We're Invested in Access to Investing

We believe in creating a better, more accessible investing experience to help turn earners into owners.

Two men in a discussion.

Chuck quote

 

“I created this company because I believed investors deserved better. They still do.”

Chuck Schwab
Founder and Co-Chairman of the Board

Intro - Access to Investing

50 years ago, Chuck Schwab helped spark a revolution that made investing more accessible and more affordable for Main Street investors. He defied conventional wisdom by lowering costs, lifting barriers, and leveling the playing field so all investors could participate in the markets.

Since day one, we’ve set out to challenge the status quo, looking for ways to offer investors more value and a better experience through our industry-leading products, services, advice, and education. Because we believe investing has the power to transform lives.

Milestones

  • 1975

    Opened a "discount brokerage" to give average Americans lower-cost access to capital markets.

  • 1982

    Pioneered 24/7 order entry and quote service—a new level of customer access in the industry.

  • 1984

    Introduced Mutual Fund MarketPlace®offering no-load, no-transaction-fee funds. Today there are more than 3,000 funds on the platform.

  • 1995

    Launched Schwab.com to give investors greater access to their accounts, timely information, and tools to manage their money.

  • 1996

    Developed the SchwabPlan—a bundled 401(k) plan product of more than 1,300 mutual funds for corporate plan sponsors and their employees.

  • 2002

    Unveiled Schwab Advisor Network®—a referral service for clients seeking local independent investment advisors to help with their complex wealth management needs.

  • 2012

    Debuted Schwab Index Advantage®—a 401(k) plan that uses a lineup of index funds to simplify, personalize, and lower the costs of the retirement process.

  • 2013

    Created Schwab ETF OneSource™—a platform with commission-free online trades on ETFs from most of the major ETF providers.

  • 2014

    Released Schwab OpenView Mobile®—an app enabling independent advisors to create a custom, turnkey mobile presence for their firms.

  • 2014-ETF

    Became first to support ETFs in 401(k)s and expanded Schwab Index Advantage to offer low-cost ETFs as fully integrated core investments.

  • 2015

    Launched Schwab Intelligent Portfolios®—a low-minimum, no-fee automated advisory service that builds, monitors, and rebalances investment portfolios based on investors' unique goals.

  • 2016

    Introduced Schwab Target Index Funds—a low-cost series of index-based target date mutual funds constructed with low-cost Schwab ETFs™ as underlying investments.

  • 2017

    Established client Satisfaction Guarantee—a breakthrough policy to refund fees and commissions if a Schwab client is unsatisfied for any reason.

  • 2017-Low costs

    Made low costs available to all by lowering commissions for standard online equity and ETF trades, reducing expenses, and eliminating investment fees on Schwab market cap-weighted index mutual funds.

  • 2017-SIA

    Created Schwab Intelligent Advisory®—a hybrid service combining live credentialed professionals and algorithm-driven technology to make financial investment planning even more accessible.

  • 2019

    Reduced Commissions on Online Stock, ETF, and Options Trades to $0—made the industry-leading move that eliminated a barrier to making investing more accessible to everyone.

  • 2020

    Introduced Schwab Stock Slices™—enables investors to own any of America’s leading companies from the S&P 500 for as little as $5 each.

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1 Schwab’s short-term redemption fee of $49.95 will be charged on redemption of funds held for 90 days or less. Schwab reserves the right to exempt certain funds from this fee. Trades in no-load mutual funds available through the Mutual Fund OneSource service (including Schwab Funds), are available without transaction fees when placed through Schwab.com or our automated phone channels. For trade orders placed through a broker, a $25 service charge applies. Schwab reserves the right to change the funds we make available without transaction fees and to reinstate fees on any funds.

2 Schwab Advisor Network member advisors are independent and are not employees or agents of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”). Schwab prescreens advisors and checks their experience and credentials against criteria Schwab sets, such as years of experience managing investments, amount of assets managed, professional education, regulatory licensing, and business relationship as a client of Schwab.

Advisors pay fees to Schwab in connection with referrals. Schwab does not supervise advisors and does not prepare, verify or endorse information distributed by advisors. Investors must decide whether to hire an advisor and what authority to give the advisor. Investors, not Schwab, are responsible for monitoring and evaluating an advisor’s service, performance and account transactions. Services may vary depending on which advisor an investor chooses.

3 Restrictions Apply: Trades in ETFs available through Schwab ETF OneSource™ (including Schwab ETFs™) are available without commissions when placed online in a Schwab account. Service charges apply for trade orders placed through a broker ($25) or by automated phone ($5). An exchange processing fee applies to sell transactions. Certain types of Schwab ETF OneSource transactions are not eligible for the commission waiver, such as short sells and buys to cover (not including Schwab ETFs). Schwab reserves the right to change the ETFs we make available without commissions. All ETFs are subject to management fees and expenses. Please see the Charles Schwab Pricing Guide for additional information.

4 Schwab Index Advantage® provides a combination of index funds with low operating expenses, built-in independent professional advice available through Schwab Retirement Planner®, and Schwab Bank Savings, an interest-bearing, FDIC-insured savings feature available through Charles Schwab Bank. Schwab Retirement Planner provides participants with a fee-based retirement savings and investment strategy, a major component of which is a discretionary investment management service furnished by independent registered investment advisors GuidedChoice Asset Management, Inc.® (“GuidedChoice”) or Morningstar Investment Management LLC, a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. GuidedChoice and Morningstar Investment Management are not affiliated with or agents of Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc.; Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., a federally registered investment advisor; or their affiliates. Schwab Index Advantage, including the Schwab Retirement Planner feature, is only available in select retirement plans serviced by Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc. The Morningstar name and logo are registered marks of Morningstar, Inc. Remember that cost is only one consideration when making an investment decision and an investor may give up the opportunity to outperform the market by not being in an actively managed fund. Fund operating expenses represent the total of all of a fund’s annual fund operating expenses. Management fees are one component of the fund operating expenses. Index funds generally have low management fees because they don’t have to pay investment managers to actively manage underlying investments.

5 Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is made available through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), a dually registered investment adviser and broker-dealer. Portfolio management services for Schwab Intelligent Portfolios™ are provided by Charles Schwab Investment Advisory, Inc. (“CSIA”), a registered investment advisor. Please refer to the disclosure brochures for details about Schwab Intelligent Advisory. Schwab and CSIA are affiliates and are subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation.

6 Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM) is the investment advisor for Schwab Funds and Schwab ETFs. Schwab Funds are distributed by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), Member SIPC. Schwab ETFs are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (SIDCO). CSIM and Schwab are separate but affiliated companies and subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation, and are not affiliated with SIDCO.

7 If you are not completely satisfied for any reason, at your request Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), Charles Schwab Bank, SSB (“Schwab Bank”), or another Schwab affiliate, as applicable, will refund any eligible fee related to your concern. Refund requests must be received within 90 days of the date the fee was charged. Two kinds of “Fees” are eligible for this guarantee: (1) “Program Fees” for the Schwab Wealth Advisory (“SWA”), Schwab Managed Portfolios™ (“SMP”), Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium® (“SIP Premium”), and Managed Account Connection® (“Connection”) investment advisory services sponsored by Schwab (together, the “Participating Services”); and (2) commissions and fees listed in the Charles Schwab Pricing Guide for Individual Investors or the Charles Schwab Bank Pricing Guide. 

For more information about Program Fees, please see the disclosure brochure for the Participating Service, made available at enrollment or any time at your request. The Connection service includes only accounts managed by Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., an affiliate of Schwab. The guarantee does not cover Program Fees for accounts managed by investment advisors who are not affiliated with Schwab or managed by Schwab‐affiliated advisors outside of the SWA, SMP, SIP Premium, and Connection services. Go to schwab.com/satisfaction to learn what's included and how it works.

The guarantee is only available to current clients. Refunds will only be applied to the account charged and will be credited within approximately four weeks of a valid request. No other charges or expenses, and no market losses will be refunded. Other restrictions may apply. Schwab reserves the right to change or terminate the guarantee at any time.

8 Restrictions apply: The $4.95 flat commission does not apply to foreign stock transactions, large block transactions requiring special handling, employer-negotiated commission schedules applicable to equity compensation transactions, or restricted stock transactions. Foreign ordinary shares that trade online in the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) market and do not settle in the U.S. will have a $50 foreign transaction fee added to the cost of the transaction. All broker-assisted trades are subject to service charges. A minimum deposit of $1,000 is required to open most Schwab brokerage accounts. Waivers may apply. See the Charles Schwab Pricing Guide for details. Employee equity compensation transactions are subject to separate commission schedules.

9 Expense ratios and minimums are subject to change. Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM), the investment advisor for Schwab Funds, and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Schwab, the distributor for Schwab Funds, are separate but affiliated companies and subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation.

10 Schwab Intelligent Advisory™ is made available through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), a dually registered investment advisor and broker-dealer. Please refer to the disclosure brochures for details about Schwab Intelligent Advisory. Schwab and CSIA are affiliates and are subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation.