Rick Wurster IBD Video Interview Transcript
00:00:00:02 - 00:00:30:07
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
Thousands of customers weighed in on who they trust with their money. And one firm swept the investing categories. Each year, Investor's Business Daily in partnership with Technico Metrica Market Intelligence, surveys thousands of consumers to find out which financial firms have truly earned their trust. It's called the Most Trusted Financial Companies Survey. The ranking is based on eight key factors, from financial soundness and product quality to ethics, customer service and confidence in management.
00:00:30:11 - 00:00:58:01
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
And in 2025 Charles Schwab stood out. Schwab ranked highest among ETF and fund companies. Online brokers and wealth managers. Now, that's a clean sweep for a firm that pioneered the discount brokerage business back in 1975. And today manages nearly $11 trillion in client assets. Schwab divisions also took three of the top ten overall spots in IBD's list of the 30 most trusted companies.
00:00:58:07 - 00:01:11:10
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
Now, with Schwab ranking so highly across all of IBD's investing categories, I talked to president and CEO Rick Wurster about how the firm builds trust and where it's headed next. Rick, thanks so much for joining us.
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Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
00:01:13:13 - 00:01:24:06
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
Of course. So to start off, what does Charles Schwab do to earn the highest trust of its customers? And why does trust matter to financial institutions like Schwab?
00:01:24:08 - 00:01:46:22
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
Well, I think there's a couple things that help Schwab, be an institution that that clients can trust. Number one is our mission. Our mission is to see through client's eyes and to make our client's financial lives better off. Everything we do as a company is driven by that concept and that idea that we're going to help clients live their best financial life.
00:01:47:00 - 00:02:16:20
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
And that drives trust. When clients see you acting in their best interest continually and in every decision. It builds that trust. It's so important. Second thing I think that we do that builds trust amongst our clients is that we don't have any trade offs in what we offer to clients. We offer a great service, whether you want that service on the phone via our industry leading app, or whether you want to walk into one of our 400 branches that are in many local communities across our country.
00:02:16:22 - 00:02:51:17
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
We're there for clients in every way. And we do so with great value in our products and services. We're not making a trade off between great service and what clients have to pay. We're giving clients the best of both. And I think that creates trust. And finally, the second part of your question, the reason I think trust is so important is because we're asking clients to take money that they've spent a long period of time and hard work to earn, to bring that to our company and to trust us with the advice they're giving in and trust to leaving it with us and knowing that over time it's going to grow and that is built
00:02:51:17 - 00:03:03:00
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
upon trust. So it's critical that we have that trust, and we couldn't be more honored to be the most trusted financial institution in the industry. And that's why we think we are.
00:03:03:02 - 00:03:09:07
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
And going off of that with $11 trillion in assets. How do you keep client relationships personal?
00:03:09:14 - 00:03:33:14
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
At Schwab, personalization is at the heart of every relationship that we have. And it starts with meeting the clients where they are. We have many clients that love to walk into one of our 400 plus branches across, our country and talk to somebody. We have many that like to deal with, the digital app or calling in the phone and talk to one of our tax trusts and the state experts.
00:03:33:16 - 00:03:54:10
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
But personalization is about being where our clients are and meeting them where they are. I try to visit, roughly 30 to 60 branches of our, of ours every single year. And in doing so, I get to hear the great stories of the way we deliver a personalized service to our to our clients. One stands out for me this year.
00:03:54:10 - 00:04:11:22
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
I remember back in April when markets were volatile and and tariffs were on, and then they were off. And during that period, I was speaking to one of our financial consultants who works in our Los Gatos branch in California. And I called her and she she couldn't speak when I picked up and and her voice was, was gone.
00:04:11:22 - 00:04:33:22
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
And I asked her, I said, Tracy, why is your voice gone? And she says, well, I've spent this week calling every single one of my clients to make sure that they were okay and that they were navigating this volatility. And, and to me, that's what personalization is about. It's about knowing your clients when they need you, being there for them, and proactively reaching out to help them in their financial journey with whatever they need.
00:04:34:00 - 00:04:38:05
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
What trends are you seeing right now in how clients are approaching investing?
00:04:38:07 - 00:04:58:18
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
I see a couple of trends in our industry that, to me, the number one trend that I see is what I would call a bull market for convenience in our country. I think that's true in every facet of our life. Whether you're ordering Uber, you're ordering food. No matter, Amazon or everything in our life has become somewhat more convenient.
00:04:58:19 - 00:05:20:12
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
And I think our industry, there's a demand for that as well. And the way that shows up is an increasing demand for advice and wanting a financial institution to help take ownership of a client's financial life and guide them through their financial journey. And we see that in spades in our business. That's why our wealth business has grown so strongly, and we've been increasingly deepening our relationships with clients.
00:05:20:14 - 00:05:44:22
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
So that we can help them address more of their financial life. The second thing that I think is helping to reshape our industry is artificial intelligence. And I do think this is more than a fad. This will be here for a while. It's helping make our professionals, be more efficient, but it's also helping them have the most cogent answer possible, even for our newer associates that are helping clients.
00:05:45:08 - 00:06:07:06
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
And it's going to allow us, over time to, to enable us to engage with our clients in a different way than we have historically, and to reach a set of clients that we might not be able to reach in a personalized way, but to do so through, artificial intelligence. And then the third trend I'd call out is what's happening in the crypto and tokenization space.
00:06:07:06 - 00:06:31:14
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
And that'll be an area to watch. Certainly could change the way people transact, and the way people move money so that, that's an exciting development to watch. And we're participating in that trend as well. In fact, about 20% of all the crypto ETF asset ETF assets in our country are held here at Schwab by, by Schwab clients who are participating in our client.
00:06:31:15 - 00:06:34:06
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
It's something of, great interest to our clients.
00:06:34:10 - 00:06:46:15
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
So you mentioned artificial intelligence, financial services are being reshaped by AI, digital platforms and cybersecurity. How do you innovate fast enough to stay competitive without losing client trust?
00:06:46:16 - 00:07:13:09
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
That's a it's a great question. And innovation has been at the heart of Schwab for the last 50 years. We we got our start and our acceleration as a company because we innovated in the way we were charging clients for commissions. We brought the price of commissions down when everybody else was raising. And and over time we, you know, came out with a new way of engaging with mutual funds and went online trading before others and then went to zero.
00:07:13:09 - 00:07:35:17
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
We were the first major brokerage to go to zero in terms of equity commissions. So we've constantly been at the forefront of, of innovation, and we've always done it in a way to drive client benefit, which engender client trust. And I think when you put the client at the forefront of every innovation, that you're doing something differently because it's benefiting the client.
00:07:35:19 - 00:07:57:16
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
That's what drives trust. Some of the innovations I've seen in the market more recently, I worry, are more about things that are good for the company rather than or good for the individual, and those are the ones that I think can lead to distrust. But our focus on innovation has always been seeing through client's eyes, doing what's right for them for their long term, financial future.
00:07:57:18 - 00:08:02:09
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
And when we do that and innovate in that way, I think that builds financial trust.
00:08:02:11 - 00:08:10:14
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
And Gen Z consumers approach money differently than their parents. How do you earn their trust, and is it something that you're building towards?
00:08:10:16 - 00:08:39:01
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
Absolutely. At Schwab, working with Gen Zers is of critical importance. And a couple things I'd share that, Gen Z investors are actually 45% more likely than millennials to have started investing by the age of 21. That's a great thing for their long term financial success. And we're seeing that at Schwab, too. In fact, 1 in 6 of our new to firm households are under the age of 24 and 30% are under the age of 30.
00:08:39:01 - 00:09:06:06
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
So we are winning with the young investors. And part of why we're winning with young investors is we're going where they are. In a personalized way. So many Gen Zers are on TikTok and Instagram and, and, YouTube. And that's where we're going with relevant content to them. And in fact, no financial services company has more followers on YouTube than we have.
00:09:06:08 - 00:09:38:20
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
And we've engaged, some of the TikTok personalities that are actual Schwab clients with do it yourself videos or golf videos that that draw in big audiences where they are also talking about things that Schwab can do. So we've we've tried to appeal to the Gen Z investor by going where they are and the type of an investor, Gen Z investor, I think love Schwab is the serious investor who wants to invest for the long term, that's being engaged in stocks and and wants advice on how to pay off their student loans or how to save for their first house.
00:09:38:20 - 00:09:56:14
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
And they can do all of that at Schwab. And and so we're going where they are, are, engaging them, telling them about all the things we can do. And they're coming to Schwab and having a great experience. And I couldn't be more excited that they're so engaged and investing. I think it's a great thing for their long run financial health.
00:09:57:02 - 00:10:13:08
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
I think it's so interesting to how Gen Z is so engaged on TikTok and on Instagram to consume all this financial content. I mean, there's a lot of content creators, but there's a lot of people that want to learn, especially on social media. So that's been super interesting to see, especially from my perspective as Gen Z.
00:10:13:10 - 00:10:31:05
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
Yeah, I agree, it's been fascinating. And and I think ultimately a really good thing for Gen Zers because they're getting engaged and investing at such an early age and eager to learn. So it's been been just a wonderful thing and all these different platforms have had a lot have allowed it to flourish.
00:10:32:06 - 00:10:41:03
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
And since acquiring TD Ameritrade in 2020 what have been the biggest benefits and what opportunities from that deal are still ahead?
00:10:41:05 - 00:11:08:21
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
Now this is a historic integration in fact the largest ever in our industry. We transitioned over $1.9 trillion of assets and 17 million accounts from Ameritrade. It's been, an enormous benefit to us as a company to be able to, work with these clients and to be able to help them. And likewise, I think it's been a benefit to all of our clients, whether they were a Schwab client to begin with or an Ameritrade client to begin with.
00:11:08:23 - 00:11:35:18
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
Because now we can bring the best of what Ameritrade had, which is what I think was, was and is the best trading platform in the industry, combined with what everything Schwab can do, which is wealth management advice, tax trust and estate expertise. On the ready, a digital experience that can't be made, and 400 branches full of people that want to help you in your financial journey.
00:11:35:20 - 00:11:58:22
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
So the combination of the two has been very powerful, and we've been thrilled to see the Ameritrade clients engaging in, activities beyond trading. They're taking out pledged asset lines or mortgages through, through the Schwab Experience. They're asking for advice on how to manage their assets through Schwab. And and ultimately that's of great benefit to, to them.
00:11:58:22 - 00:12:06:00
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
And so it's just been a wonderful combination. It's great for clients and been, been a real benefit for the firm as well.
00:12:06:12 - 00:12:13:10
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
And to wrap things up here, you took over as CEO in January. What new directions are you hoping to take the company?
00:12:13:12 - 00:12:34:06
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
There's been four things we've been focused on in 2025. Number one is driving growth. We want to serve more clients and we want to serve them more deeply. I mentioned earlier there's a bull market for convenience in our country. If we can meet more of a client's financial, needs here at Schwab, that's going to make the client happier and it's going to be better for us.
00:12:34:06 - 00:12:56:22
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
So that's that's number one. Number two, we've really been focused on nailing the basics for clients with 45 million client accounts and nearly $11 trillion of client assets. If every day we nail the basics of every interaction, every experience that the client has, they're going to continue to do a lot of business with us, and we will have a growing, healthy firm.
00:12:57:00 - 00:13:28:23
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
Third is we want to be a, as an efficient firm as possible. The more efficient a firm we can be, the more money we can take and invest back in the client experience and back in our clients. And so we've been driving efficiency throughout our throughout our system and fourth, we're focused on our people. We know ultimately part of what helps us stand apart at Schwab and create such a great client experience is that our people care so deeply about making a difference for our clients, and so we want to invest in our people.
00:13:29:01 - 00:13:38:01
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
And, those are our four focus areas as a company. And, and, so far this year, we're having a great year. And just picking up right where we left off last year.
00:13:38:03 - 00:13:40:19
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
Rick Wurster, thanks so much for taking the time.
00:13:40:21 - 00:13:43:19
Speaker 2 (Rick Wurster)
Thanks for having me on. It's been a been a lot of fun. Nice to see you.
00:13:43:21 - 00:14:09:04
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
You too. Schwab may have swept the investing categories, but they weren't the only firms investors put their trust in. Vanguard, known for its low cost index funds strategy, was also among the most trusted companies and online brokers, wealth managers and fund companies. This year, Vanguard launched a new advice and wealth management division, aiming to democratize financial advice the same way it did with indexing.
00:14:09:05 - 00:14:40:02
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
Fidelity investments, which last year held the top trust ratings in the investment categories, ranked among the most trusted companies again in 2025. Overall, USAA took the number one spot in IBD's list of the 30 most trusted financial companies. USAA provides financial services to active U.S. military service members, their families, and veterans. Now, to learn more about IBD's most trusted financial companies, visit investors.com for Investors Business Daily.
00:14:40:03 - 00:14:41:02
Speaker 1 (Clare O'Connor)
I'm Clare O'Connor.
Disclaimer:
The IBD Most Trusted Financial Companies accolade/recognition was published online by IBD on September 12, 2025, and is licensed for a 15-month timeframe. The criteria, evaluation, and ranking were determined by Investor’s Business Daily in conjunction with its research partner, TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, and were based on consumer surveys conducted May-July 2025. (https://www.investors.com/news/financial-companies-most-trusted-top-30-list-2025/
Disclaimer:
The IBD Most Trusted Financial Companies accolade/recognition was published online by IBD on September 12, 2025, and is licensed for a 15-month timeframe. The criteria, evaluation, and ranking were determined by Investor’s Business Daily in conjunction with its research partner, TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, and were based on consumer surveys conducted May-July 2025. (https://www.investors.com/news/financial-companies-most-trusted-top-30-list-2025/
