Risk Table - Schwab Global Real Estate Fund
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Risk [Text Block] |
| Principal Risks |
The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an
investor to lose money. The fund’s principal risks include:
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| Risk Lose Money [Member] |
The fund is subject to risks, any of which could cause an
investor to lose money.
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| Market Risk |
Market
Risk — Financial markets rise and fall in response to a variety
of factors, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. Markets may be impacted by economic, political, regulatory,
and other conditions, including economic sanctions, tariffs, and other government actions. In addition,
the occurrence of global events, such as war, terrorism, environmental disasters, natural disasters and
epidemics, may also negatively affect the financial markets. As with any investment whose performance
is tied to these markets, the value of an investment in the fund will fluctuate, which means that an
investor could lose money over short or long periods.
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| Management Risk |
Management
Risk — As with all actively managed funds, the fund is subject
to the risk that the investment adviser will select investments or allocate assets in a manner that could
cause the fund to underperform or otherwise not meet its investment objective. The fund’s investment
adviser applies its own investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the
fund, but there can be no guarantee that they will produce the desired results.
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| Equity Risk |
Equity Risk — The prices of equity securities rise and
fall daily. These price movements may result from factors affecting individual companies, industries
or the securities market as a whole. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles, which may cause
stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
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| Market Capitalization Risk |
Market
Capitalization Risk — Securities issued by companies of different
market capitalizations tend to go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions. During
a period when securities of a particular market capitalization fall behind other types of investments,
the fund’s performance could be impacted.
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| Large-Cap Company Risk |
Large-Cap
Company Risk — Large-cap companies are generally more mature and the
securities issued by these companies may not be able to reach the same levels of growth as the securities
issued by small- or mid-cap companies.
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| Mid-Cap Company Risk |
Mid-Cap
Company Risk — Mid-cap companies may be more vulnerable to adverse business
or economic events than larger, more established companies and the value of securities issued by these
companies may move sharply.
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| Small-Cap Company Risk |
Small-Cap Company Risk — Securities issued by small-cap companies may be riskier than those issued
by larger companies, and their prices may move sharply, especially during market upturns and downturns.
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| Concentration Risk |
Concentration Risk — To the extent that
the fund’s portfolio is concentrated in the securities of issuers in a particular market, industry,
group of industries, sector, country, or asset class (including the real estate industry, as described
above), the fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to
increased price volatility and may be more vulnerable to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory
occurrences affecting that market, industry, group of industries, sector, country, or asset class.
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| Real Estate Investment Risk |
Real Estate Investment Risk —
The fund has a policy of concentrating its investments in real estate companies and companies related
to the real estate industry. As such, the fund is subject to risks associated with the direct ownership
of real estate securities and an investment in the fund will be closely linked to the performance of
the real estate markets. These risks include, among others: declines in the value of (or income generated
by) real estate; risks related to general and local economic conditions; possible lack of availability
of mortgage funds or other limits to accessing the credit or capital markets; defaults by borrowers or
tenants, particularly during an economic downturn; and changes in interest rates.
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| REITs Risk |
REITs Risk — In addition to the risks
associated with investing in securities of real estate companies and real estate related companies, REITs
are subject to certain additional risks. Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the
underlying properties owned by the trusts, and mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit
extended. Further, REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills and cash flows, and may have
their investments in relatively few properties, or in a small geographic area or a single property type.
Failure of a company to qualify as a REIT under federal tax law may have adverse consequences to the
fund. In addition, REITs have their own expenses, and the fund will bear a proportionate share of those
expenses. The value of a REIT may be affected by changes in interest rates.
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| Foreign Investment Risk |
Foreign Investment Risk — The fund’s investments
in securities of foreign issuers involve certain risks that may be greater than those associated with
investments in securities of U.S. issuers. These include risks of adverse changes in foreign economic,
political, regulatory and other conditions; changes in currency exchange rates or exchange control regulations
(including limitations on currency movements and exchanges); the imposition of economic sanctions or
other government restrictions; differing accounting, auditing, financial reporting and legal standards
and practices; differing securities market structures; and higher transaction costs. These risks may
negatively impact the value or liquidity of the fund’s investments and could impair the fund’s ability
to meet its investment objective or invest in accordance with its investment strategy. There is a risk
that investments in securities denominated in, and/or receiving revenues in, foreign currencies will
decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. To the extent the fund’s investments in a single country
or a limited number of countries represent a large percentage of the fund’s assets, the fund’s performance
may be adversely affected by the economic, political, regulatory, and social conditions in those countries,
and the fund’s price may be more volatile than the price of a fund that is geographically diversified.
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| Emerging Markets Risk |
Emerging Markets Risk — Emerging market countries
may be more likely to experience political turmoil or rapid changes in market or economic conditions
than more developed countries. Emerging market countries often have less uniformity in accounting, auditing,
financial reporting and recordkeeping requirements, which may limit the quality and availability of financial
information, and greater risk associated with the custody of securities. In addition, the financial stability
of issuers (including governments) in emerging market countries may be more precarious than in developed
countries. As a result, there may be an increased risk of illiquidity and price volatility associated
with the fund’s investments in emerging market countries, which may be magnified by currency fluctuations
relative to the U.S. dollar, and, at times, it may be difficult to value such investments.
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| Convertible Securities Risk |
Convertible Securities Risk —
The value of a convertible security is influenced by changes in interest rates, with investment value
declining as interest rates increase and increasing as interest rates decline, and the credit standing
of the issuer. The price of a convertible security will also normally vary in some proportion to changes
in the price of the underlying common stock because of the conversion or exercise feature.
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| Derivatives Risk |
Derivatives Risk — The 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. The fund’s use of derivatives
could reduce the fund’s performance, increase the fund’s volatility, and could cause the fund to
lose more than the initial amount invested. In addition, investments in derivatives may involve leverage,
which means a small percentage of assets invested in derivatives can have a disproportionately large
impact on the fund. However, these risks are less severe when the fund uses derivatives for hedging rather
than to enhance the fund’s returns or as a substitute for a position or security.
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| Leverage Risk |
Leverage Risk — Certain fund transactions, such as derivatives
transactions, short sales and reverse repurchase agreements, may 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 the fund to liquidate
portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations.
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| Short Sales Risk |
Short Sales Risk — The fund will incur
a loss if the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time
the fund replaces the borrowed security.
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| Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Risk |
Exchange-Traded
Fund (ETF) Risk — When the fund invests in an ETF, it will bear a proportionate
share of the ETF’s expenses. In addition, lack of liquidity in the market for an ETF’s shares can
result in its value being more volatile than the underlying portfolio of securities.
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| Securities Lending Risk |
Securities Lending Risk — Securities lending involves
the risk of loss of rights in, or delay in recovery of, the loaned securities if the borrower fails to
return the security loaned or becomes insolvent.
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| Liquidity Risk |
Liquidity
Risk — The fund may be unable to sell certain securities, such
as illiquid securities, readily at a favorable time or price, or the fund may have to sell them at a
loss.
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| Portfolio Turnover Risk |
Portfolio Turnover Risk —
The fund buys and sells portfolio securities actively. This may cause the fund’s portfolio turnover
rate and transaction costs to rise, which may lower the fund’s performance and may increase the likelihood
of capital gains distributions.
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