Wealthy PotSCHB vs SWTSX: The Same Schwab Market Fund, as an ETF or a Mutual Fund
SCHB and SWTSX are Schwab's two ways to own the whole US stock market. SCHB is an ETF. SWTSX is a mutual fund. Both charge 0.03%. In their latest SEC holdings filings, 99.7% of SCHB's money sat in stocks SWTSX also held, and 99.3% of SWTSX's sat in stocks SCHB held. Over the ten years to 31 August 2026 SCHB returned 14.81% a year at NAV and SWTSX 14.75%. The portfolio is not the decision here. The wrapper is: how you want to buy, where your account is, and how you want dividends paid. Pick one and do not hold both.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Overlap: 94.8%, and the shared stocks were 99.7% of SCHB and 99.3% of SWTSX. Our calculation from the funds' Form N-PORT filings, which are two months apart (31 May and 31 July 2026). Price moves in that gap explain most of the distance from 100%.
- Fees: a tie at 0.03%. Both prospectuses print the same cost example: $3 after one year and $39 after ten on $10,000.
- Ten-year return to 31 August 2026: SCHB 14.81%, SWTSX 14.75% a year. One-year: 20.14% against 20.09%. The gap was under a tenth of a point in every period Schwab shows.
- Size is almost the same: $44.9 billion in SCHB and $45.5 billion in SWTSX on 2 October 2026.
- The real difference is the wrapper. SCHB trades on an exchange at market prices through any broker. SWTSX is bought at the end-of-day price, in exact dollar amounts, with no minimum, but only through Schwab or another financial intermediary.
- SWTSX pays out once a year, in December. It has paid no capital gains distribution since December 2021, according to Schwab's own distribution table.
- Do not hold both. They own the same companies at nearly the same weights.
How Much SCHB and SWTSX Overlap
On paper the two track different indexes from the same index company. SCHB follows the Dow Jones U.S. Broad Stock Market Index, which its prospectus says "includes the largest 2,500 publicly traded U.S. companies." SWTSX follows the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index, and its prospectus says the fund expects to hold "the largest 2,000 to 2,800 U.S. stocks." Both funds sample rather than buy every name, and both weight by market value. In practice they end up holding nearly the same portfolio.
| Latest SEC holdings filings | SCHB (31 May 2026) | SWTSX (31 Jul 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Holdings in the filing | 2,401 | 2,850 |
| Held by both funds | 2,326 | 2,326 |
| Share of the fund in those shared holdings | 99.7% | 99.3% |
| Holdings the other fund did not own | 75 (0.13% of SCHB) | 524 (0.51% of SWTSX) |
| Overlap, sum of the smaller weight in each shared stock | 94.8% | |
Why 94.8% and not 99%? The overlap figure adds up the smaller of the two weights for each shared stock. Because SWTSX's filing is two months newer, prices had moved in between: Tesla was 1.68% of SCHB at the end of May and 1.21% of SWTSX at the end of July, Broadcom 2.90% against 2.54%. Each of those gaps trims the overlap number even though both funds own the stock. The 99.7% and 99.3% shares are the better guide to how alike the portfolios are.
SWTSX holds more names, and they hardly matter. SWTSX held 2,885 stocks on 31 August 2026 and SCHB 2,397 on 1 October 2026. The 524 SWTSX positions that SCHB lacked came to 0.51% of SWTSX, about one dollar in two hundred. Neither fund reaches further into small companies in any way you would notice in returns.
Check this pair, or your whole portfolio, in the Portfolio Overlap Checker.
SCHB vs SWTSX Side by Side
| SCHB | SWTSX | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF | Schwab Total Stock Market Index Fund |
| Type | ETF (NYSE Arca) | Mutual fund |
| Index | Dow Jones U.S. Broad Stock Market Index | Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index |
| How it tracks | Sampling | Sampling |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Prospectus cost on $10,000 over 10 years | $39 | $39 |
| Minimum | One share, or less at brokers that sell fractions | None |
| Holdings | 2,397 (1 Oct 2026) | 2,885 (31 Aug 2026) |
| Top-10 weight | 36.1% (31 May 2026) | 34.6% (31 Jul 2026) |
| Total net assets (2 Oct 2026) | $44.9 billion | $45.5 billion |
| Portfolio turnover (31 Aug 2026) | 3.03% | 3.43% |
| 30-day SEC yield | 1.02% (1 Oct 2026) | Not published on Schwab's page |
| 10-year return to 31 Aug 2026 | 14.81% (NAV) | 14.75% |
| Inception | 3 Nov 2009 | 1 Jun 1999 |
The two prospectuses report the same tax drag too, though over different windows. Over the ten years to 31 December 2024, SCHB returned 12.51% a year before taxes and 12.02% after taxes on distributions, a 0.49-point gap. Over the ten years to 31 December 2025, SWTSX returned 14.18% and 13.70%, a 0.48-point gap. Neither fund has shown a tax advantage over the other.
Returns: Six Hundredths of a Point
| Annualized return to 31 Aug 2026 | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCHB (NAV) | 20.14% | 20.65% | 11.75% | 14.81% |
| SWTSX | 20.09% | 20.63% | 11.68% | 14.75% |
| SCHB minus SWTSX | +0.05 | +0.02 | +0.07 | +0.06 |
SCHB came out slightly ahead in every period, by less than a tenth of a point. With identical fees and near-identical holdings, gaps this small come from differences in the two indexes and in how each fund samples them, and they can flip. In their prospectuses the funds also had the same best and worst quarters: the second quarter of 2020 (22.04% for SCHB, 22.07% for SWTSX) and the first quarter of 2020 (losses of 20.91% and 20.98%).
| Hypothetical $10,000 held 10 years | Ending value |
|---|---|
| At SCHB's 10-year return (14.81%) | $39,792 |
| At SWTSX's 10-year return (14.75%) | $39,585 |
This is educational information, not personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investing carries the risk of loss.
Where They Really Differ: ETF or Mutual Fund
How you buy. SCHB's prospectus says individual shares "may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market ... through a broker or dealer at market prices." You trade it during the day like a stock, and the price can sit slightly above or below the value of the holdings. Its 30-day median bid/ask spread was 0.03% to 2 October 2026. SWTSX is priced once a day at net asset value. You put in a dollar amount and get whatever fraction of a share that buys. Its prospectus says: "There is no minimum initial investment for the fund."
Where you can buy. SWTSX's prospectus says: "Investors may only invest in the fund through an account at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab) or another financial intermediary." Schwab's statutory prospectus adds that an intermediary "may independently establish and charge its customers transaction fees." So outside Schwab, check your broker's fee before buying SWTSX. SCHB trades on NYSE Arca and any brokerage account can hold it. If you might move your account away from Schwab one day, the ETF moves with you more easily.
How it pays out. Schwab's index mutual funds distribute income and gains once a year; the prospectus says "These distributions typically are paid in December." SWTSX's distribution table shows one December payment each year, with zero capital gains in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The last capital gain was paid on 10 December 2021.
Automatic investing. A mutual fund that buys in exact dollar amounts suits a fixed monthly contribution. With the ETF, that depends on whether your broker offers fractional shares or a recurring-purchase feature.
Which One Fits You
Your account is at Schwab and you add a set dollar amount each month: SWTSX is the simpler tool. No minimum, exact-dollar purchases, and the same 0.03% fee.
Your account is somewhere else, or you might move it: SCHB. It trades on an exchange and any broker can hold it. To compare it with the Vanguard and iShares equivalents, see SCHB vs VTI; for the mutual fund against Vanguard's ETF, see SWTSX vs VTI.
You want to trade during the day, use limit orders, or know the exact price you pay: SCHB. A mutual fund order fills at the closing price, whenever you place it.
In an IRA: either works. Taxes on distributions do not apply inside the account, and the portfolios are the same.
In a taxable account: the prospectus tax drag has been the same for both, about half a point a year over ten years. If you already own one with a gain, switching means selling and possibly paying tax for no change in what you own. Redirect new money instead, and check your 2026 tax bracket before any sale.
You want only large companies: neither. Schwab's large-cap ETF is SCHX (see SCHB vs SCHX) and its S&P 500 mutual fund is SWPPX (see SWPPX vs SWTSX).
Sources & Methodology
- SCHB summary prospectus, 27 February 2026 and SWTSX summary prospectus, 26 February 2026: fees, cost examples, indexes, sampling, minimums, purchase rules, best and worst quarters, after-tax returns.
- Schwab Capital Trust prospectus, 26 February 2026: December distributions and intermediary fees.
- SCHB Form N-PORT, 31 May 2026 and SWTSX Form N-PORT, 31 July 2026: holdings behind the overlap and top-10 figures.
- Schwab SCHB fund page and Schwab SWTSX fund page: net assets, holdings, turnover, yield, spread, returns to 31 August 2026 and distribution history.
How the overlap was computed. For each stock held by both funds we took the smaller of its two weights and added them up, the same method the Portfolio Overlap Checker uses on the same N-PORT data. SCHB's fiscal quarters end in February, May, August and November, and SWTSX's in January, April, July and October, so their quarterly public holdings filings fall in different months. We report the gap rather than hide it.
What we did not verify. SCHB's dividend schedule, SWTSX's SEC yield (Schwab does not show it), what brokers other than Schwab charge to buy SWTSX, and sector weights. Schwab had not posted returns to 30 September 2026 when we checked.
This article is for general education and is not investment, tax or legal advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investing carries the risk of loss. Figures were checked against the sources above on 5 October 2026; fund data changes daily, so confirm current figures with Schwab before acting.
FAQ: SCHB vs SWTSX
Is SCHB the ETF version of SWTSX?
Not formally. They are separate funds tracking two different Dow Jones indexes, SCHB the Broad Stock Market Index and SWTSX the Total Stock Market Index. In practice the portfolios are nearly the same: 99.7% of SCHB's money was in stocks SWTSX also held.
Which is cheaper, SCHB or SWTSX?
Neither. Both charge 0.03%, and both prospectuses print the same $39 ten-year cost on $10,000.
Which has performed better?
SCHB by a hair: 14.81% a year over the ten years to 31 August 2026 against 14.75% for SWTSX, and ahead by under a tenth of a point in every period Schwab shows.
Should I own both SCHB and SWTSX?
No. They hold the same companies at nearly the same weights, so splitting money between them adds paperwork, not diversification.
Can I buy SWTSX outside Schwab?
Its prospectus says you can buy it through a Schwab account "or another financial intermediary," and that intermediaries may charge their own transaction fees. Check your broker. SCHB trades on an exchange, so any broker can buy it.
Is there a minimum investment?
SWTSX has none. SCHB costs one share at market price, or less at brokers that sell fractional shares.
Does SWTSX pay capital gains distributions?
Not recently. Schwab's distribution table shows zero capital gains each December from 2022 to 2025; the last was paid on 10 December 2021. Past distributions do not guarantee future ones.
Cite This Page
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"SCHB vs SWTSX: The Same Schwab Market Fund, as an ETF or a Mutual Fund." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/schb-vs-swtsx/
Related comparisons: SWTSX vs VTI · SCHB vs VTI · SCHB vs SCHX · SWPPX vs SWTSX · SCHX vs SWPPX · All ETF comparisons
