Schwab’s donor-advised fund, now operating as DAFgiving360, gives you two ways to invest: 15 pre-built investment pools available to any account holder, or a professionally managed account for balances of $100,000 or more where an independent advisor runs the portfolio. The pools cover everything from a government money market fund to aggressive growth allocations and three socially responsible options. Administrative fees start at 0.60% annually and step down as your balance grows.
Two Account Tiers Decide Your Investment Flexibility
Before picking investments, you pick an account structure. The Core Account has no minimum balance and gives you access to the 15 standard pools. Most donors use this tier.1DAFgiving360. Fees and Account Minimums
The Professionally Managed Account requires $100,000 and lets you recommend an independent investment advisor, approved by DAFgiving360 and working with Schwab Advisor Services, who takes over portfolio management under an Investment Advisory Agreement. That advisor can access a wider investment universe than the standard pools.
Both account types carry a $50 minimum grant to any qualified charity, so the tier you pick affects investing, not giving.
The 15 Standard Investment Pools
Each pool is built from one or more underlying mutual funds or ETFs screened by the Schwab Center for Financial Research.2DAFgiving360. Investment Options You pick one pool or split your balance across several. There is no separate brokerage account and no individual security selection.
Asset Allocation Pools
These four pools hold a ready-made mix of stocks and bonds and rebalance automatically so your target allocation stays intact when markets move.
- Conservative Pool: roughly 70% fixed income and 30% equities, built around JPMorgan Investor Conservative Growth (ONCFX).
- Balanced Pool: 35–65% equities with the rest in fixed income, using Janus Henderson Balanced Fund (JBALX).
- Growth Pool: approximately 80% stocks, 16% bonds and cash, and 4% alternatives through T. Rowe Price Spectrum Moderate Growth Allocation (TGIPX).
- Socially Responsible Balanced Pool: 50–75% equities with the remainder in debt, via Pax Sustainable Allocation (PAXIX).
Single Asset Class Pools
If you already hold a diversified allocation elsewhere, or you want to build a custom mix without stepping up to a Professionally Managed Account, the single asset class pools isolate specific slices of the market:
- Total Market Equity Index Pool: broad U.S. stock exposure across large-, mid-, and small-cap (Schwab Total Stock Market Index Fund, SWTSX).
- Small-Cap Equity Pool: Schwab Small-Cap Index Fund, SWSSX.
- Large-Cap Equity Managed Pool: large-cap U.S. stocks with ESG criteria (Parnassus Core Equity Fund, PRILX).
- Income Index Pool: investment-grade taxable bonds (Schwab US Aggregate Bond Index Fund, SWAGX).
- Income Pool: actively managed for current income with capital preservation (Dodge & Cox Income Fund, DODIX).
- Short-Term Income Pool: high-quality bonds with maturities of five years or less (Principal Short-Term Income Fund, PSHIX).
- Inflation Protected Bond Pool: Schwab Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Index Fund, SWRSX.
- Money Market Pool: Schwab Government Money Fund (SGUXX), useful as a staging place before a grant.
- Socially Responsible Fixed Income Pool: investment-grade U.S. bonds with ESG screening (TIAA-CREF Core Impact Bond Fund, TSBIX).
Socially Responsible Options
Three of the 15 pools integrate environmental, social, and governance screening into security selection rather than running a simple exclusion list. They sit alongside the other pools and carry no additional cost. The lineup covers three risk profiles: fixed income (TSBIX), balanced (PAXIX), and large-cap equity (PRILX).2DAFgiving360. Investment Options The balanced pool holds both equity and debt selected through ESG criteria, so a single pool can be a diversified SRI solution.
Professionally Managed Accounts at $100,000
The Professionally Managed Account is a different model. You recommend an independent advisor, DAFgiving360 approves them, and the advisor runs the portfolio on an ongoing basis. The advisor must work with Schwab Advisor Services and agree to DAFgiving360’s terms.1DAFgiving360. Fees and Account Minimums
Advisory fees are capped at 1% of the account balance per year, deducted quarterly by the advisor directly from the account. Those fees sit on top of the administrative fees DAFgiving360 charges, so total costs run meaningfully higher than a Core Account invested in index pools. Automatic rebalancing isn’t built in the way it is for the standard allocation pools; the advisor handles it.
This tier makes the most sense when your DAF is part of a broader wealth plan and you want one advisor coordinating your charitable portfolio alongside your personal investments.
Administrative Fees
DAFgiving360 charges an annualized administrative fee on a tiered schedule based on your average daily account balance:1DAFgiving360. Fees and Account Minimums
- First $500,000: 0.60%
- Next $500,000: 0.30%
- Next $1,500,000: 0.20%
- Next $2,500,000: 0.15%
- Next $5,000,000: 0.13%
- Next $5,000,000: 0.12%
- Over $15,000,000: 0.10%
For Core Accounts, the administrative fee is built into the operating expenses of the investment pools, so you won’t see a separate line-item deduction. Accounts above $500,000 invested in pools receive a quarterly rebate reflecting the lower tier rates, but only if the account is open at the time of the rebate. On top of the administrative fee, each underlying mutual fund or ETF carries its own expense ratio, which reduces the pool’s net asset value. Published pool performance is reported net of all fees, including the 0.60% administrative charge.
Professionally Managed Accounts pay the same tiered administrative fee, assessed quarterly based on the account’s average value for the preceding quarter, plus the advisor fee of up to 1%. A $200,000 professionally managed account could pay 0.60% in administrative fees plus up to 1.00% in advisory fees, for 1.60% before underlying fund expenses. That drag compounds, so the wider investment flexibility needs to earn its keep.
Switching Between Pools
Core Account holders can reallocate between pools through the online portal. The portal shows current market value, historical returns, and specific allocation across pools, with performance data updated daily based on the previous day’s closing prices.
Reallocation requests submitted before the market close, typically 4:00 PM Eastern Time, execute at that day’s closing net asset value. Requests after the cutoff process on the next business day. There is no stated limit on how frequently you can reallocate. The system sells the specified percentage from one pool and purchases the equivalent in your target pool as a single coordinated transaction, with a confirmation number for tracking.
A common use case: shifting from a Growth Pool to the Money Market Pool before a large grant, so the money you plan to send out isn’t exposed to equity volatility in the days before the check clears.
For Professionally Managed Accounts, the advisor handles allocation changes directly rather than through the donor portal. The Investment Advisory Agreement with DAFgiving360 governs what trades they can execute and how frequently.
What the Investment Options Don’t Cover
The 15 pools and the Professionally Managed Account describe how balances already inside your DAF are invested. Contributing non-cash assets, such as appreciated stock, restricted securities, private equity interests, or real estate, is a separate process with its own due diligence timeline before proceeds hit any investment pool. And grants are governed by their own rules: $50 minimum, IRS-qualified 501(c)(3) public charities only, no distributions to individuals or arrangements that provide private benefit back to you or your family.3Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Organizations – Donor-Advised Funds Investment choices don’t affect who can receive your grants or how much you can give.