What Is SCHK? Schwab 1000 ETF
Last updated September 2026
Short answer
SCHK is Schwab 1000 ETF, an ETF that tracks the Schwab 1000 Index at a 0.03% expense ratio. SCHK tracks an index Schwab built and maintains itself rather than one licensed from S&P, FTSE Russell or MSCI. Index licensing is a recurring cost that index funds pass to holders, and removing it is one reason a fund covering the thousand largest US companies can be offered at 0.03 percent. What you own is the large and mid-cap portion of the US market: NVIDIA at 6.8 percent, Apple at 6.0 percent, Microsoft at 4.0 percent and a technology sector weight of 37 percent. Assets are $5.7 billion, the yield 1.03 percent and the fund launched in 2017.
SCHK is issued by Schwab Asset Management and tracks the Schwab 1000 Index. It charges a 0.03% expense ratio, holds approximately $5.7B in assets under management, yields about 1.03%, and launched in 2017.
Owning the index removes a cost most funds pay
Index providers charge asset managers a fee for the right to track their benchmarks, typically based on the assets in the fund. In a market where broad US equity funds compete at a few basis points, that licence fee is a meaningful share of the total cost. Building an index in house eliminates it, and Schwab has done that here and in several of its other equity funds.
The trade-off is that a proprietary index is maintained by the same firm that profits from the fund tracking it, which is a governance question rather than a practical one for a rules-based large-cap index where the construction is transparent and the outcome is close to what any competitor would produce. Selecting the thousand largest US companies by market value leaves little room for discretion. Where proprietary indices deserve more scrutiny is in complex strategies, not here.
A thousand companies is nearly the whole market by weight
It is tempting to assume a fund holding a thousand companies is missing something a total-market fund captures. By count, it is: several thousand smaller US listed companies are excluded. By weight, the gap is small, because the market value of everything below the largest thousand companies is a single-digit share of the US market.
The comparison worth making is against a Russell 3000 fund like IWV. That fund holds three times as many companies for 0.20 percent against SCHK's 0.03 percent, and the additional exposure is the sliver of market value sitting in small-caps. Whether that additional coverage is worth several times the fee is the actual decision. For an investor who wants meaningful small-cap exposure, neither fund provides it at a weight that matters, and a dedicated small-cap holding is the tool for that job.
The concentration underneath the thousand names
The ten largest positions are 33.5 percent of the fund. NVIDIA leads at 6.8 percent, followed by Apple at 6.0 percent and Microsoft at 4.0 percent. Alphabet appears as two share classes, 3.0 percent and 2.4 percent, so the company is 5.4 percent of the fund rather than the two mid-sized positions the holdings table shows. Reading that list without combining the Alphabet lines understates how much sits at the top.
Technology at 37 percent is the largest sector by a distance, ahead of financials at 12 percent, consumer discretionary at 10 percent and communication services and industrials at 9 percent each. Chip companies account for a large slice of that: NVIDIA at 6.8 percent, Broadcom at 2.5 percent and Micron at 1.9 percent. None of this is a decision the fund makes. It follows from weighting a market by size when the largest companies are technology businesses, and a competing large-cap index fund would show much the same.
SCHK holdings: top 10
Approximate weights as of August 2026. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.
How do I invest in SCHK?
There are three common ways to get SCHK exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) of SCHK directly at any major broker that lists it. Hold it as a core position and layer more concentrated ideas on top. Or build it into a thematic portfolio in Walnut, so SCHK sits alongside other holdings that express the same thesis, with target weights you can rebalance toward. SCHK trades like a stock during market hours, so you buy it the same way you would any listed share.
New to buying funds? See how to buy an ETF, step by step.
Is SCHK a good buy?
Whether SCHK is a good buy depends less on any single call and more on your time horizon and what you already hold: it tracks the Schwab 1000 Index, so the real question is whether you want that exposure in your mix and at what weight. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is SCHK a buy?
The bottom line on SCHK
SCHK gives you the Schwab 1000 Index exposure in one ticker at a 0.03% expense ratio. Most investors use it as a core holding and layer more concentrated thematic portfolios on top.
More on SCHK
Whether SCHK is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is SCHK a buy?
SCHK yields 1.03% as of August 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see SCHK dividend: yield and schedule.
New to funds like SCHK? Start with what an ETF is, then how to buy an ETF, or browse the full guide to ETF investing.
Wondering how SCHK fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in SCHK with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how SCHK fits what you actually hold: what it overlaps with, what it leaves you exposed to, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the Schwab 1000 Index?
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It is a benchmark Schwab created and maintains, covering approximately the thousand largest US companies by market value and weighting them accordingly. In coverage it is comparable to other large and mid-cap US indices from established providers. The distinguishing feature is ownership rather than construction: Schwab does not pay an external provider for the right to track it.
Does a proprietary index create a conflict of interest?
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It is worth noting rather than alarming here. The same firm designs the index and profits from the fund tracking it, which removes an independent check. In a rules-based large-cap index where selection is by market value and the methodology is published, there is very little discretion available to exercise. The concern carries more weight in complex or strategy-based indices.
How does SCHK differ from a total US market fund?
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A total-market fund adds several thousand smaller companies that SCHK excludes. By number of holdings the difference is large. By weight it is small, since companies below the largest thousand represent a single-digit share of US market value. The two funds therefore behave very similarly, and the practical distinctions are cost and the index provider's cutoff rules.
Why does Alphabet appear twice in the holdings?
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Alphabet has two listed share classes and market-cap indices include both. They show at 3.0 percent and 2.4 percent, but they are claims on the same company, so Alphabet is 5.4 percent of the fund. Several other US companies with dual class structures are split the same way, which makes top-holdings lists look less concentrated than they are.
How concentrated is the fund?
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The ten largest positions total 33.5 percent of assets, with NVIDIA at 6.8 percent and Apple at 6.0 percent leading. That is typical for a market-cap-weighted US large-cap fund in the current market and is not specific to SCHK. Any broad US index fund weighted by size shows a similar profile, because the largest companies have grown very large relative to the rest.
Do I need a Schwab account to buy SCHK?
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No. It is an exchange-traded fund and trades on the open market like any other, so it can be bought through any brokerage that offers US-listed ETFs. Schwab clients may have commission advantages on their own funds depending on the platform's pricing, but that is a brokerage matter rather than a restriction on who can hold the fund.
Why is the yield only 1.03 percent?
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Because the largest US companies, which dominate the fund by weight, generally return cash through share buybacks and reinvestment rather than dividends. The aggregate yield of a market-cap-weighted US index reflects that preference. Funds designed for income screen specifically for dividend payers, which produces a different portfolio and a higher distribution.
When is SCHK the wrong tool?
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When small-cap exposure is genuinely wanted, since the index stops at the largest thousand companies and the omission matters more by count than by weight. When international diversification is the aim, because the fund is entirely domestic. And alongside an existing S&P 500 fund, where the additional holdings mostly duplicate what is already owned.
What is SCHK's expense ratio?
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SCHK has an expense ratio of 0.03% per year as of August 2026, charged by Schwab Asset Management and deducted from the fund's value rather than billed to you separately. On a $10,000 position that is roughly $3 a year. Fees compound over time, so on a long-term holding the expense ratio is one of the few return drivers you control. It is worth comparing against other funds that track the Schwab 1000 Index before you choose.
How do I compare SCHK to similar ETFs?
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Put a few fields side by side: the expense ratio (fees compound over decades), the index or strategy it tracks, the top holdings and how much they overlap with what you already own, the dividend yield, and the AUM, liquidity, and bid-ask spread that affect trading costs. For index funds, tracking error (how closely it follows its index) and tax efficiency matter too. SCHK's figures are above; the full method is in Walnut's guide on how to compare ETFs.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Holdings weights and fund statistics on this page are approximations stamped to August 2026; verify current figures against Schwab Asset Management's fund page or your broker before investing.