All across our industry, fees are falling, from the operating expense ratios on mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, to advisory fees and trading commissions. Today, it’s not difficult to find an investment firm that charges nothing to trade a stock or ETF, and we’re proud to be one of those companies. A combination of healthy competition and the advent of expense-saving technology together have fueled a revolution in the pricing of investment services over the past few years. Of course, this is great news for investors. What’s more, amidst all the uncertainty that comes with investing, managing its associated costs is one of few levers investors can pull to influence their success.

The subscriptions e-commerce market grew rapidly during the decade. A 2018 McKinsey report revealed that 15 percent of online shoppers subscribe to e-commerce services like Amazon Subscribe & Save and Dollar Shave Club, and 46 percent of those surveyed subscribe to an online streaming-media service like Netflix. Toward the end of the decade, the financial services industry also embraced the trend. In 2019, Schwab moved to a subscription pricing model for its digital investing and financial planning service, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium.