Top-Rated Schwab Funds

Charles Schwab Corp.'s (SCHW Quote) Schwab fund family is one of the largest and most influential mutual fund companies in the U.S.

That's why at TheStreet.com Ratings, we took a look at the performances of the top-rated funds among the largest fund families. Today, we focus on the cream of the Schwab Funds' crop.

First on our list is the (SWINX Quote)Schwab International Index (SWINX): As the fund's name implies, it tracks the Schwab International Index, which is a broad-based index consisting of 380 stocks concentrated predominantly in bank stocks (23%), oil & gas (9%), telecommunications (8%), insurance (7%), pharmaceuticals (7%) and electric (5%).

In terms of geographical distribution, the fund is focused in the U.K. with 21% of its holdings, followed by Japan (18%), France (11%), and Germany and Switzerland at approximately an 8% allocation each.

The fund invests in major international companies and brands including HSBC (HBC Quote), BP (BP Quote), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM Quote), Novartis (NVS Quote), GlaxoSmithKline(GSK Quote), Nestle, UBS(UBS Quote) and Roche Holdings.

With a low expense ratio of 0.69% and a minimum initial investment of $2,500, Schwab International Index gives investors a great way to play large-capitalized international stocks at a time when a slowing U.S. economy should have investors looking overseas for better performance.

(SWOIX Quote)Laudus International MarketMasters (SWOIX): This fund offers another vehicle into international markets and differs from Schwab International Index in that it has a multi-cap focus, contains 570 holdings and is not classified as an index fund despite having a larger number of holdings.