Schwab Investment Management's $644B Q4 2025 Filing Embeds Three Proprietary ETFs Inside a Mega-Cap Core

Charles Schwab Investment Management filed its Q4 2025 13F showing $643.6 billion across 3,451 unique holdings — a 2.7% increase from the $626.4B reported in Q3. The top five names (Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet) account for just 16.8% of the book, making this one of the most diversified mega-cap portfolios among top-50 filers. But the filing's distinctive feature sits below the obvious names: three Schwab proprietary ETFs embedded in the top 15.

TL;DR

• AUM: $643.6B (Q4 2025), up 2.7% from $626.4B (Q3 2025)
• Holdings count: 3,451 unique positions — steady from Q3
• Top holding: Nvidia (NVDA) at 4.52%, worth $29.1B
• Apple passed Microsoft for the #2 slot (4.22% vs 3.83%), reversing their Q3 order
• Proprietary ETFs: FNDX ($11.2B, 1.75%), FNDF ($6.6B, 1.03%), SCHR ($6.0B, 0.93%) — $23.8B combined
• Top-5 concentration: 16.8% — among the lowest of any top-50 filer
• 8-quarter growth: $433B (Q1 2024) to $644B (Q4 2025) = +48.6%
• Whale Score: 73.00

The Mega-Cap Surface: NVDA, AAPL, MSFT Lead a Familiar Pack

The top three holdings — Nvidia ($29.1B), Apple ($27.1B), and Microsoft ($24.6B) — are the same three names that lead nearly every large-cap index manager's 13F. Together they account for 12.6% of the portfolio. Amazon and Alphabet (GOOGL) round out the top five at 2.30% and 1.94% respectively.

The notable shuffle this quarter: Apple climbed from #3 to #2, passing Microsoft. Apple's value rose from $25.4B to $27.1B (share count nearly flat at 99.8M), while Microsoft slipped from $26.3B to $24.6B despite holding 50.9M shares. This is pure price action, not a conviction change.

The Proprietary ETF Layer: Schwab's Platform Advantage

What distinguishes Schwab's filing from comparable-sized managers like FMR LLC or State Street is the embedded proprietary product: three Schwab Strategic Trust ETFs occupy top-15 positions worth a combined $23.8 billion.

• FNDX (Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company Index ETF): $11.2B, 1.75% — the 7th largest holding
• FNDF (Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF): $6.6B, 1.03% — international exposure via Schwab's own wrapper
• SCHR (Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF): $6.0B, 0.93% — fixed income allocation

These three ETFs represent 3.71% of the total portfolio. No other top-50 filer has this level of proprietary ETF self-distribution inside their 13F. It's a structural feature of Schwab's model: the investment management arm allocates client assets into the brokerage platform's own products.

AUM Growth: 48.6% Over Eight Quarters

Schwab Investment Management has grown from $433B in Q1 2024 to $644B in Q4 2025 — a 48.6% increase over eight quarters. The growth has been remarkably steady, with no quarter showing a decline. Holdings count has been nearly flat at ~3,450-3,600 throughout, meaning the growth is almost entirely driven by market appreciation and net inflows, not position count expansion.

What Analysts Might Misread

Misread #1: “Schwab is just another index-hugger”

The mega-cap top line looks like passive indexing, but the proprietary ETF layer means Schwab is doing something no pure indexer does — channeling allocations through its own products. This creates a dual revenue stream (management fees + ETF expense ratios) that pure index replication doesn't capture.

Misread #2: “Apple overtaking Microsoft signals a view”

Share counts barely moved. The swap is 100% price-driven. Don't read conviction into what's essentially market math.

Misread #3: “3,451 holdings means no conviction”

Breadth is a feature, not a bug, for a platform manager running client model portfolios. The FNDX/FNDF/SCHR trio shows where the actual allocation decisions are made — through product selection, not individual stock picking.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big is Schwab Investment Management's 13F portfolio?

$643.6 billion as of Q4 2025, spread across 3,451 unique holdings. This makes it the 8th largest 13F filer by AUM.

What are Schwab's top holdings?

Nvidia (4.52%), Apple (4.22%), and Microsoft (3.83%) lead the portfolio. The top five holdings account for 16.8% of total value.

Does Schwab hold its own ETFs in the 13F?

Yes. Three Schwab Strategic Trust ETFs — FNDX, FNDF, and SCHR — appear in the top 15 positions, worth a combined $23.8 billion (3.71% of the portfolio).

How fast has Schwab's AUM grown?

From $433B in Q1 2024 to $644B in Q4 2025 — a 48.6% increase over eight quarters with no quarterly declines.