Last Friday brought word that T. Rowe Price's mutual funds now appear on the shelves at Schwab's OneSource no-transaction-fee supermarket for advisors. With the Schwab pact, which T. Rowe third-party distribution chief Scott David described as "nearly 20 years in the making," T. Rowe's funds are on on all the major NTF supermarkets for advisors.

Scott David
Head of Third-Party Distribution
T. Rowe Price

RIABiz also covered the news.

Schwab's OneSource has been around since July 1992. Whether T. Rowe is paying Schwab the current standard rate of 40 basis points is unclear. A T. Rowe Price spokesperson declined to comment what the fund firm is paying.

The announcement on T. Rowe's appearance at OneSource came days before Schwab's Impact conference is scheduled to kick off in San Francisco tomorrow.

T. Rowe shied away from NTF platforms in the past. In recent years, however, it has been showing up on NTF shelves.

Last year, The MFWire.com reported that T. Rowe Price's investor class funds landed on TD Ameritrade's NTF market. While T. Rowe and TD both kept mum on the specifics of the agreement, an industry source told the MFWire.com in August of last year that T. Rowe was paying TD 10 bps. (See "Did TD Give T. Rowe a Deal?" and "T. Rowe is a 10")

In the press release last Friday on the Schwab agreement, David, who joined T. Rowe this spring, said: "While we have been ramping up our efforts to expand access to our funds for advisors over the past several years, this agreement with Schwab is nearly 20 years in the making. We have been offering advisors no-load mutual funds for decades, and Schwab has been a great partner over the years to help us expand access to our funds, now without transaction fees."

Responding to a question on why T. Rowe decided to get onto OneSource now, David said in an e-mailed statement to The MFWire.com: "T. Rowe is reacting to increased demand from advisors for T. Rowe funds. We have worked closely with Schwab for over 20 years but felt that the demand from advisors was sufficient to relook at our agreements. We are very happy to have reached a solution by offering our advisor class funds."

Forty-one T. Rowe funds are now available via OneSource.

Company Press Release

T. Rowe Price Funds Now Available Without Transactions Fees on Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource� for Advisors

All Major NTF Platforms for Advisors Now Offer T. Rowe Price Funds

BALTIMORE (October 28, 2011) � Advisors can now purchase T. Rowe Price Advisor Class shares for their clients at no transaction fee (NTF) on the Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource� platform for institutional investors.

Delivering on T. Rowe Price's commitment to offer advisors low-cost options, this news means:

�41 T. Rowe Price funds are now available with NTF to advisors using Schwab OneSource.
�T. Rowe Price funds are on all major NTF platforms for advisors now.
�Advisors have the flexibility to choose which T. Rowe Price funds and share classes are best for their clients and from which NTF platforms.

"While we have been ramping up our efforts to expand access to our funds for advisors over the past several years, this agreement with Schwab is nearly 20 years in the making," says Scott David, director of Third Party Distribution at T. Rowe Price. "We have been offering advisors no-load mutual funds for decades, and Schwab has been a great partner over the years to help us expand access to our funds, now without transaction fees.

"Value is more important today than ever to advisors and the investors they serve. And we are pleased to bring our funds to Schwab OneSource�s NTF platform, making our funds available on all major NTF platforms now, at a time when selection and costs are so important to advisors and their clients," Mr. David says.

For more information about T. Rowe Price and its funds, please visit www.troweprice.com/fi. T. Rowe Price funds' prospectuses, which are available on the site or by calling 1-800-638-7780, include investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing. All funds are subject to market risk, including possible loss of principal.

Founded in 1937, Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price is a global investment management organization with $453.5 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2011. The organization provides a broad array of mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. The company also offers a variety of sophisticated investment planning and guidance tools. T. Rowe Price's disciplined, risk-aware investment approach focuses on diversification, style consistency and fundamental research.

T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc., Distributor, T. Rowe Price mutual funds.

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