SCHO
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF
Published by Radif Partners · Updated
Overview
Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF (SCHO) tracks the Bloomberg US Treasury 1-3 Year index and holds its constituents directly, a physical replication managed by Schwab. Dividends are paid out to holders rather than reinvested, so SCHO suits investors seeking regular income. The fund is domiciled in US, which determines the withholding tax treatment applied to its dividends. Annual charges come to 0.03% of assets, and the fund holds 15.3B under management. Over five years the fund returned -1.3% a year on average, against 0.0% over three years. It is not eligible for the French PEA, but can be held in a securities account, a UK ISA or a German Depot. Its risk level is rated low. Launched on 2010-08-05, the fund is denominated in USD and has 16 years of track record. Because SCHO distributes, every payment is taxable in the year it is received, against the dividend allowance in a general account, while it stays sheltered inside an ISA or a SIPP. Domicile in US sets the withholding the fund itself suffers on the dividends it receives, a cost absent from the stated fee but present in the return.
At 0.03%, this fund sits among the cheapest in its category: of 78 comparable funds, only a tenth match it or do better. On £10,000 that is about 3 a year against 10 for the median fund, close to 70 of difference over a decade. Once fees are at the floor, they stop being where the difference lies: it moves to replication quality, read in the tracking difference, and to your broker's dealing cost, which can exceed the fee saving if you buy in small amounts.
Replication is physical: the fund actually holds the constituents of Bloomberg US Treasury 1-3 Year, which makes its contents verifiable line by line in the issuer's report. Two points deserve attention. Securities lending first, practised by most physical funds to reduce costs: it earns a few hundredths of a point and creates an exposure to the borrower, covered by collateral, with the annual report stating the proportion lent. Rebalancing second: every change in the index's composition forces the fund to buy and sell, and those internal costs are not in the 0.03% headline. That is why two funds at the same price do not track their index with the same fidelity.
The fund is domiciled in the United States, and for a European investor that is the point to settle before any other. A US fund is outside UCITS regulation: most European brokers cannot offer it to a retail client for want of a key information document, so access depends on the investor's status. Two tax consequences follow as well: dividends paid to a non-resident bear US withholding, reduced by treaty where a W-8BEN is in place, and US securities held directly fall within US estate tax above a threshold that is low for a non-resident. An Irish-domiciled equivalent avoids both questions.
Income is distributed: the fund pays out the dividends it receives, usually one to four times a year. For a holder living off the portfolio that is what is wanted, since the income arrives without selling. For someone still accumulating it is a tax disadvantage in a taxable account: each payment is taxed in the year received, so the amount reinvested is reduced before it starts working again. Reinvesting by hand also costs a dealing commission each time and often leaves cash idle for want of the price of a whole unit. An accumulating class on the same index, where one exists, settles the question.
With 15.3 billion in assets and 16 years of history, this fund has the size and the record that make closure unlikely and the spread narrow. Three checks remain, once a year, none of which depends on the market. The ongoing charge, which an issuer revises without notice and whose gap to a competitor can invert. The tracking difference, the only figure that says whether replication stays faithful. And the methodology of Bloomberg US Treasury 1-3 Year, which can change its selection or weighting rules without the fund's name moving, in which case what you hold has changed with nothing to announce it.
Bloomberg US Treasury 1-3 Year tracks government debt, and the price driver is not a company's profit but the interest rate: when rates rise, the value of bonds already issued falls, the more so the further away their maturity. What matters on this fund is therefore not past return but duration, which says how much the value moves per point of rate, and yield to maturity, which says what the portfolio earns if nothing is sold. Default risk is secondary here; interest rate risk is the substance.
Over one year the fund shows -2.2% and over five years -1.3% annualised, two figures close together, which is the most ordinary and least informative configuration: it does not say the fund is steady, only that the chosen start and end points resemble each other. Comparing these figures with another fund means something only if the index is the same; otherwise it is an index comparison dressed as a fund comparison.
0.03%
15.3B
15,282M USDLow
4,731
Physical
Distributing
USD
US
Bloomberg US Treasury 1-3 Year
Schwab
2010-08-05 (16 years)
Contextual Analysis
Fund Size
With 15.3B in assets, this is a large fund, good liquidity and tight spreads.
Fee Positioning
A TER of 0.03% is among the lowest on the market, excellent value.
Track Record
Launched in 2010-08-05, this fund has 16 years of history, long and reliable track record.
Risk Profile
Low risk, suitable for cautious investors or short-term goals.
Performance
Returns Summary
| Period | Ann. Return | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Month (est.) | – | -0.2% |
| 3 Months (est.) | – | -0.5% |
| 6 Months (est.) | – | -1.1% |
| YTD (est.) | – | -0.9% |
| 1 Year | -2.2% | -2.2% |
| 3 Years | +0.0% | +0.0% |
| 5 Years | -1.3% | -6.2% |
| Since inception (16y) | -1.1% | -16.9% |
Key Facts
Fund Profile
Themes & Zones
Holdings
Risk
How to Buy This ETF
Select your country in the menu to see available brokers and wrappers.
About this ETF
The Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF tracks the Bloomberg US Treasury 1-3 Year index. It is managed by Schwab using physical replication and follows a distributing distribution policy. The fund is denominated in USD and domiciled in US. It has a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.03%.
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Frequently asked questions
What do SCHO's 0.03% charges actually cost?
They are taken from the fund's value continuously and never billed separately: on £1,000 invested that is about £0.30 a year and roughly £3 over ten years at a constant amount. That is the only cost of the fund itself. Your broker's commission and the spread between buying and selling price come on top, and they weigh most on small frequent purchases.
Does SCHO pay dividends?
Yes: the fund distributes and pays out the dividends it receives, on a calendar set by Schwab. The payment is taxable in the year you receive it in most accounts, even if reinvested at once, and reinvesting by hand costs a commission each time. An accumulating class on the same index avoids that friction for anyone who does not need the income.
What is the real risk in SCHO?
Interest rates, not default. When rates rise, the value of bonds already issued falls, and the size of the move depends on the portfolio's duration: roughly one per cent per year of duration per point of rate. The figures to look at on this fund are therefore duration and yield to maturity, which says what the portfolio earns if nothing is sold. Neither appears in an annual return.
How do you buy SCHO, and on which venue?
Through any broker that lists ISIN US8085248586. The same strategy often exists in several share classes with different fees and distribution policies, and what counts is the class you buy rather than the one you read about: check the ISIN, not the name. A limit order avoids paying the spread of a thin order book, particularly outside the trading hours of the underlying markets.
Is SCHO genuinely diversified?
Less so than the number of holdings suggests. Bloomberg US Treasury 1-3 Year weights its constituents by market capitalisation, so the largest companies make up a share of the fund far above their number, and that concentration deepens without any rule changing. The useful check is the weight of the top ten holdings, published monthly by Schwab: that figure says how many companies the outcome actually depends on.
This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Displayed performance is simulated.