###### Public policy engagement
Guided by our long-standing vision to democratize investing and our belief that investing has the power to transform lives, active participation in the regulatory and legislative process is one way we seek to fulfill our vision. The Schwab Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs' mission is to encourage and support the creation of responsible government policies that help our clients achieve their financial dreams and the company grow and be successful.
We work to educate policymakers at the international, federal, state, and local level about the effect of public policy proposals on individual investor and registered investment advisors. We proactively encourage legislation and regulations that benefit our clients and individual investors generally and participate in the legislative and regulatory processes by communicating the company's views on policy proposals that affect investors. We also keep our employees informed of key legislative issues to allow them to better serve our clients and enhance our clients' abilities to achieve their investment goals.
###### Oversight
Our Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, located in Washington, D.C., executes our lobbying activities with oversight by the Corporate General Counsel and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors, which receives regular reports on lobbying activity in accordance with the mandate in its charter to review our public policy and advocacy activities. Our head of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs has standing meetings with the General Counsel and the Legislative and Regulatory Affairs team meets regularly with the Regulatory Strategy Council, a committee of senior executives that provides counsel and oversight of Schwab's advocacy strategies on policy issues of importance to clients and the company, as well as our relationships with trade associations. Depending on the issue, we engage with the appropriate business unit to gain insights that help shape the advocacy strategy needed to reflect our vision. We provide quarterly reports on pending legislative and regulatory policy issues of significance to the company to the Risk Committee of the Board of Directors, in addition to reports on lobbying activity provided to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors as mentioned above.
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The company is subject to extensive federal, state, and local lobbying disclosure requirements, which include the filing of reports with Congress and applicable state agencies. The company's reports on federal lobbying activities are publicly [available on the websites of the U.S. House of](https://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/) [Representatives and the U.S. Senate. These](https://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/) reports provide information on activities to influence legislation through communication with any member or employee of Congress or with any covered executive branch official. The reports also provide disclosure on expenditures for the applicable quarter, describe the specific pieces of legislation that were the topic of communications, and identify the individuals who lobbied on behalf of the company or any of its subsidiaries.
In addition, as required under state law, we disclose our lobbying activity in the states in which we are actively engaged in lobbying. In most cases, these disclosures are publicly available at the government disclosure sites by following the instructions on each website and searching for "Charles Schwab Corporation" where appropriate.
[Our publicly available Statement on Public Policy](https://content.schwab.com/web/retail/public/about-schwab/schwab_public_policy_political_participation_2021.pdf) [and Political Participation further outlines the](https://content.schwab.com/web/retail/public/about-schwab/schwab_public_policy_political_participation_2021.pdf) company's oversight with respect to lobbying activities and reporting.
###### Political contributions
Schwab does not endorse or financially support any political party or individual political candidate.
Any financial support was previously and solely provided through Schwab's Political Action Committee (PAC), funded by voluntary contributions from our employees and directors. [As announced in January 2021, we discontinued](https://www.aboutschwab.com/schwab-to-discontinue-its-PAC) the PAC and contributed the remaining funds to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and historically Black colleges and universities. The PAC's previous contributions are part of the public record and available on the Federal Election [Commission's website.](https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00370114/)
Relatedly, we respect the right of our employees to individually participate in the political process. Employees may participate in the political process or make political contributions from personal funds subject to applicable law and in accordance [with our Statement on Public Policy and Political](https://content.schwab.com/web/retail/public/about-schwab/schwab_public_policy_political_participation_2021.pdf) [Participation.](https://content.schwab.com/web/retail/public/about-schwab/schwab_public_policy_political_participation_2021.pdf)
###### Advocacy
Consistent with Schwab's vision and as described [on our Advocacy and Ethics page, we focus our](https://www.aboutschwab.com/advocacy-and-ethics) advocacy efforts on policy positions that support our clients' investment goals. We also use our position as the leading custodian to drive awareness and support the continued growth of the independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) industry and our nearly 15,000 client firms. Some examples of our lobbying efforts include:
###### • For more than two decades, Schwab has advocated for improvements to the system by which market data is distributed to investors with the goal of leveling the playing field between the depth and quality of market information available to institutional investors and that available to individual investors. Those efforts have included multiple comment letters to the SEC, testifying at hearings on Capitol Hill, and an ongoing education effort to help policymakers understand the differences between the cost and quality of information available to institutional and individual investors.
###### • Schwab has been a leader in the ongoing effort to ensure money market mutual funds remain a resilient investment option while also seeking to improve the transparency and stability of these funds. As U.S. and global regulators have made a series of changes to the rules governing money market funds, Schwab has been a consistent participant, submitting comment letters, meeting with regulators and other policymakers, and suggesting reforms that balance the needs of individual investors with the importance of ensuring the systemic stability of money market funds.