written notice to that effect to such other party. The party providing such notice shall refrain from instituting said legal proceedings for a period of thirty days following the date of provision of such notice. During such period, the parties shall attempt in good faith to amicably resolve their dispute by negotiation among their executive officers. This Section 12.07 shall not prohibit either party from seeking, at any time, equitable relief as permitted under Section 12.06.
 
  12.08   Notice . All notices provided for or permitted under this Agreement (except for correspondence between the parties related to operations in the ordinary course) shall be deemed effective upon receipt, and shall be in writing and (a) delivered personally, (b) sent by commercial overnight courier with written verification of receipt, or (c) sent by certified or registered U.S. mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested, to the party to be notified, at the address for such party set forth below. Notices to the Administrator shall be sent to the attention of: President, Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., 211 Main St., San Francisco, CA 94105. Notices to the Company shall be sent to the attention of President, Schwab Strategic Trust, 211 Main St., San Francisco, CA 94105.
 
  12.09   Entire Agreement; Amendments. This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement supersedes all prior or contemporaneous representations, discussions, negotiations, letters, proposals, agreements and understandings between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, whether written or oral. This Agreement may be amended, modified or supplemented only by a written instrument duly executed by an authorized representative of each of the parties.
 
  12.10   Severability . Any provision of this Agreement that is determined to be invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability in such jurisdiction, without rendering invalid or unenforceable the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction. If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provision of this Agreement to be invalid or unenforceable, the parties agree that the court making such determination shall have the power to reduce the scope, duration, or area of the provision, to delete specific words or phrases, or to replace the provision with a provision that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to expressing the original intention of the parties, and this Agreement shall be enforceable as so modified.

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12.11   Waiver . Any term or provision of this Agreement may be waived at any time by the party entitled to the benefit thereof by written instrument executed by such party. No failure of either party hereto to exercise any power or right granted hereunder, or to insist upon strict compliance with any obligation hereunder, and no custom or practice of the parties with regard to the terms of performance hereof, will constitute a waiver of the rights of such party to demand full and exact compliance with the terms of this Agreement.
12.12   Anti-Money Laundering Laws . In connection with performing the Services set forth herein, the Administrator may provide information that the Company may rely upon in connection with the Company’s compliance with applicable laws, policies and regulations aimed at the prevention and detection of money laundering and/or terrorism activities (hereinafter, the “ Regulations ”). The Company and the Administrator agree that the Company shall be responsible for its compliance with all such Regulations. It shall be a condition precedent to providing Services to the Company under this Agreement and the Administrator shall have no liability for non-performance of its obligations under this Agreement unless it is satisfied, in its absolute discretion, that it has sufficient and appropriate information and material to discharge its obligations under the Regulations, and that the performance of such obligations will not violate any Regulations applicable to it. Without in any way limiting the foregoing, the Company acknowledges that the Administrator is authorized to return an Authorized Participant’s Investment in any Portfolio and take any action necessary to restrict repayment of redemption proceeds to the extent necessary to comply with its obligations pursuant to the Regulations.
12.13   Force Majeure . No breach of any obligation of a party to this Agreement (other than obligations to pay amounts owed) will constitute an event of default or breach to the extent it arises out of a cause, existing or future, that is beyond the control and without negligence of the party otherwise chargeable with breach or default, including without limitation: work action or strike; lockout or other labor dispute; failure of third party systems and software, telecommunication outages; flood; war; riot; theft; act of terrorism, earthquake or natural disaster. Either party desiring to rely upon any of the foregoing as an excuse for default or breach will, when the cause arises, give to the other party prompt notice of the facts which constitute such cause; and, when the cause ceases to exist, give prompt notice thereof to the other party.
12.14   Equipment Failures . In the event of equipment failures beyond the Administrator’s control, the Administrator shall take reasonable and prompt steps to minimize service interruptions but shall have no liability with respect thereto. The Administrator shall develop and maintain a plan for recovery from equipment failures which may include contractual arrangements with appropriate parties making reasonable provision for emergency use of electronic data processing equipment to the extent appropriate equipment is available.
12.15   Headings . All Article headings contained in this Agreement are for convenience of reference only, do not form a part of this Agreement and will not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.
12.16   Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of

16


 

which shall constitute one and the same instrument. Each such counterpart shall be deemed an original, and it shall not be necessary in making proof of this Agreement to produce or account for more than one such counterpart. This Agreement shall be deemed executed by both parties when any one or more counterparts hereof or thereof, individually or taken together, bears the original facsimile or scanned signatures of each of the parties.
[The remainder of this page has intentionally been left blank.]

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     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed and delivered this Agreement as of the Effective Date.
                 
CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT, INC.
      SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
 
               
By:
  /s/ Randall W. Merk       By:   /s/ George M. Pereira
 
               
Name:
  Randall W. Merk       Name:   George M. Pereira
Title:
  President and Chief Executive Officer       Title:   Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer

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SCHEDULE I
Portfolios
Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
Schwab International Equity ETF
Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF
Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF

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SCHEDULE II
Services
1)   Receive PCF Files from Adviser, or its designee, and, subject to final approval of such file by Adviser, send PCF Files to custodian in appropriate format;
2)   Compute yields, total returns, expense ratios, portfolio turnover rates and average dollar-weighted portfolio maturities, as appropriate;
3)   Track and validate income and expense accruals, analyze and modify expense accrual charges periodically, and process expense disbursements to vendors and service providers;
4)   Calculate required ordinary income and capital gains distributions, coordinate estimated cash payments, and perform necessary reconciliations with the transfer agent;
5)   Provide standardized performance reporting data to the Company;
6)   Provide performance, financial and expense information for registration statements and proxies;
7)   Communicate net asset values, yield, total returns or other financial data to appropriate third party reporting agencies, and assist in resolution of errors reported by such third party agencies;
8)   Prepare the Company’s financial statements for review by fund management and independent auditors, manage annual and semi-annual report preparation process, prepare Forms N-SAR, N-Q, N-CSR and 24f-2, provide fund performance data for annual report, coordinate printing and delivery of annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, and file Forms N-SAR, N-Q, N-CSR, 24f-2 and annual and semi-annual reports via EDGAR;
9)   Monitor each Portfolio’s compliance with the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to status as a regulated investment company;
10)   Prepare and file federal and state tax returns for the Company other than those required to be prepared and filed by the Company’s transfer agent or custodian.
11)   Provide data for year-end 1099s and supplemental tax letters;
12)   Provide such reports in connection with quarterly meetings of the Board as the Board may reasonably request;
13)   Manage the Company’s proxy solicitation process, including evaluating proxy distribution channels, coordinating with outside service provider to distribute proxies, track shareholder responses and tabulate voting results, and managing the proxy solicitation vendor if necessary;
14)   Provide individuals to serve as officers of the Company, as requested;
15)   Coordinate with the Company’s counsel on filing of the Company’s registration statements and proxy statements, and coordinate printing and delivery of the Company’s prospectuses and proxy statements;

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16)   Provide consultation to the Company on regulatory matters relating to the operation of the Company as requested and coordinate with the Company’s legal counsel regarding such matters;
17)   Develop policies and procedures relating to the operations of the Company in coordination with legal counsel and the Chief Compliance Officer;
18)   Act as liaison to legal counsel to the Company and, where applicable, to legal counsel to the Company’s independent trustees;
19)   Coordinate with the Company counsel in the preparation, review and execution of contracts between the Company and third parties, such as the Company’s investment adviser, transfer agent, and custodian, and record-keepers or shareholder service providers;
20)   Assist the Company in handling and responding to routine regulatory examinations with respect to records retained or services provided by the Administrator, and coordinate with the Company’s legal counsel in responding to any non-routine regulatory matters with respect to such matters;
21)   Coordinate as necessary the registration or qualification of Creation Units with appropriate state securities authorities;
22)   Manage the preparation for and conducting of Board meetings by (i) coordinating Board book production and distribution process, (ii) subject to review and approval by the Company and its counsel, preparing meeting agendas, (iii) preparing the relevant sections of the Board materials required to be prepared by the Administrator, (iv) assisting to gather and coordinate special materials related to annual contract renewals and approval of rule 12b-1 plans and related agreements for and as directed by the trustees or the Company counsel, (v) attending Board meetings, and (vi) performing such other Board meeting functions as shall be agreed by the parties in writing;
23)   Cooperate with, and take all reasonable actions in the performance of its duties under this Agreement to ensure that all necessary information is made available to the Company’s independent public accountants in connection with the preparation of any audit or report requested by the Company, including the provision of a conference room at the Administrator’s location if necessary (in this regard, the Company’s independent auditors shall provide the Administrator with reasonable notice of any such audit so that (i) the audit will be completed in a timely fashion and (ii) the Administrator will be able to promptly respond to such information requests without undue disruption of its business); and
24)   On a T+2 post-trade basis and based on the information available to the Administrator, periodically monitor the Portfolios for compliance with applicable limitations as set forth in the Company’s or any Portfolio’s then current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (this provision shall not relieve the Company’s investment adviser and sub-advisers, if any, of their primary day-to-day responsibility for assuring such compliance, including on a pre-trade basis).
25)   Coordinate the distribution of prospectuses, supplements, proxy materials and reports to shareholders, and coordinate the solicitation and tabulation of proxies in connection with any annual or special meetings of shareholders.
26)   Obtain and maintain fidelity bonds and directors and officers/errors and omissions insurance policies for the Company in accordance with Rules 17g-1 and 17-d-1 under the 1940 Act and file the fidelity bonds and any notices with the SEC as required under the 1940 Act, to the extent such

21


 

    bonds and policies are approved by the Company’s Board.
 
27)   Maintain corporate records on behalf of the Company, including, but not limited to, minute books, the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws.
 
28)   Additional Reports and Services. Upon reasonable notice and as mutually agreed upon, the Administrator may provide additional reports and/or services upon the request of the Company or its investment adviser.
***

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SCHEDULE III
Fees
None

23

EX - (h)(5)
Amendment to Master Fund Accounting and Services Agreement
     This Amendment to Master Fund Accounting and Services Agreement is made as of October 8, 2009 by and among each regulated management investment company identified on Appendix A hereto (each such management investment company shall hereinafter be referred to as a “Fund”) and State Street Bank and Trust Company, a Massachusetts trust company (the “Accounting Agent”). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in that certain Master Fund Accounting and Services Agreement made as of October 1, 2005 (the “Fund Accounting Agreement”).
Witnesseth:
      Whereas, certain of the Funds and the Accounting Agent entered into the Fund Accounting Agreement pursuant to which the Accounting Agent provides certain fund accounting and recordkeeping services to such Funds;
      Whereas, the Funds listed on Appendix B hereto (collectively, the “Schwab ETFs” ), which are exchange traded funds, will issue and redeem shares of each Portfolio only in aggregations of Shares known as “Creation Units” generally in exchange for a basket of certain equity or fixed income securities and a specified cash payment, as more fully described in the currently effective prospectus and statement of additional information of the Schwab ETF related to the Portfolio (collectively, the “Prospectus” );
      Whereas, each of the Schwab ETFs desires to become a party to the Fund Accounting Agreement and the Accounting Agent desires to provide the services set forth in the Fund Accounting Agreement to each of the Schwab ETFs; and
      Whereas, the nature of the Schwab ETFs requires that certain provisions of the Fund Accounting Agreement be modified for the Schwab ETFs only.
      Now Therefore, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements hereinafter contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. For purposes of the Schwab ETFs only, Section 9 of the Fund Accounting Agreement is hereby amended as follows:
     (A) Section 9(a) of the Fund Accounting Agreement is hereby amended in its entirety and the following Section 9(a) is inserted in lieu thereof:
     SECTION 9. TERM OF AGREEMENT; AMENDMENT.
     a. This Agreement shall become effective as of October 8, 2009 and shall remain in full force and effect for a period of three (3) years from such effective date (the “Initial Term”), and thereafter shall

 


 

automatically continue in full force and effect unless either party terminates this Agreement by written notice to the other party at least ninety (90) days prior to the date of termination.
     (B) Section 9(c) of the Fund Accounting Agreement is hereby amended by the insertion of the following new Section 9(c)(I):
(I) With respect to a Schwab ETF, in the event that such Schwab ETF ceases operating as and under the name of such Schwab ETF for any reason, which may (but need not) be in connection with a merger, reorganization, transfer or liquidation of assets, stock exchange delisting or other extraordinary event. For the avoidance of doubt, upon termination of this Fund Accounting Agreement under this Section 9(b)(I), such Schwab ETF shall pay to the Accounting Agent such compensation (including any applicable fees) and any reimbursable expenses as may be due and undisputed under the terms hereof to the date of such termination, including reasonable out-of-pocket expenses associated with such termination, and no other compensation, fees, charges or expenses will be assessed or will accrue with respect to said Schwab ETF after said termination. All out-of-pocket expenses for which the Accounting Agent seeks reimbursement under this Section 9(b)(I) must be pre-approved by the Schwab ETF in writing, provided that such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
For the avoidance of doubt, the remainder of Section 9 of the Fund Accounting Agreement, including Section 9(c)(H) thereof relating to terminations in connection with material breaches by the Accounting Agent, shall remain in effect for all Funds and Schwab ETFs.
2. For purposes of the Schwab ETFs only, Schedule A to the Fund Accounting Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following services:
bb. The Accounting Agent shall transmit the net asset value per share of each Portfolio to the Fund’s transfer agent, the Fund’s distributor, the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE” ) and such other entities as directed in writing by the Fund.
cc. The Accounting Agent shall on each day a Portfolio is open for the purchase or redemption of Shares of such Portfolio compute the number of shares of each Deposit Security (as further described in the Statement of Additional Information) to be included in the current Fund Deposit (as further described in the Statement of Additional Information) and shall transmit such information to the National Securities Clearing Corporation.

-2-


 

3. In the event that any exchange traded fund in addition to those listed on Appendix B hereto desires to have the Accounting Agent render services as accounting agent under the terms of the Fund Accounting Agreement and this Amendment, it shall so notify the Accounting Agent in writing, and if the Accounting Agent agrees in writing to provide such services, such exchange traded fund shall become a Fund and a Schwab ETF under the Fund Accounting Agreement and this Amendment and be bound by all terms and conditions and provisions of the Fund Accounting Agreement and this Amendment with respect to such Fund.
4. Except as modified hereby, all other terms and conditions of the Fund Accounting Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
5. This Amendment may be executed in multiple counterparts, which together shall constitute one instrument.
[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

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Signature Page
In Witness Whereof, each of the parties has caused this instrument to be executed in its name and behalf by its duly authorized representative and its seal to be hereunder affixed as of the date first above-written.
             
Signature Attested to By:   CHARLES SCHWAB CORPORATION
 
           
By: /s/ Koji E. Felton
  By: /s/ Joseph Martinetto
 
   
 
Name: Koji E. Felton   Name: Joseph Martinetto
Title: SVP, Chief Counsel &
Corp. Secretary, Charles Schwab
Investment Management, Inc.
  Title: EVP Finance & Risk Management
 
           
CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT, INC.
        SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
 
           
By: /s/ Randy Merk
       By: /s/ George M. Pereira
 
   
 
Randy Merk        George M. Pereira
EVP & President, Investment
Management Services
       CFO & Treasurer
 
           
Signature Attested to By:   State Street Bank and Trust Company
 
           
By: /s/ Mary Moran Zeven
  By: /s/ Joseph C. Antonellis
 
   
 
Name: Mary Moran Zeven   Name: Joseph C. Antonellis
Title: Senior Vice President   Title: Vice Chairman
Amendment to Master Fund Accounting and Services Agreement

 


 

APPENDIX A
TO
MASTER ACCOUNTING SERVICES AGREEMENT
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES AND PORTFOLIOS THEREOF, IF ANY
THE CHARLES SCHWAB FAMILY OF FUNDS
Schwab Money Market Fund
Schwab Value Advantage Money Fund
Schwab Retirement Advantage Money Fund
Schwab Investor Money Fund
Schwab Government Money Fund
Schwab U.S. Treasury Money Fund
Schwab Municipal Money Fund
Schwab California Municipal Money Fund
Schwab New York AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly NY Muni Money Fund)
Schwab AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly Florida Muni Money Fund)
Schwab California AMT Tax-Free Money Fund
Schwab Massachusetts AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly MA Muni Money Fund)
Schwab Pennsylvania Municipal Money Fund
Schwab New Jersey AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly NJ Muni Money Fund)
Schwab Cash Reserves
Schwab Advisor Cash Reserves
SCHWAB INVESTMENTS
Schwab 1000 Index Fund
Schwab YieldPlus Fund
Schwab Short-Term Bond Market Fund
Schwab Total Bond Market Fund
Schwab GNMA Fund
Schwab Tax-Free YieldPlus Fund
Schwab Tax-Free Bond Fund
Schwab California Tax-Free YieldPlus Fund
Schwab California Tax-Free Bond Fund
Schwab Inflation Protected Fund
Schwab Premier Income Fund
Schwab Global Real Estate Fund
SCHWAB CAPITAL TRUST
Schwab International Index Fund
Schwab Small-Cap Index Fund
Schwab MarketTrack Growth Portfolio
Schwab MarketTrack Balanced Portfolio
Schwab MarketTrack Conservative Portfolio

A-1


 

Schwab MarketTrack All Equity Portfolio
Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund
Schwab Dividend Equity Fund
Schwab Small-Cap Equity Fund
Schwab Institutional Select S&P 500 Fund
Schwab Large-Cap Growth Fund
Schwab Total Stock Market Index Fund
Schwab Financial Services Fund
Schwab Health Care Fund
Schwab Target 2010 Fund
Schwab Target 2015 Fund
Schwab Target 2020 Fund
Schwab Target 2025 Fund
Schwab Target 2030 Fund
Schwab Target 2035 Fund
Schwab Target 2040 Fund
Schwab Retirement Income Fund
Schwab Core Equity Fund
Schwab Hedged Equity Fund
Schwab Premier Equity Fund
Laudus International MarketMasters Fund
Laudus Small-Cap MarketMasters Fund
Schwab Balanced Fund (formerly Schwab Viewpoints Fund)
Schwab Fundamental US Small-Mid Company Index Fund
Schwab Fundamental US Large Company Index Fund
Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index Fund
Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Index Fund
Schwab Fundamental International Small-Mid Company Index Fund
Schwab Monthly Income Fund - Moderate Payout
Schwab Monthly Income Fund - Enhanced Payout
Schwab Monthly Income Fund - Maximum Payout
Schwab International Core Equity Fund
SCHWAB ANNUITY PORTFOLIOS
Schwab Money Market Portfolio
Schwab S&P 500 Index Portfolio
Schwab MarketTrack Growth Portfolio II
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
Schwab International Equity ETF
Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF
Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF

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APPENDIX B
List of Schwab ETFs
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
Schwab International Equity ETF
Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF
Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF

 

Ex - (h)(7)
Amendment to Sub-Administration Agreement
     This Amendment to Sub-Administration Agreement is made as of October 8, 2009 by and between State Street Bank and Trust Company, a Massachusetts trust company (the “Sub-Administrator”), and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., a California corporation (the “Administrator”), with respect each management investment company identified on Appendix A hereto (each such investment company shall hereinafter be referred to as an “Investment Fund” and collectively, the “Investment Funds”). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in that certain Sub-Administration Agreement made as of October 1, 2005 (the “Sub-Administration Agreement”).
Witnesseth:
      Whereas, the Administrator and the Sub-Administrator entered into the Sub-Administration Agreement pursuant to which the Sub-Administrator furnishes certain administrative services to certain of the Investment Funds;
      Whereas , the Funds listed on Appendix B hereto (collectively, the “Schwab ETFs”), which are exchange traded funds, will issue and redeem shares (“Shares”) only in aggregations of Shares known as “Creation Units,” generally in exchange for a basket of certain equity or fixed income securities and a specified cash payment, as more fully described in the currently effective prospectus and statement of additional information of such Schwab ETFs; and
      Whereas , the Administrator desires for the Sub-Administrator to provide services to each of the Schwab ETFs and the Sub-Administrator desires to provide the services set forth in the Sub-Administration Agreement to each of the Schwab ETFs; and
      Whereas , the parties desire to amend a certain provision of the Sub-Administration Agreement to reflect the term of the Sub-Administration Agreement with respect to the Schwab ETFs.
      Now Therefore, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements hereinafter contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. For purposes of the Schwab ETFs only, Section 14 of the Sub-Administration Agreement is hereby amended as follows:
     (A) Section 14(a) of the Sub-Administration Agreement is hereby amended in its entirety and the following Section 14(a) is inserted in lieu thereof:
     SECTION 14. TERM, TERMINATION AND AMENDMENT

 


 

     (a). This Agreement shall become effective as of October 8, 2009 and shall remain in full force and effect for a period of three (3) years from such effective date (the “Initial Term”), and thereafter shall automatically continue in full force and effect unless either party terminates this Agreement by written notice to the other party at least ninety (90) days prior to the date of termination.
     (B) Section 14(c) of the Sub-Administration Agreement is hereby amended by the insertion of the following new Section 14(c)(I):
(I) With respect to a Schwab ETF, in the event that such Schwab ETF ceases operating as and under the name of such Schwab ETF for any reason, which may (but need not) be in connection with a merger, reorganization, transfer or liquidation of assets, stock exchange delisting or other extraordinary event. For the avoidance of doubt, upon termination of this Agreement under this Section 14(c)(I), such Schwab ETF shall pay to Sub-Administrator such compensation (including any applicable fees) and any reimbursable expenses as may be due and undisputed under the terms hereof to the date of such termination, including reasonable out-of-pocket expenses associated with such termination, and no other compensation, fees, charges or expenses will be assessed or will accrue with respect to said Schwab ETF after said termination. All out-of-pocket expenses for which the Sub-Administrator seeks reimbursement under this Section 14(c)(I) must be pre-approved by the Schwab ETF in writing, provided that such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
For the avoidance of doubt, the remainder of Section 14 of the Sub-Administration Agreement, including Section 14(c)(H) thereof relating to terminations in connection with material breaches by the Sub-Administrator, shall remain in effect for all Investment Funds and Schwab ETFs.
2. In the event that the Administrator desires to have the Sub-Administrator render services to any exchange traded fund in addition to those listed on Appendix B hereto under the terms of the Sub-Administration Agreement and this Amendment, it shall so notify the Sub-Administrator in writing, and if the Sub-Administrator agrees in writing to provide such services, such exchange traded fund shall become an Investment Fund and a Schwab ETF under the Sub-Administration Agreement and this Amendment and be bound by all terms and conditions and provisions of the Sub-Administration Agreement and this Amendment including, without limitation, the representations and warranties set forth in Section 4 of the Sub-Administration Agreement.
3. Except as modified hereby, all other terms and conditions of the Sub-Administration Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

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4. This Amendment may be executed in multiple counterparts, which together shall constitute one instrument.
[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

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Signature Page
In Witness Whereof, each of the parties has caused this instrument to be executed in its name and behalf by its duly authorized representative and its seal to be hereunder affixed as of the date first above-written.
             
By:
  /s/ Koji E. Felton   By:   /s/ Joseph Martinetto
 
           
Name: Koji E. Felton   Name: Joseph Martinetto
Title: SVP, Chief Counsel &
Corp. Secretary, Charles Schwab
Investment Management, Inc.
  Title: EVP Finance & Risk Management
 
           
CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT, INC.
       
 
           
By:
  /s/ Randy Merk        
 
           
Randy Merk        
EVP & President, Investment
Management Services
       
 
           
Signature Attested to By:   State Street Bank and Trust Company
 
           
By:
  /s/ Mary Moran Zeven   By:   /s/ Gary L. French
 
           
Name: Mary Moran Zeven   Name: Gary L. French
Title: Senior Vice President   Title: Senior Vice President
Amendment to Amended and Restated Master Sub-Administration Agreement

 


 

APPENDIX A
THE CHARLES SCHWAB FAMILY OF FUNDS
Schwab Money Market Fund
Schwab Value Advantage Money Fund
Schwab Retirement Advantage Money Fund
Schwab Investor Money Fund
Schwab Government Money Fund
Schwab U.S. Treasury Money Fund
Schwab Municipal Money Fund
Schwab California Municipal Money Fund
Schwab New York AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly NY Muni Money Fund)
Schwab AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly Florida Muni Money Fund)
Schwab California AMT Tax-Free Money Fund
Schwab Massachusetts AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly MA Muni Money Fund)
Schwab Pennsylvania Municipal Money Fund
Schwab New Jersey AMT Tax-Free Money Fund (formerly NJ Muni Money Fund)
Schwab Cash Reserves
Schwab Advisor Cash Reserves
SCHWAB INVESTMENTS
Schwab 1000 Index Fund
Schwab YieldPlus Fund
Schwab Short-Term Bond Market Fund
Schwab Total Bond Market Fund
Schwab GNMA Fund
Schwab Tax-Free YieldPlus Fund
Schwab Tax-Free Bond Fund
Schwab California Tax-Free YieldPlus Fund
Schwab California Tax-Free Bond Fund
Schwab Inflation Protected Fund
Schwab Premier Income Fund
SCHWAB CAPITAL TRUST
Schwab Core Equity Fund
Schwab Hedged Equity Fund
Schwab Premier Equity Fund
Laudus International MarketMasters Fund
Laudus Small-Cap MarketMasters Fund
Schwab Balanced Fund (formerly Schwab Viewpoints Fund)
Schwab Fundamental US Small-Mid Company Index Fund
Schwab Fundamental US Large Company Index Fund
Schwab Monthly Income Fund - Moderate Payout
Schwab Monthly Income Fund - Enhanced Payout
Schwab Monthly Income Fund - Maximum Payout
Schwab International Core Equity Fund
SCHWAB ANNUITY PORTFOLIOS
Schwab Money Market Portfolio

A-1


 

SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
Schwab International Equity ETF
Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF
Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF

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APPENDIX B
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
Schwab International Equity ETF
Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF
Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF

 

Ex - (j)(6)
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
POWER OF ATTORNEY
     I, the undersigned trustee and/or officer of Schwab Strategic Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust, do hereby constitute and appoint Koji Felton, Catherine MacGregor, David Lekich and W. John McGuire, and each of them singly, my true and lawful attorneys, with full power to them and each of them, to sign for me and in my name and the capacity listed below, any and all amendments to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Trust, and to file the same with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection thereunder, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto my said attorneys, and each of them, acting alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully as to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys or any of them may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.
     WITNESS my hand on the date set forth below.
     
/s/ Randall W. Merk
  Date: 4-14-10
 
Randall W. Merk
   
President and Chief Executive Officer
   

 

Ex - (j)(7)
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
POWER OF ATTORNEY
     I, the undersigned trustee and/or officer of Schwab Strategic Trust (the “Trust”), a Delaware statutory trust, do hereby constitute and appoint Koji Felton, Catherine MacGregor, David Lekich and W. John McGuire, and each of them singly, my true and lawful attorneys, with full power to them and each of them, to sign for me and in my name and the capacity listed below, any and all amendments to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of the Trust, and to file the same with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection thereunder, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto my said attorneys, and each of them, acting alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in the premises, as fully as to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys or any of them may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.
     WITNESS my hand on the date set forth below.
     
/s/ George Pereira
  Date: 4/14/2010
 
George Pereira
   
Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer
   

 

Ex - (p)(1)
THE CHARLES SCHWAB FAMILY OF FUNDS
SCHWAB INVESTMENTS
SCHWAB CAPITAL TRUST
SCHWAB ANNUITY PORTFOLIOS
SCHWAB STRATEGIC TRUST
LAUDUS TRUST
LAUDUS INSTITUTIONAL TRUST
CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC
CHARLES SCHWAB & CO., INC.
Joint Code of Ethics adopted pursuant to Rule 17j-1
under the Investment Company Act of 1940
and
Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940
Effective October 23, 2009
Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) requires that every registered investment company, and each investment adviser to and principal underwriter for such investment company, adopt a written code of ethics containing provisions reasonably necessary to prevent its Access Persons (as defined in Section II below) from engaging in any act, practice or course of business prohibited by Section 17(j) of the 1940 Act and Rule 17j-1 adopted thereunder. Rule 17j-1 further requires that each investment company and its adviser(s) and underwriter(s) use reasonable diligence, and institute procedures reasonably necessary, to prevent violations of such code.
Rule 204A-1 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) requires each investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish, maintain and enforce a written code of ethics with respect to its Access Persons, which shall include, among other things: (i) standards of business conduct for its Access Persons; (ii) provisions requiring its Access Persons to comply with applicable federal securities laws; and (iii) provisions requiring its Access Persons to report, and the adviser to review, their personal securities transactions and holdings periodically.
The Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act of 1988 (“ITSFEA”) and Section 204A of the Advisers Act for registered investment advisers, requires every investment adviser and registered broker-dealer to develop, implement and enforce policies and procedures to prevent the misuse of material non-public information.
The following policies constitute the joint Code of Ethics (the “Code”) for The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, Schwab Capital Trust, Schwab Annuity Portfolios, Schwab Strategic Trust, Laudus Trust, Laudus Institutional Trust (each a “Trust,” and, collectively, the “Trusts”), Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (“CSIM”), a registered investment adviser and the investment adviser to the Trusts, and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), a registered broker-dealer and the principal

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underwriter of certain Trusts. The principal underwriter function for the Schwab Strategic Trust, Laudus Trust and Laudus Institutional Trust is currently performed by a broker-dealer who is not affiliated with the Trusts, CSIM or Schwab. Access Persons of unaffiliated broker-dealers and other entities that serve as investment sub-advisers to the various series of the Trusts (each, a “Fund”) shall comply with their own codes of ethics which may be approved by the applicable Trust’s Board of Trustees in accordance with Rule 17j-1, and report to such Board of Trustees in accordance with Section VI hereunder as required by Rule 17j-1.
The Code is applicable to all Access Persons of the Trusts, CSIM and Schwab, which generally include all directors, trustees, officers and employees of the Trusts and CSIM, and any director, officer or employee of Schwab (acting in the capacity of principal underwriter) who makes, participates in or obtains information regarding the purchase or sale of “Covered Securities” (as defined below) by the Trusts or any other client of CSIM (collectively referred to as the “Client Accounts”). This Code in no way limits your duties or responsibilities with respect to The Charles Schwab Corporation Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the “Corporate Code”). CSIM Compliance monitors Access Persons’ compliance with the specific provisions herein related to personal securities transactions of Access Persons, and Schwab’s Compliance Department is responsible for monitoring Access Persons’ adherence to the Corporate Code and provisions of the Schwab Compliance Manual. Schwab’s Compliance Department reports any identified infractions of the Corporate Code and provisions of the Schwab Compliance Manual, with respect to Access Persons, to CSIM Compliance for further evaluation under this Code.
All Access Persons shall initially be provided with a copy of this Code and all subsequent amendments. All Access Persons shall provide CSIM’s Chief Compliance Officer or his or her designee (the “Review Officer”) a written acknowledgment, which may be made electronically, of their receipt of the Code and all subsequent amendments.
I. POLICY STATEMENT
Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act makes it unlawful for any Affiliated Person (as defined in Section II below) of, or principal underwriter for, the Trusts or Affiliated Persons of the Trusts’ investment adviser(s) and principal underwriters, in connection with the direct or indirect purchase or sale by such person of any Covered Security that is “held or to be acquired” by any Client Account:
  To employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud the Client Account;
 
  To make to the Client Account any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state to the Client Account a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading;
 
  To engage in any act, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon the Client Account; and

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  To engage in any manipulative practice with respect to the Client Account.
It is the policy of the Trusts, CSIM and Schwab that no Access Person will make, participate in, or engage in any act, practice or course of conduct that would violate the Policy Statement provisions set forth above or any applicable Federal Securities Laws or which would, in any way, conflict with the interests of the Trusts (or their shareholders) or any Client Account. This obligation encompasses:
  The duty at all times to place the interests of shareholders/clients first;
 
  The duty to ensure that all personal securities transactions be conducted consistent with the Code and in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest or any abuse of an individual’s position of trust and responsibility; and
 
  The fundamental standard that Access Persons not take inappropriate advantage of their positions.
 
  The duty that every Access Person shall promptly report any violation of this Code to CSIM’s Chief Compliance Officer.
II. DEFINITIONS
The definitions used in this Code include the following:
Access Person
    An Access Person of the Trusts or CSIM is any director, Trustee or officer of the Trusts or CSIM.
 
    An Access Person of CSIM is any employee of CSIM who, in the ordinary course of business:
    has access to non-public information regarding the purchase or sale of Covered Securities for any Client Account; or
 
    has functions or duties that relate to the making of any recommendation to any Client Account regarding the purchase or sale of securities; or
 
    has access to such recommendations (excluding those who only have access to client non-current, non-contemporaneous recommendations).
    An Access Person of Schwab is any director or officer of Schwab who, in the ordinary course of business:
    makes, participates in or obtains information regarding the purchase or sale of Covered Securities for any Client Account; or
 
    has functions or duties that are related to the making of any recommendation to any Client Account regarding the purchase or sale of Covered Securities; or
 
    has access to such recommendations (excluding those who only have access to client non-current, non-contemporaneous recommendations).
    An Access Person is also any natural person in a control relationship to a Trust, to a Fund or CSIM who obtains information concerning recommendations made to

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      any Client Account with regard to the purchase or sale of Covered Securities by any Client Account (excluding those who only have access to client non-current, non-contemporaneous recommendations).
Affiliated Person An “Affiliated Person” of the Trusts, CSIM or Schwab is defined in Section 2(a)(3) of the 1940 Act, which states:
“[An] Affiliated Person of another person means (A) any person directly or indirectly owning, controlling, or holding with power to vote, 5 per centum or more of the outstanding voting securities of such other person; (B) any person 5 per centum or more of whose outstanding voting securities are directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or held with power to vote, by such other person; (C) any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with, such other person; (D) any officer, director, partner, copartner, or employee of such other person; (E) if such other person is an investment company, any investment adviser thereof or any member of an advisory board thereof; and (F) if such other person is an unincorporated investment company not having a board of directors, the depositor thereof.”
Automatic Investment Plan is a program in which regular periodic purchases (or withdrawals) are made automatically in (or from) investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined schedule and allocation. An “Automatic Investment Plan” includes a dividend reinvestment plan.
Beneficial Ownership A person should consider himself or herself a “beneficial owner” of any security in which he or she has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest. Pecuniary interest in any class of securities includes the opportunity, directly or indirectly, to profit or share in any profit derived from a transaction in securities. For example, he or she has “beneficial ownership” of securities held by his or her spouse, minor children, a relative who shares his or her home, or other persons if by reason of any contract, understanding, relationship, agreement or other arrangement, he or she obtains from such securities benefits substantially equivalent to those of ownership. He or she should also consider himself or herself the beneficial owner of securities if he or she can vest or revest title in himself or herself now or in the future.
Client Account The accounts of the Funds or any other investment advisory client of CSIM.
Control “Control” has the same meaning as in Section (2)(a)(9) of the 1940 Act. Section 2(a)(9) provides that “control” means the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a company, unless such power is solely the result of an official position with such company.
Ownership of more than 25% of a company’s outstanding voting securities is presumed to give the holder of such securities control over the company. The SEC may determine, however, that the facts and circumstances of a given situation that may counter this presumption.

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Covered Security A “Covered Security” is any security as defined in Section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act, including:
  Fixed Income -
    Note
 
    Bond
 
    Evidence of Indebtedness
 
    Debenture
  Equity
    Stock
 
    Treasury Stock
 
    Certificate of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement
 
    Collateral-trust certificate
 
    Pre organization certificate or subscription
 
    Transferable share
 
    Investment contract
 
    Voting trust certificate
 
    Certificate of deposit for a security
  Derivatives / Others -
    Shares of any affiliated Mutual Fund / Investment Company (excluding money market funds)
 
    Shares of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) regardless of whether such ETF
  (a)   is classified as an open-end investment company or unit investment trust or
 
  (b)   is registered as an investment company under the 1940 Act.
    Security future
 
    Any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security (including a certificate of deposit) or on any group or index of securities (including any interest therein or based on the value thereof)
 
    Any put, call, straddle, option or privilege entered into on a national securities exchange relating to foreign currency
 
    Fractional undivided interest in oil, gas, or other mineral rights
 
    In general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a “security,” or any certificate of interest or participation in, temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, guarantee of, or warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase any of the foregoing
Provided, that Covered Securities do not include:
    Direct obligations of the United States Government
 
    Bankers’ acceptances; bank certificates of deposit
 
    Commercial paper
 
    Repurchase agreements
 
    Other High Quality Short-Term Debt Instruments
 
    Shares of any money market fund, including affiliated money market funds
 
    Units of a unit investment trust invested exclusively in unaffiliated registered open-end investment companies
 
    Shares of any unaffiliated registered open-end investment companies, except for shares of ETFs (which are Covered Securities, as indicated above).

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Please refer to “Appendix A” for additional detail on your Preclearance and Reporting requirements under the Code with respect to transactions and holdings in the Covered Securities noted above.
Federal Securities Laws means the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, any rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under any of these statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act as it applies to investment companies and investment advisers, and any rules adopted thereunder by the SEC or the Department of the Treasury.
Held or to be acquired A Covered Security is “held or to be acquired” if within the most recent 15 days it is or has been held by a Client Account, or is being or has been considered by a Client Account or CSIM for purchase by a Client Account. A purchase or sale includes the writing of an option to purchase or sell a Covered Security described above.
High Quality Short-Term Debt Instrument A “High Quality Short-Term Debt Instrument” is any instrument having a maturity at issuance of less than 366 days and which is rated in one of the highest two rating categories by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or which is unrated but is of comparable quality.
Initial Public Offering “Initial Public Offering” is an offering of securities registered under the 1933 Act, the issuer of which, immediately before the registration, was not subject to the reporting requirements of Sections 13 or 15(d) of the 1934 Act.
Investment Personnel “Investment Personnel” are Access Persons who, in connection with their regular functions or duties, make or participate in making recommendations regarding the purchase or sale of securities by a Client Account. The term also includes all natural persons who control a Trust or an employee of CSIM or Schwab who has access to information concerning recommendations made to the Client Account regarding the purchase or sale of securities by Client Account.
Material Non-Public Information is information that is both “material” and “non-public”. For this purpose, information is generally considered “material” if there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable investor would consider it important in formulating an investment decision. If the information has influenced a person’s investment decision, it would be very likely to be considered material. In addition, information that, when disclosed, is reasonably likely to affect the stock’s price should be treated as material. Examples include, but are not limited to, information concerning impending mergers, sales of subsidiaries, significant revenue or earnings swings, dividend changes, impending securities offerings, awards of patents, technological developments, impending product announcements, impending financial news and other major corporate events. Information is “non-public” when it has not been disseminated

6


 

in a manner making it available to the general public. Information is public once it has been widely disseminated, such as when it is reported in widely disseminated news services and/or publications, and investors have had a reasonable time to react to the information, generally two days.
Non-Interested Trustee and Interested Trustee A “Non-Interested Trustee” is any Trustee of a Trust who is not an interested person of such Trust as defined in section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act. An “Interested Trustee” is any Trustee of a Trust who is an interested person of such Trust as defined in section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act.
Private Placement A “Private Placement” is an offering that is exempt from registration under the 1933 Act pursuant to Section 4(2) or Section 4(6) or pursuant to Rule 504, Rule 505 or Rule 506 adopted thereunder.
Stock Option Program A “Stock Option Program” allows an employee to buy a set number of shares of a company’s stock at a future date at a set price.
III. COMMUNICATIONS
Access Persons may not tip or otherwise disclose to others (except to others who have a need to know such information in the ordinary course of their business) any information regarding the investment activities of the Client Accounts, including any transaction or recommendation made by or to CSIM or a Client Account. All communications that violate the terms of this Section III must be reported immediately to CSIM Compliance.
IV. LIMITS ON ACCEPTING OR RECEIVING GIFTS
Access Persons may not accept or receive any gift of more than de minimis value (as defined in the Schwab Compliance Manual) from any person or entity in connection with a Client Account entry into a contract, development of an economic relationship, or other course of dealing by or on behalf of a Client Account. Details regarding CSIM’s guidelines as it relates to its policy on CSIM employees’ receipts of gifts can be found by referring to the “CSIM Operational Guidelines for Gifts and Business Entertainment”.
V. TRADING RESTRICTIONS
The policies and procedures regarding trading restrictions are as follows:
Prohibition on Trading Based on Material Non-public Information. Any officer, director, Trustee or employee of the Trusts, CSIM or Schwab with material non-public information regarding any security, including a Covered Security, is prohibited from all personal trading in such security including derivatives of such securities.
Prior Approval of Trades Access Persons, except a person who is an Access Person solely by reason of serving as an Officer or Trustee of a Trust, must receive prior approval by the Review Officer before purchasing or selling any Covered Security,

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unless such purchase or sale was effected in any account over which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control or such purchase or sale was non-volitional.
Access Persons who have been deemed Access Persons solely by reason of serving as an Officer or Trustee of a Trust must receive prior approval by the Chief Compliance Officer, or in his or her absence, the Chief Legal Officer of the respective Trust, before purchasing or selling shares of an affiliated fund (excluding affiliated money market funds), unless such purchase or sale was effected in any account over which the Officer or Trustee has no direct or indirect influence or control.
Please note that submitting a preclearance request should be indicative of the intent to execute a trade, not to secure an Access Person’s right to execute a transaction on the basis of favorable intraday price movements. Prior approval of a personal transaction may only be relied upon through the end of the following business day from the date approval is received, unless the approval is received after the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (typically, 1pm PST), in which case it will be valid through the following two business days (excluding NYSE holidays).
The prior approval requirement does not apply to transactions in SCHW stock and options on SCHW stock in light of the specific policies in place to monitor and control employee trading of SCHW stock. Access Persons seeking to trade SCHW stock or options thereon should refer to Section D of the “Employee Securities Accounts and Investments & Inside Information Policy” in the Schwab Compliance Manual for a complete description. All other trading restrictions in this Code applicable to Covered Securities apply to SCHW stock and options on SCHW stock. Access Persons of any sub-adviser for the Trusts are subject only to the trading restrictions under their own respective codes of ethics.
Except as set forth above, prior approval is required for all transactions in Covered Securities in accounts or transactions over which Access Persons of CSIM exercise control. This requirement includes rebalancing activity in an Access Person’s 401(k) Schwabplan Brokerage Account (when an affiliated mutual fund is involved), trading activity in accounts for their family members or accounts in which they have a beneficial interest, but is not required for:
    Automatic Investment Plans;
 
    Direct Stock Purchase Plans;
 
    Investment decisions made by an unrelated third party who does not have access to the information in possession of such Access Person; or
 
    Any trade that does not result from such Access Person’s specific investment decision, including, without limitation, a trade generated by an automated model, even if the Access Person participates in the design or maintenance of the model.
All trading activity by Access Persons is subject to reporting and surveillance as set forth in Sections VI. and VII. of these procedures.

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De Minimis Amounts Access Persons requesting prior approval for trades in Covered Securities may be granted approval, regardless of Client Account trading activity, if any of the following criteria are met: (1) the transaction requested is for an affiliated open-end investment company, (2) the transaction requested is an equity trade in an amount equal to or less than 100 shares, (3) the transaction requested is an equity trade in the stock of a company with a market capitalization greater than $5 billion and has a 10-day average daily trading volume exceeding 5 million shares (each measured at the time of the requested trade), or (4) the transaction requested is a fixed income trade in an amount up to $100,000 per calendar month per issuer and the original issue size was greater than $100 million.
Excessive Requests /Trading This practice is discouraged regardless of whether (a) the securities are Covered Securities or (b) the account is covered under the Code. In general, anyone requesting approval to trade Covered Securities (other than shares of the Trusts) more than 60 times in a calendar quarter across all of his or her brokerage accounts should expect additional scrutiny of his or her trades. CSIM Compliance monitors trading activity, and may limit the number of trades for which it allows pre-clearance for the Access Person during the calendar quarter.
Prohibition on Short-Term Trading Profits Investment Personnel are prohibited from profiting in the purchase and sale, or sale and purchase, of the same (or related) securities, except for affiliated ultra-short bond funds, within 60 calendar days. This restriction applies without regard to tax lot considerations. Generally speaking, profit determinations will be made on the basis of a “Last-In-First-Out” (LIFO) accounting methodology, unless the fundamentals of the trade warrant a different consideration as determined by the Review Officer.
In the event that Investment Personnel realize profits on such prohibited short-term trades, the Investment Personnel must relinquish such profits to CSIM to be donated to a charitable organization selected by CSIM. The Review Officer may pre-approve exceptions to the 60 day holding period in cases of hardship. This exception is not automatic and requires advance written approval.
Profits received from a sale of securities which were acquired as a result of exercising options received through a Stock Option Program are excluded from the short-term trading profits prohibition discussed above. Investment Personnel receiving options may be subject to other restrictions with respect to their transactions in securities.
Blackout Periods Investment Personnel who are designated by CSIM as Portfolio Managers and Traders are restricted from executing a personal transaction in a Covered Security (except SCHW stock and options) within seven (7) calendar days before or after any Client Account that he/she manages trades in that security. Investment Personnel who are designated by CSIM as Credit Analysts are restricted from executing a personal transaction in a fixed income security within seven (7) calendar days before or after any Client Account trades in that security. All Access Persons, including all Investment Personnel, are restricted from executing a personal transaction in a Covered Security on a day during which any Client Account has a pending “buy” or “sell” order in the same

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security. Notwithstanding the fact that the transaction may not be restricted, no Access Person is permitted to effect a trade in any Covered Security in which they know or reasonably should have known a Client Account was effecting the trade.
This section will not be deemed to restrict personal securities transactions by Access Persons, including Investment Personnel, which would otherwise be prohibited solely because the transactions coincide with trades initiated as a result of cash flow by any Schwab Index Funds (other than trades in connection with a scheduled index rebalancing or adds and deletes).
This section will also not be deemed to restrict personal securities transactions by all Access Persons, including Investment Personnel, which would otherwise be prohibited solely because the transactions coincide with trades by any sub-adviser for a Fund for which the Access Person does not have prior access to daily trading information.
Prohibition of Initial Public Offerings (“IPOs”) All Access Persons, except persons who are Access Persons solely by reason of serving as an officer or Trustee of a Trust, are prohibited from directly or indirectly acquiring beneficial ownership in an IPO.
Prior Approval of Private Placements Each transaction where Access Persons, except persons who are Access Persons solely by reason of serving as an officer or Trustee of a Trust, directly or indirectly acquire beneficial ownership in a private placement requires prior approval by the Review Officer.
Prohibition On Service As Director Or Public Official All Access Persons are prohibited from serving on the board of directors of any publicly traded company or in an official capacity for any federal, state, or local government (or governmental agency or instrumentality) without prior approval from the Review Officer or Schwab’s applicable Review Officer.
Non-Interested Trustees A Non-Interested Trustee of the Trusts may trade in securities in which a Client Account has invested or is considering for investment, provided that the Trustee has no actual knowledge of the Trust’s contemporaneous activities with respect to the subject security, and has no material, non-public information about the issuer of the subject security.
VI. REPORTING
The policies and procedures regarding reporting requirements that are applicable to Access Persons include the following:
Reports to the Board of Trustees The President of CSIM and Executive Vice President of Schwab (or their designees) must (i) furnish annually to each Trust’s Board of Trustees a written report of any issues arising under this Code, including any material violations and any sanctions imposed in response to these violations and (ii) certify annually to the Board of Trustees that each has adopted procedures reasonably designed to prevent its Access Persons from violating the provisions of this Code. The President of the Trusts

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(or his or her designee) will report to the Board of Trustees on an annual basis in accordance with subparts (i) and (ii) above.
An officer of any sub-adviser of the Trusts shall submit a copy of its code of ethics to the Board for initial approval and, thereafter, the reports required by subparts (i) and (ii) above. Such sub-adviser shall submit any material amendments to its code of ethics within 6 months of adoption.
Access Person Reporting Each Trust, CSIM and Schwab are responsible for promptly identifying and reporting to CSIM Compliance all persons considered to be Access Persons. Each Trust, CSIM and Schwab will compile a written list of such persons, and promptly notify CSIM Compliance of all changes in the persons designated as Access Persons. CSIM Compliance will notify Access Persons of their obligation to report holdings and trading activity, and provide them with a copy of this Code.
Each Access Person (with the exception of Non-Interested Trustees) must make an initial holdings report, no later than ten days after he or she becomes an Access Person, and an annual holdings report, within forty-five days after the end of the calendar year, which shall disclose:
  The title, and type of security, as applicable, the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number, number of shares and principal amount of each Covered Security in which such Access Person had any direct or indirect beneficial ownership;
 
  The name of any broker, dealer or bank with whom the Access Person maintained an account in which securities were held for the direct or indirect beneficial interest of the Access Person; and
 
  The date that the report is submitted by the Access Person.
The information included in the initial holdings report must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date a person becomes an Access Person. The information included in the annual holdings report must be as of each calendar year end.
CSIM Compliance utilizes an on-line system to prepare the quarterly transaction report for each Access Person and present such reports to Access Persons for review and certification. Access Persons are responsible for reviewing and certifying the quarterly transaction report, unless they are subject to an applicable exemption to such reporting (see “Exemptions to Reporting Requirements” below). Access Persons of any sub-adviser of the Trusts shall file reports only under their own code of ethics.
Access Persons (other than Non-Interested Trustees) shall report on a quarterly calendar basis all transactions in which they acquire any direct or indirect beneficial ownership in Covered Securities. These transaction reports must be made no later than thirty days after the end of each calendar quarter and include trading activity at Schwab and any other broker-dealer.
The quarterly transaction reports shall disclose the following:
With respect to any transaction during the quarter in a Covered Security in which the Access Person had any direct or indirect beneficial ownership:

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    The date of the transaction, the title, as applicable, the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number, the interest rate and maturity date (if applicable), the number of shares and principal amount of each Covered Security;
 
    The nature of the transaction (i.e. purchase, sale, or any other type of acquisition or disposition);
 
    The price of the Covered Security at which the transaction was effected;
 
    The name of the broker, dealer or bank with or through which the transaction was effected; and
 
    The date that the report is submitted by the Access Person.
With respect to any account established during the quarter by an Access Person in which any securities were held for the direct or indirect benefit of the Access Person:
    The name of the broker, dealer or bank with whom the Access Person established the account;
 
    The date the account was established; and
 
    The date that the report is submitted by the Access Person.
In addition, Access Persons responsible for the implementation of portfolio management instructions in the Schwab Managed Portfolios and who hold a non-Schwab mutual fund account directly with the issuer, are required to provide duplicate trade confirmations and monthly statements for such accounts.
Non-Interested Trustee Reporting CSIM Compliance shall notify each Non-Interested Trustee that such person is subject to the reporting requirements of this Code and shall deliver a copy of this Code to each such person. Non-Interested Trustees are not required to submit the initial and annual holdings report as set forth under “Access Person Reporting.”
Each Non-Interested Trustee shall submit a quarterly transaction report in the form set forth under “Access Person Reporting” to Non-Interested Trustee Counsel, or in the case of Schwab Strategic Trust, to Fund Counsel, denoting
  1.   any transactions in which the Non-Interested Trustee knew at the time of his or her transaction or, in the ordinary course of fulfilling his or her official duties as a Trustee, should have known that during the fifteen (15) day period immediately preceding or after the date of the Trustee’s transaction in a Covered Security, such Covered Security is or was purchased or sold, or considered for purchase or sale, by a Client Account
 
  2.   any purchase or sale of shares of an affiliated fund (excluding affiliated money market funds), unless such purchase or sale was effected in any account over which the Non-Interested Trustee has no direct or indirect influence or control .
Exceptions to Reporting Requirements
Every Access Person must file the preceding reports except :

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  An Access Person need not make a report with respect to transactions effected for, and Covered Securities held in, any account over which the person has no direct or indirect influence or control (i.e. investment discretion) regarding specific security selection.
 
  An Access Person need not make a quarterly transaction report with respect to a transaction effected pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan.
 
  The Review Officer may elect to accept broker trade confirmations or account statements in lieu of a quarterly transactions report if the transactions report would duplicate information contained in the broker trade confirmations or account statements received by the Trust, CSIM or Schwab with respect to the Access Person in the time period required, and all of the information required to be contained in a quarterly transaction report is contained in the broker trade confirmations or account statements, or in the records of the Trust, CSIM or Schwab.
VII. SURVEILLANCE
The policies and procedures regarding surveillance that are applicable to Access Persons include the following:
Employee Surveillance and Review The Review Officer will, on a quarterly basis, compare reported personal transactions in Covered Securities with the Client Accounts’ executed transactions in Covered Securities (purchased or sold) to determine whether an exception may have occurred. The Review Officer will employ procedures similar to those attached in Appendix B hereto. Before determining that an Access Person has engaged in activity that is considered an exception to the Code, the Review Officer must give the person an opportunity to supply explanatory material.
If the Review Officer determines that an exception has or may have occurred, the Review Officer must submit the determination, together with the confidential quarterly report and any explanatory material provided by the Access Person to the Trusts’ Chief Compliance Officer (Funds’ CCO) or his or her designee, who will determine whether the person has had a material or non-material exception to the Code.
No Access Person is required to participate in a determination of whether he or she has committed a violation or discuss the imposition of any sanction against himself or herself.
Depending on the underlying facts and circumstances of the incident, if the Funds’ CCO finds that the person violated the Code, after consulting with the Review Officer, the Funds’ CCO, or the Review Officer, will impose sanctions upon the Access Person that he or she deems appropriate including, among other things, a letter of censure, suspension of trading privileges, disgorgement of profits, and/or termination of employment. The Funds’ CCO, or his or her designee, will report the exception and the sanction imposed to the Trusts’ Board of Trustees at the next regularly scheduled board meeting, unless, in the sole discretion of the Funds’ CCO or his or her designee, circumstances warrant an earlier report.

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The Review Officer will report his or her own transactions to an Alternate Review Officer on a quarterly basis. The Alternative Review Officer, on a quarterly basis, shall fulfill the duties of the other Review Officer with respect to the latter’s transactions in Covered Securities.
Employees of CSIM and Schwab are also subject to the requirements of Schwab’s Corporate Code.
VIII. RECORDS
All records associated with this Code, including but not limited to; (i) lists of persons who are, or within the past five years have been designated as Access Persons; (ii) quarterly transaction and initial and annual holdings reports by Access Persons; (iii) surveillance documentation, including any Code violation and any sanctions resulting from the violation; and (iv) communications and all versions of the Code, shall be maintained by CSIM Compliance in an easily accessible place for at least five years. In addition, any record of any decision, and the reasons supporting the decision, to approve a hardship exemption or the acquisition by Investment Personnel of securities acquired in a Private Placement, shall be maintained by CSIM Compliance for at least five years after the end of the fiscal year in which the approval is granted.
The Code, a copy of each quarterly transaction and initial and annual holding report by each Access Person of the Trusts or information provided in lieu of such reports, any written report made to the Board of Trustees concerning the Code and lists of all persons required to make reports shall be preserved with the Trusts’ records for the period required by Rule 17j-1.
IX. DISCLOSURE
The Trusts will disclose in their Statement of Additional Information that (i) the Trusts, CSIM and Schwab have adopted a code of ethics; (ii) the personnel of the Trusts, CSIM and Schwab are permitted to invest in securities for their own account, subject to the limitations of Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act and this Code; and (iii) the Code can be obtained from the SEC. The Code will be filed as an exhibit to the Trusts’ registration statements.
October 23, 2009: Approved and Adopted by the Boards of Trustees of The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, Schwab Capital Trust and Schwab Annuity Portfolios
October 23, 2009: Approved and Adopted by Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. and Charles Schwab & Co, Inc.

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APPENDIX A: PRE-CLEARANCE & REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
The table below indicates pre-clearance and reporting requirements for Access Persons.
             
        QUARTERLY   ANNUAL
        TRANSACTION   HOLDINGS
SECURITY TYPE   PRE-CLEARANCE   REPORTING   REPORTING
 
EQUITY
  YES   YES   YES
(INCLUDING OPTIONS & WARRANTS)
           
 
           
FIXED INCOME
  YES   YES   YES
(Excluding us govt obligations
           
 
           
AFFILIATED MUTUAL FUNDS
  YES   YES   YES
(Excluding money market funds)
           
 
           
CLOSED-END MUTUAL FUNDS
  YES   YES   YES
 
           
INDIVIDUAL SECURITIES HELD IN 401 k
  YES   YES   YES
OR ESPP ACCOUNTS
  (EXCEPT AUTOMATIC   (EXCEPT AUTOMATIC    
 
  PURCHASE PROGRAMS   PURCHASE PROGRAMS    
 
  WHERE TIMING IS NOT   WHERE TIMING IS NOT    
 
  CONTROLLED BY   CONTROLLED BY    
 
  ACCESS PERSON)   ACCESS PERSON)    
 
           
EMPLOYER STOCK UNIT PLANS
  NO   YES   YES
(i.e. Schwab 401k) , ETFS/HLDRS,
  (EXCEPT   (EXCEPT AUTOMATIC    
AUTOMATIC INVESTMENT PLANS,
  REBALANCING   PURCHASE PROGRAMS    
DIRECT STOCK PURCHASE PLANS,
  ACTIVITY)   WHERE TIMING IS NOT    
OR DRIPS
      CONTROLLED BY    
 
      ACCESS PERSON)    
Jumpword: Schwabplan
           
 
           
SCHWAB STOCK
  NO   YES   YES
 
           
SCHWAB STOCK OPTIONS
  NO   YES   YES
    granted and vested
      (EXCEPT AT TIME OF    
    purchased
      GRANT)    
Jumpword: Employer Stock Option
           
 
           
ALL EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS (etfs)
  YES   YES   YES
 
           
UNAFFILIATED OPEN-END MUTUAL
  NO   NO   NO
FUNDS
           
 
           
US TREASURIES/AGENCIES
  NO   NO   NO
 
           
SHORT-TERM/CASH EQUIVALENTS
  NO   NO   NO