Schwab Asset Management Proxy Voting Choice
Frequently Asked Questions
All publicly held companies hold annual meetings (and may hold special meetings) at which shareholders can vote on company related matters including board related issues such as the election of directors, capital management decisions, ratification of the auditor and other financial matters, changes to company statutes, executive compensation, equity plans/grants, M&A activity and shareholder proposals, as well as other topics.
Shareholders who own stock in a company directly, can vote their shares on all proposals up for a vote in a manner they feel best represents their interests.
Shareholders typically have the choice to vote FOR, AGAINST/WITHHOLD or ABSTAIN on each of the proposals presented on the meeting’s ballot. The number of shares they own is counted toward the vote decision they execute.
Because shareholders invested in mutual funds and ETFs own shares of the funds, and not in the underlying companies owned by the funds, they are not legally provided the opportunity to directly vote proxies at those companies. Therefore, to allow shareholders to have a voice on matters at the companies held by the funds, the Schwab Asset Management *Shareholder Proxy Voting Choice Program allows them to select a policy that best aligns with their investment philosophy to direct the voting of their proportional share holdings.
The program is available to all shareholders of participating Funds based on record date.
Eligible shareholders who choose to participate select their preferred voting policy from the pre-determined list of policies curated by the investment manager.
Shareholders’ proportional holdings ownership is voted in accordance with their selected policy.
The proportional share of portfolio holdings of non-participating shareholders is voted based on the Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM) proxy voting policy.
Shareholders who choose to participate in the program do not vote proxies directly; they choose a proxy voting policy to direct their votes and the investment manager is still responsible for voting all proxies.
Shareholders can’t select a policy not offered through the program or establish their own custom policy.
Shareholders can’t select a policy by individual meeting or individual ballot matter; their selected policy is applied to all proxies and underlying ballot items consistently.
The initial offering of the Schwab Asset Management Shareholder Proxy Voting Choice Program will include all shareholders of the Schwab 1000 Index® Fund and Schwab 1000 Index® ETF as of the established record date. All eligible participants will receive an invitation my email or mail, depending on their established preferences, to participate.
Shareholders of other Schwab Funds and Schwab ETFs will not be impacted.
There is no obligation to participate.
Selecting a policy from those offered will dictate how your proportional share ownership will be voted for all proposals at all meetings.
Schwab Asset Management will continue to be responsible for processing your vote. You do not need to take any further action.
Investors in participating funds will have four voting policies to choose from that will direct the voting of their share of ownership.
- Vote with CSIM proxy voting policy
- Vote with company management recommendations
- Vote with a third-party proxy voting policy (Glass Lewis Benchmark)
- Submit an Abstain vote on all proposals
Investors who choose not to participate will continue to have Schwab Asset Management Investment Stewardship vote on their behalf in accordance with the CSIM proxy voting policy. For clients and shareholders who entrust us with voting on their behalf, we remain steadfast in our focus on their long-term financial interests.
Eligible shareholders are not required to participate. While we are launching the program with the four policy choices noted, we will consider changing and/or adding to the voting polices offered based on shareholder participation and any additional feedback received.
Eligible shareholders opt in to the program by selecting a voting policy to direct their proportional share of the vote.
If you do not wish to participate, you do not have to do anything. Those who do not select a voting policy will continue to have their proportional shares voted by Schwab Asset Management in accordance with the CSIM proxy voting policy with the goal to promote and protect shareholder value. However please note that by not participating, you will continue to receive reminder notices for a period of time during the outreach campaign.
The initial invitation to participate will be followed up by several reminders to ensure everyone who wants to participate has the option. If you do not want to receive further notifications, you can select to have Schwab Asset Management continue to vote your shares according to the CSIM proxy voting policy, which will ultimately lead to the same vote decisions as not participating, but will avoid any additional outreach.
In addition to the information available in the email/mailing and the microsite to which it directs shareholders, further information is available at https://www.schwabassetmanagement.com/proxy-pass-through
To view the CSIM 2025 Proxy Voting Policy, click here.
To view the 2025 Glass Lewis Benchmark Voting Policy, click here.
There is no obligation to participate. If you would like to opt out, you can simply take no action and your proportional share amount will continue to be voted by Schwab Asset Management per the CSIM proxy voting policy. However please note that by not participating, you will continue to receive reminder notices for a period of time during the outreach campaign.
Schwab Asset Management is conducting limited outreach to encourage participation. If you do not opt in, you will receive several reminders that the offering is available to you. If you do not want to receive further notifications, you can opt in to have Schwab Asset Management continue to vote your shares, which will ultimately lead to the same vote decisions as not participating, but will avoid any additional outreach.
Shareholders of participating funds will have the opportunity to opt in at their discretion as long as they retain their personalized link to access the sign-up page included in the outreach emails/mailings. Eligibility will be based on shareholders as of the record date established by Schwab Asset Management.
Yes. Participating shareholders have the option to change their preferences at their will as long as they retain their personalized link to access the sign-up page included in the outreach emails/mailings.
Once you select a policy, it will begin to be applied to all meetings with record dates on or after March 20th, 2025. Participating shareholders will have the option to review and update their policy selection or opt out of participating at their will, as long as they retain their personalized link to access the sign-up page included in the outreach emails/mailings. Original selections will remain in place unless changes are made.
Reminders will be sent to shareholders annually, at which time they may also update their voting policy choice or opt in or out of the program.
Changes can be made to your participation and/or policy choice at your will, as long as you retain your personalized link to access the sign-up page included in the outreach emails/mailings. If you do not wish to change anything, no action needs to be taken to continue implementing your current choice(s).
After the initial outreach, reminders will be sent on an annual basis to prompt you to review your voting policy choice(s) and update your participation if you so choose.
Your participation in this offering will not result in you receiving proxy voting notifications about specific meetings. Only limited outreach is conducted around participation in the Schwab Asset Management Shareholder Proxy Voting Choice Program.
You can contact your broker at any time to discuss this offering and get additional information.