The Charles Schwab Corporation has now completed the fourth round of client account conversions this year, transitioning over two million Ameritrade client accounts to Schwab over the first weekend in November. This was our first transition group with a significant number of trader clients, including users of the award-winning thinkorswim® trading platforms.
This round of conversions comes on the heels of the launch of Schwab Trading Powered by Ameritrade™ which unites the thinkorswim® platforms with Schwab’s trading capabilities on Schwab.com and Schwab Mobile, alongside extensive trading education and specialized service designed for traders of all types and levels of expertise. The entire thinkorswim® platform suite is now available to all Schwab retail clients.
A vast majority of clients who transitioned to Schwab this weekend had a smooth experience. We took a client-first approach to conversion planning, taking steps to ensure client experiences, including thinkorswim® platform settings and preferences, followed clients to Schwab. But even with all the preparation, we recognize this transition represents a change that may require some additional assistance for our clients. We are dedicated to working with every client who needs any additional support, and our service professionals are ready to help. We remain confident that our converting clients will see the benefits of the combined offering and award-winning client experience and technology.
Now, with many of our trader clients actively engaged on our mobile and web trading experiences, we have been listening to their feedback and have introduced several key trader enhancements to the Schwab platforms. Over the last few months, we have added new client-facing technology such as live streaming market data, redesigned web/mobile watchlists, improved research tools, and an All-In-One Trade Ticket that provides easy access to multiple asset types (stocks, ETFs, and options), and lets clients place and execute trades from a single location. True to our “best of both” strategy, these enhancements were inspired by bringing the best of Ameritrade and Schwab together and are now available to all Schwab clients. Ahead of our final transition group, clients will continue to see more enhancements to their web and mobile trading experiences.
Looking ahead
We remain on track to transition all remaining Ameritrade client accounts in the first half of 2024 and have now converted nearly 90% of Ameritrade accounts and 100% of the RIA firms who previously custodied their client assets at Ameritrade. For Ameritrade clients in this upcoming group, there’s nothing to do right now. Every client will be notified well in advance of the transition date to ensure the move is as smooth and as seamless as possible.
Based on what we saw in this most recent transition group which included ~1.5 million Ameritrade thinkorswim® clients, we have every reason to believe that remaining clients moving to Schwab in 2024 can be confident that their conversion will go well, and our teams will be there to support them however they need every step of the way.
We are proud of our teams who have worked diligently during this integration to deliver a client-centric transition experience for our clients. Not only has this been the biggest integration in history but also the most comprehensive, as we bring over entire client relationships as well as critical elements of their experience—including, account settings, personal preferences and watchlists, open orders and money movement instructions and so much more. Together, we are delivering our clients the “best of both.”