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A group cuts a ribbon in front of balloons.

The DEC Network announces naming rights partnership with Charles Schwab Bank

The DEC Network, a nonprofit organization driving innovation and fostering economic growth while building a diverse and equitable ecosystem for all entrepreneurs, announced it has entered into a naming-rights partnership with Charles Schwab Bank that will support entrepreneurial innovation and community engagement in the southern sector of Dallas. Through 2031, the organization's headquarters in southern Dallas will proudly bear the name The DEC Network Sponsored by Charles Schwab Bank.

Charles Schwab named one of the top 50 most community-minded companies in the country

Charles Schwab has been named a Civic 50 honoree, by Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to increasing volunteering. This recognition evaluates the scale, sophistication and impact of employee volunteering, community engagement and corporate philanthropy work.

"We’re committed to helping people achieve brighter futures by investing in financial education and supporting the communities where our clients and employees live and work,” said Schwab President and CEO Rick Wurster.

Executive Perspectives on What's Ahead

James Kostulias, Head of Trading Services at Schwab
Jon Beatty, Managing Director, Head of Schwab Advisor Services

What’s next for the fiduciary advice model?

Jonathan S. Beatty
August 29, 2024
Lisa Kidd Hunt, Managing Director, Head of International Services, Charles Schwab
President and Chief Executive Officer, The Charles Schwab Corporation

Ben Griffin wins the 2025 Charles Schwab Challenge

Congratulations to Ben Griffin, winner of this year's Charles Schwab Challenge prize car: a one-of-a-kind 1992 Schwab Defender 110.

In 1992, we ventured out to launch the Mutual Fund One Source. As the first mutual fund supermarket in the industry, we made it easier than ever for our clients to diversify their portfolios. Forging a better path forward is what drives us.

Ben Griffin posing with the Charles Schwab Challenge prize car.

Company Announcements

CNBC Money Movers with Schwab CEO Rick Wurster, July 18, 2025

 

Sara Eisen: We’ve got a lot to talk about now in the CNBC exclusive with Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster. Rick, welcome back. It's good to have you. 

Rick Wurster: Sara, nice to see you. 

Sara Eisen: So the double-digit growth, new assets of $80 billion dollars, double-digit trading commissions. What was the primary driver this quarter?  

Rick Wurster: I think it was how we delivered for clients. This was a quarter in which markets went down. Clients were nervous. We saw the two highest trading days we've ever had at Charles Schwab in April, we had our highest call volumes that we've ever seen, and it was a quarter in which our award winning platforms, our service, our advice, the insights that we provide all came to bear for the client to help them get to where they need to be in their financial life. So that's what stood out for me in the first quarter. And the second thing that stood out was our growth, we grew $80 billion dollars of net new assets. We had $43 billion dollars in June, which was up 46% over the last June. And our financial results followed with record earnings, record revenue. The primary thing was that we delivered for clients in the second quarter. 

Sara Eisen: Where do those new assets come from? Is it from traditional retail? Is it from financial advisor assets? 

Rick Wurster: The nice thing is we see our growth across the spectrum of channels. Our advisor channel continues to be a strong source of growth, as does our retail channel. And we saw our retail net new assets go up 50% in the first half of the year versus the first half of last year. And that's nice to see. And some of that's coming from our legacy Ameritrade clients who have now been with Schwab for a little while. And the more time they spend with us, the more they're telling us they like us, and the more they're bringing assets to us. So it's just a strong quarter across the board in both our advisor channel, our retail channel, and in our workplace channel, where we had record net new assets as well. 

Sara Eisen: I remember you and your predecessor, Walt, every quarter, I had to ask about this cash sorting issue, I mean, it looked like the transactional cash isn't as big of a focus for investors right now. Is that issue over with?

Rick Wurster: I think that issue is over with. We've paid down our wholesale borrowings. 75% of it's gone. We're down to $28 billion dollars of wholesale funding. We've seen a real acceleration in our earnings from the paydown of the liability side of our balance sheet. As we look forward, we see continued earnings acceleration because now it will be an asset side of the balance sheet story, as our bonds mature and we're able to invest some at higher yields, and we're able to lend to our clients. More importantly, what we see is growth in what we can do for clients in the ways we serve them, and we see our clients' satisfaction at all-time highs, and we're thrilled about that.  

Carl Quintanilla: Rick, it feels like we're really in a moment where, at least at the household level, the retail level, like the picture of your assets, is changing. When we're talking about the White House, maybe allowing retirement funds into private investments, when we're talking about maybe letting crypto assets be part of your mortgage application. I wonder how you're thinking about that psychology changing at the household level for retail investors? 

Rick Wurster: Well, for 50 years, the reason we've been successful is because we've innovated on behalf of retail clients. We've always tried to find a more efficient, more cost-effective, and easier way for clients to get access to everything that they want to access. And our hope with alternatives in retail and potentially in the defined contribution space, along with crypto, is that those innovations take us forward in serving retail clients.  

Carl Quintanilla: Is there a space for consumer protection, so investors don't get burned, we don't have repeats of past episodes? Or do you think the guardrails are sufficient and that investors at this point have seen the markets been democratized for so long that people are street smart, even on their own?   

Rick Wurster: I think investor protection around crypto is critical. We have built up the most transparent, most efficient, and liquid capital markets in the world. If we move forward with tokenization and crypto, we want to make sure that as those innovations take place, that we move forwards, not backwards, and we don't get around important investor protection rules that make sure execution is done well to protect against money laundering and the like. And so we're all for any innovation that creates a better environment for retail clients. And customer protection is going to be really important as all these new innovative ideas come to market.   

Sara Eisen: What is your crypto strategy, Rick? As we are set to see the president sign the GENIUS bill today, into law.   

Rick Wurster: Well, our clients are invested in crypto today. In fact, our clients hold more than 20% of the exchange-traded product crypto in the entire industry, so they're invested. It's still only about $25 billion out of the $10.8 trillion that our clients have. So it's still relatively small. But our clients own a big part of the market. We also anticipate launching Bitcoin and Ether sometime soon so that our clients have access to that. And we think that will be an acceleration of our growth, because what we hear from many of our clients are that they have 98% of their wealth here at Schwab, and they might hold a percent, or 2%, at some digital native firm to hold their crypto. And they really want to bring it back to Schwab because they trust us. They want it to sit alongside their other assets. And so we think we'll see some real growth when we bring those to market.   

Sara Eisen: So you would be directly competing with them with someone like a Coinbase on that front?   

Rick Wurster: Absolutely, if they're buying their crypto at Coinbase, we would love to see them bring their crypto back to Schwab.   

Sara Eisen: It gets to another question I had which is Robinhood. I know the CEO is on later and they've been big in crypto. How much overlap is there, and how much of a competitive threat are those sort of brokers that cater more to the younger, more tech savvy crowd?   

Rick Wurster: Our big focus as a firm is helping clients in their financial life get to where they want to be, to live out their financial dreams. We have always stood behind clients to bring our capabilities, our platforms, our service, and our advice to market. And we do that across our 400 branches in communities across our country. We do it through our 10,000 licensed professionals. We are working with a client base that values the breadth of what we can do. And in that regard, we think we're set apart from the competition.   

Sara Eisen: What are you seeing right now, generally from the retail investor, you mentioned that they had the confidence during the April volatility around tariffs to be in the market, what does sentiment look like right now?   

Rick Wurster: Clients have been persistently engaged and have returned to being bullish. In early April, there was some nervousness. We saw more calls in early April than we'd ever seen with clients asking a very simple question: “What do I do now? I was saving to buy my first house. Do I need to sell everything? I'm going to retire in two years, what do I do now?” And I think we've since then seen markets rebound. We've seen the margin grow, and we've seen the confidence of our clients grow along with it, so engaged with markets and more bullish than we've seen.   

Carl Quintanilla: Which is one of the most fascinating turns for anyone who's followed markets for a while. You know, we think back to the diamond hands of a couple of years ago and the chase for meme stocks. And even though those got corrected, Rick, if you could make an argument that earlier in the year it was the retail investor who was the smart money, and it was the institutions that freaked out.  

Rick Wurster: Carl, I think you're absolutely right. I think sometimes retail investors get a bad rep, but we see many that take a very long-term view. We talk about the ups and downs of markets. When you look at a long-term chart of stocks, the broad market indices over 20 years, some of these periods that in the moment seem really volatile and scary, you can't even see on a 10, or 15, or 20-year stock chart. It's why we continue to remind our clients that there's all these new ways of investing in new forms of investing, but a really powerful one that has stood the test of time is being invested in equities and taking a longer-term horizon. That's really worked out for clients.  

Sara Eisen: I've asked every bank CEO that we've had on this week, regional, big bank, or financial services company, what the new regulatory backdrop means for you. And I am curious how you're thinking about that, and whether M&A is on the table, and how else you might be thinking about capital? 

Rick Wurster: Well, the regulatory environment, I think, one of the things that's been under-focused on as it relates to the Federal Reserve is the appointment of Miki Bowman. And I think we've seen the Fed really focused on high-level issues around safety and soundness, and that's where they're focusing their time and attention. And I think that's great for the banking sector, and it's great for consumers in our industry. As it relates to M&A, at our firm over the last five years, we've done five big deals, and they've all added significant value to our clients and to our shareholders. And so certainly we keep an open mind, but we also know that doing big deals, like Ameritrade, crowds out other investments that we'd like to make. So we like to keep a high bar, but we're always open to ideas for anything that we can do to bring new capabilities to our clients that are going to help them be better off in their financial life.   

Sara Eisen: Well, it's really good to talk to you about all the hot topics out there, Rick. Thank you very much, including your stock and your earnings. We appreciate it.   

Rick Wurster: Thank you, Sara. Always nice.

 

Important disclosures:

Forward-Looking Statements

This contains forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s expectations as of the date hereof. Achievement of these expectations and objectives is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Important factors that may cause such differences are described in the company’s most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on the company’s website (https://www.aboutschwab.com/financial-reports) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (https://www.sec.gov). The company makes no commitment to update any forward-looking statements.

The information here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions.

All names and market data shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.

Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Diversification strategies do not ensure a profit and cannot protect against losses in a declining market.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Investment and Insurance Products Are: Not FDIC Insured • Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency • Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or any of its Affiliates • Subject to Investment Risks, Including Possible Loss of Principal Amount Invested

 

Video Transcript

Watch Rick Wurster

CNBC Money Movers with Schwab CEO Rick Wurster, July 18, 2025

 

Sara Eisen: We’ve got a lot to talk about now in the CNBC exclusive with Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster. Rick, welcome back. It's good to have you. 

Rick Wurster: Sara, nice to see you. 

Sara Eisen: So the double-digit growth, new assets of $80 billion dollars, double-digit trading commissions. What was the primary driver this quarter?  

Rick Wurster: I think it was how we delivered for clients. This was a quarter in which markets went down. Clients were nervous. We saw the two highest trading days we've ever had at Charles Schwab in April, we had our highest call volumes that we've ever seen, and it was a quarter in which our award winning platforms, our service, our advice, the insights that we provide all came to bear for the client to help them get to where they need to be in their financial life. So that's what stood out for me in the first quarter. And the second thing that stood out was our growth, we grew $80 billion dollars of net new assets. We had $43 billion dollars in June, which was up 46% over the last June. And our financial results followed with record earnings, record revenue. The primary thing was that we delivered for clients in the second quarter. 

Sara Eisen: Where do those new assets come from? Is it from traditional retail? Is it from financial advisor assets? 

Rick Wurster: The nice thing is we see our growth across the spectrum of channels. Our advisor channel continues to be a strong source of growth, as does our retail channel. And we saw our retail net new assets go up 50% in the first half of the year versus the first half of last year. And that's nice to see. And some of that's coming from our legacy Ameritrade clients who have now been with Schwab for a little while. And the more time they spend with us, the more they're telling us they like us, and the more they're bringing assets to us. So it's just a strong quarter across the board in both our advisor channel, our retail channel, and in our workplace channel, where we had record net new assets as well. 

Sara Eisen: I remember you and your predecessor, Walt, every quarter, I had to ask about this cash sorting issue, I mean, it looked like the transactional cash isn't as big of a focus for investors right now. Is that issue over with?

Rick Wurster: I think that issue is over with. We've paid down our wholesale borrowings. 75% of it's gone. We're down to $28 billion dollars of wholesale funding. We've seen a real acceleration in our earnings from the paydown of the liability side of our balance sheet. As we look forward, we see continued earnings acceleration because now it will be an asset side of the balance sheet story, as our bonds mature and we're able to invest some at higher yields, and we're able to lend to our clients. More importantly, what we see is growth in what we can do for clients in the ways we serve them, and we see our clients' satisfaction at all-time highs, and we're thrilled about that.  

Carl Quintanilla: Rick, it feels like we're really in a moment where, at least at the household level, the retail level, like the picture of your assets, is changing. When we're talking about the White House, maybe allowing retirement funds into private investments, when we're talking about maybe letting crypto assets be part of your mortgage application. I wonder how you're thinking about that psychology changing at the household level for retail investors? 

Rick Wurster: Well, for 50 years, the reason we've been successful is because we've innovated on behalf of retail clients. We've always tried to find a more efficient, more cost-effective, and easier way for clients to get access to everything that they want to access. And our hope with alternatives in retail and potentially in the defined contribution space, along with crypto, is that those innovations take us forward in serving retail clients.  

Carl Quintanilla: Is there a space for consumer protection, so investors don't get burned, we don't have repeats of past episodes? Or do you think the guardrails are sufficient and that investors at this point have seen the markets been democratized for so long that people are street smart, even on their own?   

Rick Wurster: I think investor protection around crypto is critical. We have built up the most transparent, most efficient, and liquid capital markets in the world. If we move forward with tokenization and crypto, we want to make sure that as those innovations take place, that we move forwards, not backwards, and we don't get around important investor protection rules that make sure execution is done well to protect against money laundering and the like. And so we're all for any innovation that creates a better environment for retail clients. And customer protection is going to be really important as all these new innovative ideas come to market.   

Sara Eisen: What is your crypto strategy, Rick? As we are set to see the president sign the GENIUS bill today, into law.   

Rick Wurster: Well, our clients are invested in crypto today. In fact, our clients hold more than 20% of the exchange-traded product crypto in the entire industry, so they're invested. It's still only about $25 billion out of the $10.8 trillion that our clients have. So it's still relatively small. But our clients own a big part of the market. We also anticipate launching Bitcoin and Ether sometime soon so that our clients have access to that. And we think that will be an acceleration of our growth, because what we hear from many of our clients are that they have 98% of their wealth here at Schwab, and they might hold a percent, or 2%, at some digital native firm to hold their crypto. And they really want to bring it back to Schwab because they trust us. They want it to sit alongside their other assets. And so we think we'll see some real growth when we bring those to market.   

Sara Eisen: So you would be directly competing with them with someone like a Coinbase on that front?   

Rick Wurster: Absolutely, if they're buying their crypto at Coinbase, we would love to see them bring their crypto back to Schwab.   

Sara Eisen: It gets to another question I had which is Robinhood. I know the CEO is on later and they've been big in crypto. How much overlap is there, and how much of a competitive threat are those sort of brokers that cater more to the younger, more tech savvy crowd?   

Rick Wurster: Our big focus as a firm is helping clients in their financial life get to where they want to be, to live out their financial dreams. We have always stood behind clients to bring our capabilities, our platforms, our service, and our advice to market. And we do that across our 400 branches in communities across our country. We do it through our 10,000 licensed professionals. We are working with a client base that values the breadth of what we can do. And in that regard, we think we're set apart from the competition.   

Sara Eisen: What are you seeing right now, generally from the retail investor, you mentioned that they had the confidence during the April volatility around tariffs to be in the market, what does sentiment look like right now?   

Rick Wurster: Clients have been persistently engaged and have returned to being bullish. In early April, there was some nervousness. We saw more calls in early April than we'd ever seen with clients asking a very simple question: “What do I do now? I was saving to buy my first house. Do I need to sell everything? I'm going to retire in two years, what do I do now?” And I think we've since then seen markets rebound. We've seen the margin grow, and we've seen the confidence of our clients grow along with it, so engaged with markets and more bullish than we've seen.   

Carl Quintanilla: Which is one of the most fascinating turns for anyone who's followed markets for a while. You know, we think back to the diamond hands of a couple of years ago and the chase for meme stocks. And even though those got corrected, Rick, if you could make an argument that earlier in the year it was the retail investor who was the smart money, and it was the institutions that freaked out.  

Rick Wurster: Carl, I think you're absolutely right. I think sometimes retail investors get a bad rep, but we see many that take a very long-term view. We talk about the ups and downs of markets. When you look at a long-term chart of stocks, the broad market indices over 20 years, some of these periods that in the moment seem really volatile and scary, you can't even see on a 10, or 15, or 20-year stock chart. It's why we continue to remind our clients that there's all these new ways of investing in new forms of investing, but a really powerful one that has stood the test of time is being invested in equities and taking a longer-term horizon. That's really worked out for clients.  

Sara Eisen: I've asked every bank CEO that we've had on this week, regional, big bank, or financial services company, what the new regulatory backdrop means for you. And I am curious how you're thinking about that, and whether M&A is on the table, and how else you might be thinking about capital? 

Rick Wurster: Well, the regulatory environment, I think, one of the things that's been under-focused on as it relates to the Federal Reserve is the appointment of Miki Bowman. And I think we've seen the Fed really focused on high-level issues around safety and soundness, and that's where they're focusing their time and attention. And I think that's great for the banking sector, and it's great for consumers in our industry. As it relates to M&A, at our firm over the last five years, we've done five big deals, and they've all added significant value to our clients and to our shareholders. And so certainly we keep an open mind, but we also know that doing big deals, like Ameritrade, crowds out other investments that we'd like to make. So we like to keep a high bar, but we're always open to ideas for anything that we can do to bring new capabilities to our clients that are going to help them be better off in their financial life.   

Sara Eisen: Well, it's really good to talk to you about all the hot topics out there, Rick. Thank you very much, including your stock and your earnings. We appreciate it.   

Rick Wurster: Thank you, Sara. Always nice.

 

Important disclosures:

Forward-Looking Statements

This contains forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s expectations as of the date hereof. Achievement of these expectations and objectives is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Important factors that may cause such differences are described in the company’s most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on the company’s website (https://www.aboutschwab.com/financial-reports) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (https://www.sec.gov). The company makes no commitment to update any forward-looking statements.

The information here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions.

All names and market data shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.

Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Diversification strategies do not ensure a profit and cannot protect against losses in a declining market.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Investment and Insurance Products Are: Not FDIC Insured • Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency • Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or any of its Affiliates • Subject to Investment Risks, Including Possible Loss of Principal Amount Invested

 

President and CEO Rick Wurster on CNBC "Money Movers"

CEO & President Rick Wurster joined CNBC to discuss Schwab's second-quarter results, the company's growth and the ways we serve our clients.

Charles Schwab President & CEO Rick Wurster on Yahoo Finance - March 12, 2025

 

Madison Mills: Joining us now, we've got Rick Wurster: Worcester, Charles Schwab president and CEO, and Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi is still with us, bringing us the conversation. Rick Wurster, thank you for making time for us. We really appreciate you coming in. 

 

Rick Wurster: Thanks so much for having me on. It's my pleasure. 

 

Madison Mills: So I know that you have seen a lot of activity from the brokerage and that that activity has increased this year. But talk to me about what you're seeing in terms of investor positioning amid the market volatility.

 

Rick Wurster: Well, I think investors are taking a range of activity based on what their financial plan is, what they're trying to accomplish. In general, we see a range of emotions among our clients, from nervousness to a focus on the long term. If we look specifically at what our clients are doing, we look at things like margin activity is a good pulse for what our more active traders are doing. And our margin, our level of margin, has stayed roughly the same over the last month, and our margin clients have actually bought equities in the last week. So I think clients are generally hanging in there at the moment. And the benefit of being a part of Charles Schwab is that we have the opportunity to talk with them and help them understand where they are with their plan and what they're trying to accomplish. 

 

Brian Sozzi: What are some of their biggest concerns at this moment? 

 

Rick Wurster: I think there's a variety of concerns. I think you've seen the market turn or worry about growth. You've seen in bond yields. You see it in break evens, you see it in the sectors that are outperforming. So when you look at investors broadly, I think the biggest concern on their mind is just a softer growth picture. And I think that's that's part of what's weighing on weighing on investors. 

 

Brian Sozzi: You just took over. Did you pass the 100-day mark? You just took over as CEO? 

 

Rick Wurster: I don't think I'm at 100 days yet. I still have a little ways to go. 

 

Brian Sozzi: Right. Okay. Is it hard to obviously your CEO? Is it hard to plan your business in this environment where one moment we have tariffs, next we don't? Then they're back on, then they're back off and then something else is coming. Like, what has this meant for your job? 

 

Rick Wurster: It's not hard at all to plan our business because we focus on the long run. We focus on our clients' outcomes and making sure we can get them to where they need to be in their financial life. We've been in business for 50 years, and for 50 years, we have relentlessly stood by our clients and helped them get to where they need to be. And over that time, we've seen up markets, we've seen down markets, we've seen good economic times and bad economic times. But through it all, we stand there with the client and work with them in a variety of ways. And that's what we're doing today. And this year, I call it a liftoff year for us because we're coming out of the integration we did with Ameritrade. And it's all systems go for us. And we're growing faster than we were last year. And off to a really strong start. 

 

Brian Sozzi: Have you stemmed the I guess, you know last time we talked to you. You know those customers were a little upset on that integration process with with Ameritrade. Has that stopped. Are you keeping customers on the platform now. That's over and done with. 

 

Rick Wurster: Our Ameritrade clients are as happy with us as they've ever been. Every quarter that goes by, their satisfaction scores go up. The net flows that they're bringing us, in terms of new money that they're bringing us keep rising every month. So we're in a really good a really good path with our legacy Ameritrade clients. And we're so delighted to be able to serve them. And I was in five branches yesterday in North Carolina. And what I keep hearing from those clients and our professionals who serve them is how much they value the breadth of what we can bring to the former Ameritrade client. We still have the same thinkorswim platform that we think is the best platform in the industry. 

 

Brian Sozzi: The first place I bought a stock, full disclosure and I know thats no BS.

 

Rick Wurster: That’s great, I know, and hopefully the last place you buy a stock too. And in addition to that at Schwab, they get access to all of our wealth management capabilities, all of our research, a lot more capabilities to help them get to where they need to be in their life. 

 

Madison Mills: It sounds like a pretty picture, given the uncertainty that is obviously taking place in the market. But also, so many CEOs have talked with us about just in terms of the policy backdrop. I know that you have spoken with and worked with the president specifically on the launch of their DJT fintech brand, TruthFi. Have you had any conversations with him about getting policy clarity from the White House moving forward? 

 

Rick Wurster: You know, we for 50 years have tried to work with administrators with with regulators to help them get to a place that's the best possible environment for retail investors and advisors that serve them. So we're always in active discussions with regulators and politicians, and that that won't change. 

 

Brian Sozzi: We've gotten a big uhh, I was actually talking to one of your competitors this morning on my on my podcast, and I asked them their view on cryptocurrency. And that particular CEO said, we don't view it as an asset, and they may not be getting bigger into the crypto space. What is your crypto operations look like? We've got ETFs. We've clearly passed a moment with the Bitcoin Reserve. It's been validated. How are you going to play in that space? 

 

Rick Wurster: Well, we're active in the cryptocurrency space today. We had a 400% increase in the number of visits to our cryptocurrency site in the fourth quarter of 2024, and 70% of those visits were from prospects. So what that says to us is that investors that are interested in investing in crypto they want to do it at a place that they trust, a place where they feel like their assets are going to be safe. So they're coming to Schwab, and they're investing in ETFs and getting access. At some point, we'll be in spot cryptocurrencies, and we'll make that available. Today, we're not, we have ETFs. And that's where we're seeing the most of the volume. But we are in cryptocurrencies, and our clients are interested in it. 

 

Brian Sozzi: Is the spot, Bitcoin ETF, is that is that a this year thing for your company? 

 

Rick Wurster: We hope it will be this year's thing. The regulatory environment has shifted as it relates to banks being able to offer crypto directly to clients. And because of the changing regulations, we do think it's possible that this year we would be able to offer that directly to clients. 

 

Madison Mills: And more broadly, where do you see the most growth moving forward? Obviously, you've got the Sozzi’s of the world getting ready to get into the brokerage, you know, at two years old. But beyond those initial those initial investors. Right, right. Of course, where is the most growth going to come for the business moving forward? First-time investors, retail, futures traders, options traders, crypto bros like who is the growth story? 

 

Brian Sozzi: Wait why do you point to me for crypto bro? What's up with that? 

 

Madison Mills: Because you asked. The crypto question where's where's the growth? 

 

Rick Wurster: That's that's funny. Well we do like to start young by the way. And we are winning with young clients. We had roughly a third of our client. New clients last year were under the age of 30. 60% were under the age of 40, which still seems young to me. So we are doing well with young investors, but we're really winning across the board. And the reason we're winning at all age levels, at all wealth levels, is because we put the client first and we bring everything that we have, whether it's our trading platform, our wealth management capabilities, the way we support our 16,000 advisors that are on our platform and in communities across our country. The way we serve all of them puts them first. And when you put clients first, I think you're going to have a successful business. And that's been the case for us for 50 years. 

 

Brian Sozzi: Rick, I've gotten to know Vlad and the Robinhood team really well. And, you know, over the past two years, they just seem increasingly aggressive to get into wealth management, launching new products. Their pace has picked up. Are they a nuisance to you? Are they a real competitor to what Charles Schwab has done in the past 50 years? 

 

Rick Wurster: We don't we don't see it that way. We're focused on our clients. We've got 44 million client accounts today that that have never been more satisfied than they are today with Schwab. We are focused on delivering wealth management capabilities to them and we don't see those clients interested in in other what others can do. And the reason we see that is because we can do so much for our clients. Clients can call us so last week it's been a volatile week. We had 600,000 clients call or chat us in the last week, and we pick up the phone in less than 30 seconds. 

 

Brian Sozzi: You still have humans picking up the phone?

 

Rick Wurster: We have humans picking up the phone. I was in five branches yesterday in North Carolina. We've got all kinds of clients walking in the door. It's hard for most companies to be able to match the breadth of what we can do for a client, so we worry less about competitors. I'm sure they're doing a great job for their clients. We're more focused on our clients and making sure we nail it for them every single day. 

 

Madison Mills: What's the single biggest obstacle you want to tackle in your next 100 days? 

 

Rick Wurster: The next 100 days? You know, it's about accelerating the growth of our business, deepening the relationships we have with clients, nailing the basics every day when we pick up the phones quickly, when we help remind clients why they're invested. Those basics, when our technology works incredibly well, those matter a lot to clients. And then scaling our business. The more efficient we can be with our clients time, the more they're going to enjoy their experience, and also the more efficient we can be so that we can free up money to invest in our growth initiatives. So those are the things we're focused on in the next 100 days, and maybe we'll get a little more peaceful markets in the next 100 days. We'll see. 

 

Brian Sozzi: We can hope for we can hope for that. 

 

Madison Mills: You’ll have to come back and talk to us when markets and when markets do finally recover. Rick, thank you so much for making time. 

 

Rick Wurster: Thanks for having me on,

 

Madison Mills: I appreciate it. 

 

Rick Wurster: Nice to see you both. 

 

Madison Mills: Thank you for bringing us the conversation. Really appreciate it. Markets action ahead right here on Yahoo Finance to stick around for more.

 

++

 

Important Disclosures

This interview contains forward-looking statements relating to the company's products, growth and success with clients; investor engagement; and all-weather business model. These forward-looking statements and other comments reflect management’s expectations as of the date hereof. Achievement of these expectations and objectives is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Important factors that may cause such differences are described in the company’s most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on the company’s website (https://www.aboutschwab.com/financial-reports) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (https://www.sec.gov). The company makes no commitment to update any forward-looking statements.

The information here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions.

All names and market data shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.

Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Diversification strategies do not ensure a profit and cannot protect against losses in a declining market.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Cryptocurrency-related products carry a substantial level of risk and are not suitable for all investors. Investments in cryptocurrencies are relatively new, highly speculative, and may be subject to extreme price volatility, illiquidity, and increased risk of loss, including your entire investment in the fund. Spot markets on which cryptocurrencies trade are relatively new and largely unregulated, and therefore, may be more exposed to fraud and security breaches than established, regulated exchanges for other financial assets or instruments. Some cryptocurrency-related products use futures contracts to attempt to duplicate the performance of an investment in cryptocurrency, which may result in unpredictable pricing, higher transaction costs, and performance that fails to track the price of the reference cryptocurrency as intended. Please read more about risks of trading cryptocurrency futures here.

Investment and Insurance Products Are: Not FDIC Insured • Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency • Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or any of its Affiliates • Subject to Investment Risks, Including Possible Loss of Principal Amount Invested

 

 

 

Video Transcript

Watch Rick Wurster

Charles Schwab President & CEO Rick Wurster on Yahoo Finance - March 12, 2025

 

Madison Mills: Joining us now, we've got Rick Wurster: Worcester, Charles Schwab president and CEO, and Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi is still with us, bringing us the conversation. Rick Wurster, thank you for making time for us. We really appreciate you coming in. 

 

Rick Wurster: Thanks so much for having me on. It's my pleasure. 

 

Madison Mills: So I know that you have seen a lot of activity from the brokerage and that that activity has increased this year. But talk to me about what you're seeing in terms of investor positioning amid the market volatility.

 

Rick Wurster: Well, I think investors are taking a range of activity based on what their financial plan is, what they're trying to accomplish. In general, we see a range of emotions among our clients, from nervousness to a focus on the long term. If we look specifically at what our clients are doing, we look at things like margin activity is a good pulse for what our more active traders are doing. And our margin, our level of margin, has stayed roughly the same over the last month, and our margin clients have actually bought equities in the last week. So I think clients are generally hanging in there at the moment. And the benefit of being a part of Charles Schwab is that we have the opportunity to talk with them and help them understand where they are with their plan and what they're trying to accomplish. 

 

Brian Sozzi: What are some of their biggest concerns at this moment? 

 

Rick Wurster: I think there's a variety of concerns. I think you've seen the market turn or worry about growth. You've seen in bond yields. You see it in break evens, you see it in the sectors that are outperforming. So when you look at investors broadly, I think the biggest concern on their mind is just a softer growth picture. And I think that's that's part of what's weighing on weighing on investors. 

 

Brian Sozzi: You just took over. Did you pass the 100-day mark? You just took over as CEO? 

 

Rick Wurster: I don't think I'm at 100 days yet. I still have a little ways to go. 

 

Brian Sozzi: Right. Okay. Is it hard to obviously your CEO? Is it hard to plan your business in this environment where one moment we have tariffs, next we don't? Then they're back on, then they're back off and then something else is coming. Like, what has this meant for your job? 

 

Rick Wurster: It's not hard at all to plan our business because we focus on the long run. We focus on our clients' outcomes and making sure we can get them to where they need to be in their financial life. We've been in business for 50 years, and for 50 years, we have relentlessly stood by our clients and helped them get to where they need to be. And over that time, we've seen up markets, we've seen down markets, we've seen good economic times and bad economic times. But through it all, we stand there with the client and work with them in a variety of ways. And that's what we're doing today. And this year, I call it a liftoff year for us because we're coming out of the integration we did with Ameritrade. And it's all systems go for us. And we're growing faster than we were last year. And off to a really strong start. 

 

Brian Sozzi: Have you stemmed the I guess, you know last time we talked to you. You know those customers were a little upset on that integration process with with Ameritrade. Has that stopped. Are you keeping customers on the platform now. That's over and done with. 

 

Rick Wurster: Our Ameritrade clients are as happy with us as they've ever been. Every quarter that goes by, their satisfaction scores go up. The net flows that they're bringing us, in terms of new money that they're bringing us keep rising every month. So we're in a really good a really good path with our legacy Ameritrade clients. And we're so delighted to be able to serve them. And I was in five branches yesterday in North Carolina. And what I keep hearing from those clients and our professionals who serve them is how much they value the breadth of what we can bring to the former Ameritrade client. We still have the same thinkorswim platform that we think is the best platform in the industry. 

 

Brian Sozzi: The first place I bought a stock, full disclosure and I know thats no BS.

 

Rick Wurster: That’s great, I know, and hopefully the last place you buy a stock too. And in addition to that at Schwab, they get access to all of our wealth management capabilities, all of our research, a lot more capabilities to help them get to where they need to be in their life. 

 

Madison Mills: It sounds like a pretty picture, given the uncertainty that is obviously taking place in the market. But also, so many CEOs have talked with us about just in terms of the policy backdrop. I know that you have spoken with and worked with the president specifically on the launch of their DJT fintech brand, TruthFi. Have you had any conversations with him about getting policy clarity from the White House moving forward? 

 

Rick Wurster: You know, we for 50 years have tried to work with administrators with with regulators to help them get to a place that's the best possible environment for retail investors and advisors that serve them. So we're always in active discussions with regulators and politicians, and that that won't change. 

 

Brian Sozzi: We've gotten a big uhh, I was actually talking to one of your competitors this morning on my on my podcast, and I asked them their view on cryptocurrency. And that particular CEO said, we don't view it as an asset, and they may not be getting bigger into the crypto space. What is your crypto operations look like? We've got ETFs. We've clearly passed a moment with the Bitcoin Reserve. It's been validated. How are you going to play in that space? 

 

Rick Wurster: Well, we're active in the cryptocurrency space today. We had a 400% increase in the number of visits to our cryptocurrency site in the fourth quarter of 2024, and 70% of those visits were from prospects. So what that says to us is that investors that are interested in investing in crypto they want to do it at a place that they trust, a place where they feel like their assets are going to be safe. So they're coming to Schwab, and they're investing in ETFs and getting access. At some point, we'll be in spot cryptocurrencies, and we'll make that available. Today, we're not, we have ETFs. And that's where we're seeing the most of the volume. But we are in cryptocurrencies, and our clients are interested in it. 

 

Brian Sozzi: Is the spot, Bitcoin ETF, is that is that a this year thing for your company? 

 

Rick Wurster: We hope it will be this year's thing. The regulatory environment has shifted as it relates to banks being able to offer crypto directly to clients. And because of the changing regulations, we do think it's possible that this year we would be able to offer that directly to clients. 

 

Madison Mills: And more broadly, where do you see the most growth moving forward? Obviously, you've got the Sozzi’s of the world getting ready to get into the brokerage, you know, at two years old. But beyond those initial those initial investors. Right, right. Of course, where is the most growth going to come for the business moving forward? First-time investors, retail, futures traders, options traders, crypto bros like who is the growth story? 

 

Brian Sozzi: Wait why do you point to me for crypto bro? What's up with that? 

 

Madison Mills: Because you asked. The crypto question where's where's the growth? 

 

Rick Wurster: That's that's funny. Well we do like to start young by the way. And we are winning with young clients. We had roughly a third of our client. New clients last year were under the age of 30. 60% were under the age of 40, which still seems young to me. So we are doing well with young investors, but we're really winning across the board. And the reason we're winning at all age levels, at all wealth levels, is because we put the client first and we bring everything that we have, whether it's our trading platform, our wealth management capabilities, the way we support our 16,000 advisors that are on our platform and in communities across our country. The way we serve all of them puts them first. And when you put clients first, I think you're going to have a successful business. And that's been the case for us for 50 years. 

 

Brian Sozzi: Rick, I've gotten to know Vlad and the Robinhood team really well. And, you know, over the past two years, they just seem increasingly aggressive to get into wealth management, launching new products. Their pace has picked up. Are they a nuisance to you? Are they a real competitor to what Charles Schwab has done in the past 50 years? 

 

Rick Wurster: We don't we don't see it that way. We're focused on our clients. We've got 44 million client accounts today that that have never been more satisfied than they are today with Schwab. We are focused on delivering wealth management capabilities to them and we don't see those clients interested in in other what others can do. And the reason we see that is because we can do so much for our clients. Clients can call us so last week it's been a volatile week. We had 600,000 clients call or chat us in the last week, and we pick up the phone in less than 30 seconds. 

 

Brian Sozzi: You still have humans picking up the phone?

 

Rick Wurster: We have humans picking up the phone. I was in five branches yesterday in North Carolina. We've got all kinds of clients walking in the door. It's hard for most companies to be able to match the breadth of what we can do for a client, so we worry less about competitors. I'm sure they're doing a great job for their clients. We're more focused on our clients and making sure we nail it for them every single day. 

 

Madison Mills: What's the single biggest obstacle you want to tackle in your next 100 days? 

 

Rick Wurster: The next 100 days? You know, it's about accelerating the growth of our business, deepening the relationships we have with clients, nailing the basics every day when we pick up the phones quickly, when we help remind clients why they're invested. Those basics, when our technology works incredibly well, those matter a lot to clients. And then scaling our business. The more efficient we can be with our clients time, the more they're going to enjoy their experience, and also the more efficient we can be so that we can free up money to invest in our growth initiatives. So those are the things we're focused on in the next 100 days, and maybe we'll get a little more peaceful markets in the next 100 days. We'll see. 

 

Brian Sozzi: We can hope for we can hope for that. 

 

Madison Mills: You’ll have to come back and talk to us when markets and when markets do finally recover. Rick, thank you so much for making time. 

 

Rick Wurster: Thanks for having me on,

 

Madison Mills: I appreciate it. 

 

Rick Wurster: Nice to see you both. 

 

Madison Mills: Thank you for bringing us the conversation. Really appreciate it. Markets action ahead right here on Yahoo Finance to stick around for more.

 

++

 

Important Disclosures

This interview contains forward-looking statements relating to the company's products, growth and success with clients; investor engagement; and all-weather business model. These forward-looking statements and other comments reflect management’s expectations as of the date hereof. Achievement of these expectations and objectives is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Important factors that may cause such differences are described in the company’s most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on the company’s website (https://www.aboutschwab.com/financial-reports) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (https://www.sec.gov). The company makes no commitment to update any forward-looking statements.

The information here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions.

All names and market data shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.

Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Diversification strategies do not ensure a profit and cannot protect against losses in a declining market.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Cryptocurrency-related products carry a substantial level of risk and are not suitable for all investors. Investments in cryptocurrencies are relatively new, highly speculative, and may be subject to extreme price volatility, illiquidity, and increased risk of loss, including your entire investment in the fund. Spot markets on which cryptocurrencies trade are relatively new and largely unregulated, and therefore, may be more exposed to fraud and security breaches than established, regulated exchanges for other financial assets or instruments. Some cryptocurrency-related products use futures contracts to attempt to duplicate the performance of an investment in cryptocurrency, which may result in unpredictable pricing, higher transaction costs, and performance that fails to track the price of the reference cryptocurrency as intended. Please read more about risks of trading cryptocurrency futures here.

Investment and Insurance Products Are: Not FDIC Insured • Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency • Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or any of its Affiliates • Subject to Investment Risks, Including Possible Loss of Principal Amount Invested

 

 

 

President and CEO Rick Wurster on Yahoo!Finance

Charles Schwab President and CEO Rick Wurster joined Yahoo!Finance to address how investors are managing recent market movements and Schwab’s focus on growth.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This contains forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s expectations as of the date hereof. Achievement of these expectations and objectives is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Important factors that may cause such differences are described in the company’s most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on the company’s website (https://www.aboutschwab.com/financial-reports) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (https://www.sec.gov). The company makes no commitment to update any forward-looking statements.

The information here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions.

All names and market data shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.

Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Diversification strategies do not ensure a profit and cannot protect against losses in a declining market.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.